Wintertime - the days are short, the sun only shines sporadically and only when we can't get out because we are pursuing our work. In addition, we try to keep the cold away from us with thicker and thicker gloves and jackets. No wonder some winter depression can already arise there. A year ago, I was no different. In the wintertime I felt matted and tired, and I didn't want to move at all. By chance I discovered the Wim Hof Method (WHM) and my attitude towards the cold changed from the ground up. In this article I report on my experiences with the WHM. Maybe after that, you'll start drawing strength from the cold too.
Hiking, just a little different
Hiking is a hobby that I generally persue in winter as well. Today, however, I'm doing things a little different. Oncoming hikers look at me mostly irritated and sometimes amused. My girlfriend, who walks beside me, obviously can't really decide on whether she should dial the number of a closed institution. A man finally addresses me:
"Very ambitious outfit you are wearing!"
My outfit includes hiking boots, knee-length stockings, a pair of cargo pants and ends abruptly above the beltline. With my upper body free, I hike at -2 °C through the slightly snow-covered Saxonian Switzerland. Of course I have some outer garments with me - I intentionally expose myself to the cold for several hours.
But why all of that?
The question why I do this is quite justified, since every child knows that one gets sick when beeing cold - or do you? Wim Hof has a completely different view. He himself regularly exposes his body to the cold and holds several records sustaining the cold. He remained in a container filled with ice cubes for almost two hours and dived a distance of 100 m under the polar ice (source). For him, the cold is not hostile - rather he views it as a source of energy. Because when we freeze, our body starts releasing endorphins. In his opinion, the fact that today we no longer have to freeze or even get cold is responsible for winter depressions. Not only sour, but cold is fun too.
Self-testig
Granted: When I first heard about this, I was very sceptical about the whole thing. I had already heard a lot about Wim Hof and knew what he could achieve with his body, but I couldn't believe that I should be able to do the same. Leaving the sauna I always took a cold shower and was happy to roll through the snow, but that was different. A little bit of breathing, a little bit of yoga, and there is no longer an issue with the cold? Luckily there was a video on Youtube where I could experience Wim's breathing method firsthand.
Breathing in! Let go!
A tingling sensation troughout my whole body, a hissing in my ears and an alertness that I hadn't experienced in a long time rewarded me. I felt really good after only 10 minutes of breathing. Now I have to say that I had to struggle very often with sluggishness and lack of energy. It often felt like I was spending my life in a bell that shielded me from the outside world. 10 minutes of breathing swept away this bell and I was master of my actions again.
Therefore I decided to buy the 10 weeks course on Wim's website. With 199$ it's not exactly cheap, but after my experiences with the breathing method I saw the value of it. The video course includes a video for each week in which Wim explains the program for the new week. In addition, there are some short videos in which he explains his breathing exercise and gives some tips for taking cold showers.
Have mental focus! I'm not there and there with my mind - I'm right over here!
What Wim addresses here is the key to controlling the body's reactions to the cold. Part of the method involves conditioning the blood vessels so that they are able to stop blood flow quickly and prevent the body from cooling down. But the majority depends on focus. Often I noticed that my mind was scattered all over the place and I thought of so many things at once, instead of concentrating on the one task I was facing.
In the beginning of course you go from the warm to the cold.
Wim really knows how to apply the "salami tactics" troughout his 10 weeks course to initiate the development. Taking a warm shower as long as I want, and showering 30 seconds cold in the end is ok. I'm up to that! Progressively, the duration increases and cold showers have become a habit of mine. I control my body by breathing which I have practiced countless times in the breathing exercise.
Back to Hiking
It's not like I'm not feeling the cold on my skin - it is much more strenuous than doing the same hike in appropriate clothing. However, by breathing I control my body reactions and keep the focus - the cold doesn't bother me. About 3.5 hours now I am already hiking through the winter landscape and it works perfectly fine. I am incredibly proud that I have actually managed to hold out for so long. Meanwhile we are back on the descent. The path is dangerous, to the left it drops steeply downhill. I have to focus on not falling off and all of a sudden I start to freeze. Under these conditions I can't keep the focus on breathing and the cold is getting through again. After about 4 hours I put on my fleece jacket to finish the hike safely.
Some Thoughts
With this article I don't want to incite anyone to just go out and hike in winter temperatures. For heaven's sake, I beseech you not to do this. As I have described, it didn't fully work out for me either and I had to put on some clothes for the descent. I know my body well and can estimate when it is no longer bearable. Make these experiences in a safe environment, perhaps near your home, or start in the sauna. The best and safest way is to check out the breathing-video and then test how it feels finishing a warm shower with a cold one. Maybe you will get the taste and start to draw strength from the cold and enjoy the cold winter days.
~ohrpheus