Wim Hof breathing method=WHbm
Wim Hof is a Dutch man who learned to become immune to cold, heat, & control his immune
response to a strong degree. He has a world record for lying in ice up to the neck in a tub for almost 2 hours. He
has ran a marathon in a desert at 104 degrees with no water or food, and one above the Arctic
circle barefoot. He has shown no response to an injected (dead) bacteria toxin that should have made him very sick in a
medical experiment. Now he is teaching others how to do it, and it only takes one minute a day
& people get big benefits.
In this link is an explanation of how to do this his way, which includes meditation, a breathing
method, and cold exposure:
http://highexistence.com/the-wim-hof-method-revealed-how-to-consciously-control-your-immune
-system/
Here is the simplified one minute a day version-
If you have a heart or lung condition ask your doctor if fast breathing & holding your (non) breath is ok for you. If you are sick you can wait until healthy before starting. Wim Hof wisely recommends only doing this from a secure sitting position for safety and NEVER around water because people can become dizzy & (rarely) pass out.
What I found important is heavy breathing for oxygenation for 30 deep breaths/30-60 seconds, then breathing out completely & holding the nonbreath (empty lungs) until my body makes me take a breath, as long as possible.
Wim Hof recommends exercising during the breath holding like pushups or some other exercise on the ground to avoid falling. Wim Hof has people do this up to seven times a day, but once a day is fine for the long run. After I did this once for one minute I was able to be comfortable in my apartment at three degrees colder than ever before for a full day (57 degrees). After 7 times I was comfortable lower than the thermostat measured. Every time I do this I am able to experience greater & greater amounts of cold. Wif Hof recommends testing ourselves with cold showers or ice buckets, but I have seen all the benefits without.
Cold exposure
After the seven cycles of WHbm, he has everyone go into cold/icy water or outside into the winter cold.
The benefits of the cold exposure after doing seven repetitions are the knowledge that we can endure much greater cold & it feels really good rather than painful. It provides a rush of sensation & pleasure that may mimic some of the benefit of outdoor adventures. I have tested myself by being very comfortable in my apartment in the low 50s for hours as long as I start off with seven & then do one an hour. Most people don’t like the cold an it is not necessary to do a cold exposure to get the other benefits. But when they do the WHbm when cold they will get the benefits of being much less cold & finding it pleasurable after the third or fourth repetition.
The first time we do WHbm in a day holding our breath distracts us from the cold. But by the third time, cold sensation goes from painful to pleasurable. After doing it once a day for a couple months, one a super freezing day on my motor scooter I was able to ride for 15 min in a -55 F wind chill without my hands & feet getting too cold. When I went outside into the -5 F cold I let all the air out of my lungs & held my empty breath, then took off on the scooter. After I could no longer hold it I waited a minute then did it again for seven times total. I was amazed that riding at 45mph in -5 F for 15 min (-55 F wind chill) that I didn’t get cold with just normal winter gear on, especially my fingers & toes.
Very short version-
There are benefits to the 30 deep breaths. But if already out in the cold, breathing hard & deep can cause a cold. So just breathing out until almost all the air is out of the lungs until we can’t hold it any longer then breathing in once & holding for 15 seconds is a lot faster & still brings on the immunity to cold. Then when we can’t hold it any longer take a first breath & hold again for 15 seconds. Repeating just the “empty breath” is a lot faster to seven repetitions. But because there is such a great benefit to the thirty deep breaths, it is likely better to do that for the first round then go outside & do the exhalation holds only.
Improved mood & reduced anxiety
After three or more repetitions the cold exposure becomes pleasurable. Also after just 30 deep breaths, people often feel an elevated mood. One practice is to increase the 30 deep breaths by five breaths every day as stamina build up. Holotropic breathwork is simply continued deep breathing and has been found to give the pleasurable benefits of microdosing & after longer deep breathing sessions people can have a full “trip” experience while breathing deeply without physiological withdrawals the next day nor negative psychological effects. It is the way to bring on an often transcendental & permanently life affirming & mood elevating experience in a neurologically balanced way using the brain & body’s own DMT.
Conscious control of cold & heat
Wim Hof suggests paying attention to how the body feels & consciously giving energy to different parts, especially if they are cold. This is supposed to give conscious control of our body temperature. After doing the short version of WHbm I did this in a sauna when too hot to stay in & thought about being cool inside & I was soon comfortable enough to stay another 40 minutes (with some more repetitions of the short version). Meditating seems to improve the conscious control of body temperature. I’ve also done this when out in the cold & it works just as well. It may also be useful to breath out & hold an empty breath once or twice whenever feeling too cold, hot, or stressed in order to get immediate relief as well as the long term benefit. Holding (empty) breath after an exhale is also supposed to help cramping when exercising.
Improved energy & athletic performance
Something I notice when exercising while holding my breath- after a few months of doing WHbm once a day, I could do my high intensity exercises twice as long as before during the WHbm. I don’t breathe nearly as hard when exercising anymore. The WHbm apparently increases anaerobic energy.
Control of stress
I and others have found that our stress levels have gone down measurably since doing the breathing exercise once a day.
discovermagazine.com/health/can-breathing-like-wim-hof-make-us-superhuman
Autoimmune responses
Wim Hof & the people he trains have been able to stop reactions to inert buy toxic bacteria that should have made
them very sick (by body response) in an experiment after just 90 repetitions. That’s three months when doing it once a day. It appears that their bodies are shutting down the overactive immune response to the bacterial infection. Other people have noted their autoimmune disorders (like rheumatoid arthritis) being helped greatly by the breathing method. I have found if I go out without a coat & get too much cold exposure I can avoid catching a sore throat by doing the Wim Hof method- it also warms me up.
http://www.paddisonprogram.com/wim-hof-reversing-autoimmune-diseases/
http://www.medicaldaily.com/natural-inflammation-treatment-breathing-exercises-and-ice-baths-
may-quell-immune-337890
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26102-three-ways-the-iceman-controls-his-immune-syst
em/
http://www.livingflow.net/influence-immune-system-at-will/
http://www.livingflow.net/wim-hof-method-autoimmune-disease-rheumatoid-arthritis/
Conscious control over internal temperature
What Wim Hof’s suggestion of the extreme cold exposure (explained in the link) coupled with meditating on being warm appears to do is give conscious control over body temperature, especially with practice. We can all use this when we are in a situation we feel cold in.
Addiction
For people who have a drug addiction, outdoor adventures are often effective in replacing the rush of the drug with the rush of sensation of nature & physical exertion. The WHbm provides that at home with the deep breaths high & cold exposure & also increases energy, pleasure at heat or cold exposure, & lower stress- all beneficial to people in recovery.
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Migraines
Here’s how the method may help prevent migraines. Included is also the most effective way to treat migraines I’ve ever seen so far (cold pack on neck, feet in hot water).
http://3dayheadachecure.com/blog/can-the-iceman-freeze-migraines-forever/
http://3dayheadachecure.com/blog/10-reasons-why-the-wim-hof-method-freezes-migraines/
https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/3s7jwb/hyperventilation_migraine_stopped_in_its_
tracks/
verywellhealth.com/wim-hof-breathing-exercise-5498738
wimhofmethod.com/science
