The Wim Hof Method and how it helped me.
As long as I've known I've had terrible anxiety, almost any social situation causes me great stress.
Mentally and physically. From not being able to think clearly (racing mind, to too many thoughts) to (excessive sweating) etc etc...
Many years I've spent reading up on bettering my health. From dieting, meditation, yoga, mantras... you name it.
All of them have worked, just not as quickly as I would like, change takes time of course.
But then I did find something that gave all of my hard work that extra boost. That thing that made a noticeable difference in a short time.
And that is...
The Wim Hof Method
I'll describe the Method first and then write about how it helped me.
Always do the breathing exercise in a safe environment.
Always Sit or lie in a comfortable position (do not stand, one of my first times I fell back and hit my head)
If you’re new to this exercise, it’s recommended you begin lying down (I prefer to sit).
Eyes open or closed, whatever works for you. I leave them open.Complete 30-40 power breaths
Inhale fully, through your nose or your mouth, into your belly, and chest.
Exhale through your mouth, by letting your breath go fully but not forcibly.
You may begin to feel lightheaded, tingling, or even cramping throughout the body. Elated or sad. This is completely normal,
and a sign of hypocapnia, or low carbon dioxide in the blood. It means it is working. Stay with your breathing.Hold the breath
After 30-40 rounds of breathing, empty your lungs, and hold your breath for as long as you can. Until you feel the need to gasp for air.Inhale
Once you’ve completed your breath retention, take another deep breath and hold it for 10-15 seconds, before exhaling.
You will feel here you can easily hold your breath longer, but it's unnecessary from what I've read.Repeat steps 1-4
Continue this process another three to five times, as many as you feel comfortable.Relax
Once you have completed as many rounds as you feel able, lie in a comfortable position, and relax. Bring your awareness to the body
and all of its sensations. If you are tingling or cramping or are feeling emotional, allow these sensations to pass.How The Wim Hof Method Worked for me.
I was feeling a little sickly oneday, and after watching a youtube video about this method, I just felt maybe there is something to this. So I was alone that day, I went to the backyard and just started the hard breathing, in and out... in and out. I exhaled and held my breath as long as I could. And during the first time I actually had to stop myself from laughing, just something about it makes u giggle, atleast it did me. Anyways, I had the same giggle feeling when I exhaled to hold my breath for the simple 15-20 second count. I felt okay doing only 2 sets of these during my first time. Afterwards I decided to add in Wim Hof's cold-therapy, for me it was only maybe 1 minute of a cold shower. The hard breathing was not fun at first, and the cold shower sucked. But the after effect was just awesome. It was like doing
something that seems counter-productive but then you feel so much better at the end. Like running a marathon that you can barely complete but then feeling amazing afterwards. For me it's like activating the fight or flight response before getting into a fight or flight situation. So now I'm in control of putting myself in panick mode, and I can choose how deep I want to go (more, deeper breathing, longer colder showers). I'm feeling lively now, I put my body through controlled panick. The anxiety is lessened. Depending on what you might be using it for u may need to do it more often. It's all up to what works for you. I also noticed that for instance if you have a bad habit, this also works. Just stop yourself for a second. Go wherever you need to go and just start doing the breathing exercises. You will get enough out of it, you just may by-pass an addiction. If not the first time, keep trying. Before long you'll get to your happy-place without trying.
Wim Hof is from the Netherlands and holds 21 Guinness World Records.
"All of the world's lights cannot be compared to the brightness of a single ray of your own inner light". Wim Hof - The Iceman