❄️❄️Breathwork & Ice Cold Immersion!!❄️❄️
Hi Warriors, This is James Evo Head Honcho!
I wanted to write a quick review of the Wim Hoff method for anyone who is interested in boosting their energy + focus and also improving their health.
“The quality of your breath, is the quality of your life”.
Could something so simple be true?
I am a believer!
I started practising “breathwork” a couple of years ago after being recommended pranayama’s to improve meditation. I also read a book called “And Breathe” which was very interesting.
I quickly felt some pretty awesome benefits with my energy, focus and concentration…but perhaps most significantly with my all-round happiness.
You see most of us breathe way to shallow.
It’s a lot to do with our busy way of life these days, and our even busier minds!
We only breathe lightly and exhale before the oxygen can reach deep into our lungs.
This can deprive the body of oxygen and make you feel tired even when you are not doing much.
It can also lead to a stressed mind. Not breathing deeply impairs your brain function as the brain LOVES oxygen.
So if you are feeling tired, low energy and stressed.
It could be simply that you are not breathing deeply enough. I.e into the abdomen.
I enrolled in Wim Hof’s breathwork and cold immersion course after hearing some pretty awesome reviews. He has achieved some impressive feats in his life and is a really interesting guy.
“We have become alienated from nature. But the cold is capable of bringing us back to what we once had lost.
Power is within us all. Anything can be overcome by going within.” Wim Hof
A lot of fitness pros and entrepreneurs use his breathwork and cold immersion techniques.
The Winn Hof Method course claims:
⭐️ It will increase your energy and improve your immune system
⭐️ It will lower inflammation, drop your blood pressure, relive migraines and support asthma management
⭐️That it will increase your sports performance and your recovery times
⭐️It improves your mental health, relieves stress, boosts your focus and helps your deal with depression.
⭐️It will increase your happiness, creativity and help keep you more grounded
So did it work?
I have to admit after 6 weeks I can see why this is a powerful tool for people. I have felt a lot of benefits physically and mentally.
Just as a quick rundown; You complete 2-10 breathwork rounds and then if you like, you have a short meditation. You then do some sort of cold immersion which feels pretty damn good after the initial “aaargh” moment!
I have felt many positives. Some are hard to explain but its just a feeling of being more grounded and connected with my body.
✅I definitely have more energy after the breathing exercise which then carries on throughout the day. I also found myself breathing deeper in general which in makes you more present in everyday life.
✅My meditations were deeper and more insightful. The breathwork really quietens the mind and stops mental chatter. I had a lot more creativity and good ideas over the last six weeks.
✅It feels damn good! Your mood is a lot lighter and you feel more grounded through the day. There is something about the ice cold that seems to clear out any negative mental noise you have. Again, a lot of the mental benefits this come down to feeling more present and mindful.
✅My lung capacity dramatically increased. The app asks you to fully exhale and sit quietly for as long as possible. When I first started, I could last around one minute. I can now last for three minutes fifteen whilst my breath is fully exhaled!
✅I did feel an improvement in my training especially with cardio as well as seemingly recovering more quickly.
✅The course claims to improve your willpower and concentration. I also felt this in my experience. I have been less inclined to binge eat, be lazy or skip difficult tasks.
There are a few negatives:
❌ It is pretty difficult setting up a cold immersion bath and keeping both hygienic and at the optimal temperature. Probably better described as a massive pain in the arse!
I recommend starting with a cold shower to see if you like it first before investing in the full ice bath immersion.
❌The breathwork can feel a little bit like hard work some mornings. Some days you just wake up and feel like you can’t be arsed! If that happens to you, you just do a couple of rounds and go easy on yourself.
❌One day I was ultra chilled after a morning session. I then had a situation where some guy stuck his finger up at me whilst driving. I went ballistic! From Zero to Hundred in 0.1 seconds flat. I was literally ready to fight to the death over nothing. I could not work out how I went from Zen’d out yogi to potential murderer so quickly. I asked a qualified Wim Hof coach about this and he said it was common. The breathing exercise can imitate a highly intense situation to your nervous system and trigger a response. You are also clearing out old mental scars and blockages. Just becoming aware of this seemed to heal the problem. It did not happen again!
So all in all, I would highly recommend it. I bought the 10 week course but you can get a lot out of the free app and videos he puts put.
If you would like to try for free you can download the app here.
https://www.wimhofmethod.com/wim-hof-method-mobile-app
It takes you through the breathing exercise and you can also use a cold shower instead of an ice bath.
You can also find some pretty cool facts about Wim Hof here. He is a super interesting guy with some amazing stories.
https://highexistence.com/13-crazy-facts-iceman-wim-hof/
Let me know if you are going to give it a try!
P.s If you are going to get an ice bath let me know. I have some important tips about barrels after screwing up a few things! haha