more scientific evidence.... Wim Hof, the Iceman

Sounds reasonable to me. I'm already working on the breathing, the cold showers??? maybe tomorrow.
Lainey

 

I'm not sure if anyone knows more about the Wim Of method, or has been doing it? It seems quite simple to me, but I am about top start reading the book....

Would swimming in the river in the UK be considered as good as a cold shower...Im sure its colder than the water that comes out of the taps! I have always swum in the river since I was young and felt amazing aftrwards, and when my pain has been at its worst, the river always provided relief. It always interested me the feeling I had after swimming in such cold water, but it always wore off quickly. But then again I have done many meditation retreats and had incredible moments of peace and insight after days of silence, and then within a few hours of ending the retreat my mind and body are back to their usual states after spending some time with my computer or phone!!

Anyway, it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has used his method for some time

 

I'd say wild swimming is even better because it places us in our natural habitat (as opposed to being indoors or in cyberspace all the time). The closer we are to the elements and a natural life the better. Remember that TMS (both as a Freudian conception and a neuropsychological phenomenon) is essentially about the human cost of civilisation.

I love the Win Hof stuff. He's an artist playing with the edges and there's much knowledge to be gained in that. However dialling that back to our everyday lives the key insight for me is simply go to Nature.

I like sea swimming and feel delirious with joy after a few minutes. I feel a similar but diminished sense of this when I alternate sauna and cold shower but I'm very warm naturally and don't much care for sauna-levels of heat.

I'd be interested in thoughts and experiences of other wild swimmers.

 

Thanks Plum.

Yes I always felt a sense of being connected to everything when I swim in the river, being immersed in water and shocked into the present by the cold. There were points in my life where it was the only time I felt ok, and no matter how bad I feel if I can force myself to dive in, even if its the middle of winter, I feel ok for those moments! You cant worry about anything!

I have always wondered about the benefits of cold water, outside of my personal experience, so its interesting to see some studies on Wim Hof.

 

I know little about Wim Hof except for his wikipedia page. I do know that being in nature for me is a natural high. In my experience, being in a sauna almost requires a cold shower afterwards. I find that being in cold weather, outside, possibly in a forest for a walk offers a sense of invigoration. In today's political environment I find the need for retreat, being outside in nature, or inside in meditation, very necessary for my well-being.

 

Hi all,

I read and saw a lot of work' of Wim Hofs, he is from my country and was a lot in the News here for a while. It seems good stuff but i am not sure if its 'for everyone' the cold shower maybe but not my thing i guess..

Personally i do find a lot of benefits in doing breathing exersize that calms me down and is great when suffering from hyperventilating and in panic situations : i use a app already for many years now : it was free at the time and can be found at :
http://www.saagara.com/
Look for the breathing apps
You can practice with sound and pictures or also only with sound , that's really great! You can use it without sound when you are in a stressfull situation around people (waitingroom) or only sound : in bed eyes closed. I think its best to keep doing this daily like brushing your teeth.. and practice

 

To follow up on this thread...

A month ago I finally decided to replace the broken thermostat tap in my shower with a new one that was able to turn the water to 'really cold'. I started finishing my showers with cold water and I have to say: It is a great way to start off your day. What usually happens is that I start to breath very fast (like the hyperventilation Wim talks about), I start to feel lightheaded and occasionally I even turn cross-eyed from it. After about 30 seconds I slowly start to breath more normally and the cold starts to become more and more bearable. When I am finished it is like I am on higher energy level or something; I feel much, much fresher than I normally feel after a hot shower and this feeling will stay for a couple of hours.
I must say that I was very reluctant in the beginning to turn the tap to cold and would contemplate for minutes whether I should do it or not. Having done it for a couple of weeks I now instantly turn it down. It is like entering the sea in May; the slower you do it and the longer you wait, the harder it will be.

Just wanted to let you know... I feel it might help certain people here, especially the ones who have difficulty starting off their day.

 

You are a daredevil.. so far i have not tried that.. heavy cold .. scarry
Maybe you would also like Wim’s
10 day challenge on the App Instant Timer ?

 

I've been doing this for a week now and have to say I feel fantastic after the breathing and cold showers. Just signed up to the Online Fundamentals course as its 35% off at the moment so wanted to see what it was all about. It looks like its a 10 week course, so I'll feedback how it went after if anyone is interested.