Week 2 - Day 1

So this week the practice becomes a bit more intense with more exercises. Also you are supposed to START with a cold shower, have a hot shower, and end with a cold shower.

Times 1:30, 2:15, 3;00.

I'm laying down during my breathing and I'm noticing because of my tight chest and back from jiu jitsu I'm not able to take a whole lot of air in, or at least not as much as I would like. This makes me want to get into a decent yoga practice.

I'm also wondering how not having the best hydration, being caffeinated, and doing the practice at night after jiu jitsu is playing into my results.

Starting with the cold shower was daunting. It was like I was starting all over again.

I had to stand and focus on the shower. Every so often I would stick my hand in and think "God, I am STARTING to take a shower that is THIS cold?"

I got it done though.

When finishing with the cold shower, it's nothing. It doesn't even really affect me which is interesting considering how much trouble I had with it originally.

Week 1 - Day 8

Since I missed the cold shower one day I decided to stay another day on week one.

Times: 1:30, 2:20, 2:20

The interesting thing is that the cold shower is getting easier and easier, and when the cold water hits me, I can feel my core immediately closing off to help store the energy in my body. Fascinating stuff.

I'm also feeling myself getting much more flexible in the stretches given.

Week 1 - Day 7

I decided to take it a bit easier on myself by being more 'natural' during the breathing.

I would breathe in slower instead of forcing it in. In the days before I was going decently fast and filling my lungs to 100% capacity. I believe this was causing discomfort to my chest, throat and abdomen.

This time I was laying down, knees up, and I took an extra second to breathe in, compensated by taking more breaths, and filled my lungs to 95%? capacity.

My times were 1:45, 2:35, 2:30. It felt a lot more relaxing, natural, and in the flow of things. It felt much better.

I am definitely getting more flexible in my legs which is great.

Afterwards I had my cold shower and what I am enjoying is that it is less and less of a shock. It almost doesn't even register now. The back is a bit uncomfortable but it is getting easier and easier.

I felt really good afterwards.

I had a look at what next week has in store for me and it seems like quite the upgrade. I think I'll do this one more day before I head into the 'week 2' practice.

Week 1 - Day 6

I ended up going out to eat after training today and didn’t get around to doing my breathing exercises until 11pm. Not a good time to trying to focus and re-energize. I really need to switch over to a morning practice which would require getting up early, which I'm terrible at.

I went to the doctor for something unrelated earlier in the day (or maybe it is related?) and when checking my throat, asked me if I was feeling sick because it was very inflamed.

When I laid down to do my breathing with my head was pounding. Back too tight, too much coffee, not enough water. I get like this probably once a month due issues with poor posture and training.

After every round I felt as if I was getting sicker and sicker, my throat and nose closing. 1:30, 2:35, 2:30.

It felt exhausting to continue.

I decided to forgo the cold shower, took an Aleve, had a warm shower and went to bed.

I asked the Wim Hof group online about how I was feeling (Nose and throat closing) and they again said it’s very normal for people to get sick in the beginning of the practice. In addition, they added that if I didn’t feel up to it, to stop the cold showers until I felt better.

Week 1 - Day 5

Today was the most intense experience thus far.

I played some music during the breaths and stretching because I found that I was taking things a bit too seriously and was losing out on it being fun and relaxing. Plus I don't want to be trying to 'force' things to happen.

This time I decided to do all of the rounds laying down and hit times of 1:50, 2:31, and 2:36. The experience was much the same as before, except this time I had tingling in my thighs, hands, wrists, forearms, and chest. I was going to go try for a 4th round, but I felt so fully charged or energized afterwards that it didn't feel worth it.

I felt a bit twitchy, high, and it was difficult to write things down. I did the suggested stretching and added a few of my own. Much to my surprise certain parts of my body were able to stretch further than they have for a few years now. During the stretching and afterwards I definitely felt more high/energized/high than I ever have before.

Still floating around, I went into the shower and when the cold hit me the reaction wasn't as strong. In a matter of seconds this time the cold turned to warmth and after a bit of adjustment I was able to put my entire back in the cold shower as I kept my breathing in check.

While in the shower the experience felt amazing and I kept feeling higher and higher, almost like I was on methamphetamine's or ecstasy/MDMA. The more I covered my entire body with the cold shower, the more intense it would get.

It continued to get more intense and my vision started to vibrate and while it was bliss, it felt like there was no limit to how high I would get. I still have a fear I may faint and hurt myself, so I ended the shower after a few minutes.

Week 1 - Day 4

Today I noticed that my throat was very swollen and it was difficult to swallow. I wasn't sure what it was really. I thought I might be getting sick but I'm showing no other signs of illness. I remembered during the first 3 days of practice when I inhaled I did so forcefully and my throat would burn on every in breath. I wondered if somehow I caused inflammation in my throat this way or if this is my immune system starting to decline due to the changes in my body. I have noticed I need a LOT more water than normal.

Later I ate and drank a lot of water and it mostly went away.

So far during the practice I have been sitting down with my back supported instead of laying down. On my third round, a bit concerned that my times were lower today (something Wim assures you is OK) I decided to lay down to see if that would help.

Times were 1:30, 1:54, 2:35.

While I'm retaining and later when I take that final in breath to end the round, I'm closing my eyes and focusing on the energy that is inside of my body. To my surprise, my awareness is able to manipulate that energy a bit. I believe this is the beginning of something great.

My ears began ringing lightly in the first round and continued to intensify as I continued into the later rounds. I found while focusing my awareness, I was able to control how much ringing was going on by focusing on my head to intensify it, or moving my awareness down towards my stomach would make it go away.

It was an interesting experience and from the hints I'm getting from other people a bit further ahead of me in the program, I believe this plays a big part in the upcoming weeks.

When I did the stretching afterwards my chest hurt during my in breath, but I believed it to be from tight muscles from yesterdays training.

After everything was finished, I felt extremely light and high which lasted longer than the previous times. I think I felt this way for a good 10-15 minutes.

Later I had my shower and felt in the zone as opposed to preoccupied with anxiety surrounding the cold water to come. I focused, shut off the hot and stood there waited for it to hit me. It's REALLY cold, too. I would be curious to see what a thermometer would read it as.

It still sucked, but this time I was able to take a lot more and played around with holding my breath while in the water. I put a good majority of it on my back but I don't think I'm at a point yet in my concentration where I could withstand turning my back completely to the cold water instead of doing half and half. I have had ice baths before after training to improve recovery time, and yet something about the way the water hits you in a shower feels different (worse) than submerging into a bath tub.

I am already very excited to check out what week two has to offer me. I have stopped my regular meditation practice during this time and I think I need to make more of an effort to resume it as I have a strong desire for going deeper inside myself.

Week 1 - Day 3

I feel great today.

I did the daily practice again. Times were 1:45, 2:01, 2:09.

On the last round my eyes were closed, the tingling in my body intensified, my ears started to ring and I saw a bit of a white light. I tried to focus on it, but it quickly went away.

Afterwards I tried to start my cold shower with my back facing it. The water was just too cold for me to be mentally stable enough to start on my back. I jumped out after a few seconds, and restarted it chest first.

I felt fairly disappointed, and want to challenge myself by on making sure my entire back is covered the next go around tomorrow.

Week 1 - Day 2

I started with the breathing exercises using both my mouth and nose to take in as much air as possible and was able to hold my breath longer. 2:01, 2:03, 2:05. I had a bit of anxiety when experiencing lightheadedness and my ears ringing, but I am growing to appreciate it as my body changing rather than something to fear.

This time I have been closing my eyes during the process to witness how my body is utilizing the extra oxygen and the energy that is surging through my body rather than sitting with my eyes open wondering if I am going to pass out. This proved to be a very calm and present experience.

I felt tingling through out my entire body, ringing in my ears, and after I felt amazing.

I went and had my warm shower and approached it as if I was waiting in a dentists office. I knew the cold was coming and I was not at all looking forward to it. I started my warm shower and after I was finished, tried to delay the inevitable. Eventually I came to terms with what was to come, focused myself, then shut off the hot and braced for impact.

It's terrible. I doubt it gets any better. I start with pointing the shower at my chest and once that becomes not such a shock, start moving it onto my shoulders and a bit on my back. After about 45 seconds I got out and felt amazing, present, and alive. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Since I tend to have a bit of free time on my hands, I asked the WHM community if I could do the lesson more than once a day.

To my surprise, a member told me that I shouldn't rush it and just practice once a day because I could risk 'getting sick'. I asked what he meant by that, and was surprised by the answer. Here's the direct copy/paste of the reply I received from a few members.

"it is (getting sick)something many of us experience around week 2-3... feels like a common cold. the second time i got asthma like symptoms, the third time all went well so dont worry"

In reply to that comment...

"I think what you might be experiencing is something the Buteyko method calls a "cleansing reaction" to your new breathing techniques. Here is an excerpt that explains it a little bit: "...The cleansing reactions are actually quite simple. Deep breathing disrupts the metabolic process in the cells, starving them of oxygen. The body then excretes beneficial salts - sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus - as it compensates for the increasingly alkaline environment. You’ll know how that movement towards alkalinity occurs, I’m sure.” The Doctor wrote down the chemical formula on a piece of paper and moved it over to Natalya. “Carbon dioxide dissolved in water is exactly the same thing as carbolic acid.” He jabbed a finger at the formula he had written. “And since deep breathing brings about a deficiency of carbon dioxide in the body, the inner environment naturally becomes more alkaline. Deep breathing distorts immune reactions since it leads to an accumulation in the body of partially oxidized metabolic compounds that cause allergic reactions when they come into contact with external allergens. When deep breathing is eliminated using the Method, the metabolic processes are normalized. The excretory organs work more efficiently, and that’s what leads to the body cleansing itself. In the majority of patients, cleansing reactions are observed through all possible channels: salivation increases, as does lachrymation and sweating; people experience head colds, the elimination of phlegm and so on. It’s a very beneficial process. But unfortunately it can be a bit painful. It’s actually like the patient’s illness re-run backwards."

After which I was told to make sure to drink lots of water.

Week 1 - Day 1

Let me just say that after reviewing the introduction information that Wim provides, I am glad that I decided to actually purchase the subscription for his site. He provides quite a bit of detail that is not necessarily addressed in any information I could find on-line.

It took me the better part of two hours to digest all of the information from cold showers (why, how), mental training, the breathing exercises (why, how) and stretching, or as he calls it 'winter yoga' (why, how).

Out of Respect for Wim, I won't divulge too many details about the system or what the first week of practice involves, but it is reassuring to have a program to follow.

The first day of the actual training I was able to hold my breath for 1:25, 1:30, 1:45.

Afterwards I felt great and finished with a cold shower. I was able to stand being in the cold shower for about 30 seconds before I called it a day.

Introduction

Hello Earthlings.

I have decided to create a blog to track my progress with the 'Wim Hof Method'.

For anyone that doesn't know or can't find the time to watch the Vice documentary on him, Wim Hof has been able to accomplish amazing tasks that science believed was impossible for the human body to endure. Just a few of his feats include setting a world record by staying up to his neck in ice for two hours with no change in his core body temperature, climbing mount Everest in just boots and shorts, and running a half marathon in the desert with no water and no change to his core body temperature.

Wim has also shown the ability to suppress his immune system when studied by scientists following an injection that should have made him violently ill. He later went on to prove that he can train people to do the same not only in this experiment, but also by leading group expeditions to the top of mountains in just their boots and shorts after four days of training.

Over the last four years I have had experience with different types of meditation and altered states of consciousness which tuned me into a different way of seeing the world. I like to believe I have become a much better person following these experiences, and after watching Vice's documentary on Wim, I was intrigued and inspired.

However life continued to go by and Wim's story was soon forgotten as I was just not at a place in my life at that time to venture back inside myself. I was busy being busy and couldn't justify spending $200 to purchase his information.

Near the end of September I started getting back into a daily meditation practice and I heard that Wim was going to be on the Joe Rogan Podcast. I was excited and spent the next day (im)patiently waiting for it to be uploaded to YouTube. I found myself once again captivated by Wim's story and charisma, and was at a point in my life where I was open and willing to experiment.

The following day I read and watched everything I could on Wim hoping to somehow learn his method for free. While I do think that a man's life's work, especially with the implications Wim is proving in science, is worth much more than what he is asking for it, I wanted it easy.

I gathered what I could and that night sat down and performed Wim's breathing method. On the first 'round' the lightheadedness made me very anxious and my entire body was heating up and sweating. The second round proved more intense, my entire body was tingling and it was as if I could feel my entire nervous system.

I had no sort of strategy on how many times I should be doing the exercises, and after every round since this is a new practice I was afraid I might pass out from lack of oxygen. On the last round my ears started ringing extremely loud and it was a bit scary for me because any time in my life that my ears have rang in such a way, it was during a negative experience.

The ringing subsided after a few minutes and afterwards I had a warm shower and when I thought I was ready, I cut the hot water completely and waited for the cold to hit me.

The cold water made me gasp and I started hyperventilating, choking, and didn't last longer than a few seconds. I knew that this wasn't going to be easy on my own, especially since all my life I have done whatever it has taken to avoid the cold.

That night I joined Wim's facebook group to ask about the buzzing in my ears and to my relief everyone said it was completely normal with one member noting it was due to increased adrenaline.

The next day I danced back and forth with the decision of subscribing to his pay service, and after searching online I was able to find a 25% off coupon. I started thinking about how I have easily spent hundreds of dollars on things that have added little to my life and thought about how much this could do for me, especially in terms of improving my athletic performance and having better control on my mind. Finally I subscribed in fear the coupon might disappear.

The practice starts tomorrow and I am excited to have something new to partake in.