Wim Hof & The Power of Breathwork

Breathing = Life

Breathing is life, prana as the yogis say, and yet so many of us do it badly.

The most common breathing pattern inhibition caused by stress, poor posture, and emotional blockages is not inhaling sufficiently, which overstimulates the sympathetic nervous system and leads to increased stress and physical and mental ill-health.

The fascinating aspect of breathing correctly is that it not only benefits your physical health but also frequently reveals many insights from the emotional body.

Breathwork, which is an umbrella name for all of the various methods of self-inquiry through the breath, has therefore grown into a separate area of self-discovery. Many breathing techniques have emerged in recent years to assist people in addressing respiratory inadequacies and the accompanying physical, mental, and emotional disorders that have been corrected in the body.

Every one of these variations uses conscious breathing to relax the mind and induce an altered state of consciousness so that constrained emotional energies can be released.

It initially appears amazing that a brief period of rapid breathing can elicit such a wide range of feelings, but when you give it some thought, it makes perfect sense. A 3D physical representation of the subatomic energy particles that make up the body, it is an energy system.

We replenish the system with new energy when we inhale, and we expel waste when we exhale. By dumping 2-3 times more fuel into the body's energy system, we momentarily introduce an unstable energy environment. Tension is the result of suppressed and retained emotions, which are energy in action. By inundating the body with breath, you weaken the ties holding old emotions in place and let potentially enormous amounts of trapped energy go.

The advantages of breathwork & breathing correctly are spiritual, mental, and physical:

Physical

• Increases oxygenation throughout the body
• Strengthens immune system
• Relieves tension and detoxify
• Greatly increases your energy
• Stimulates circulation
• Improves respiratory capacity
• Improves well-being for many conditions and ailments such as stress reduction, respiratory ailments, headaches, low energy, psychosomatic illnesses, anaerobic diseases, and many others.

Emotional

• Reduces worry, stress and anxiety
• Enhances the awareness of self-sabotaging patterns
• Relieves depressive and negative emotions
• Improves mental and emotional clarity
• Increases creativity
• Improves self-esteem
• Experience more peace, joy and compassion

Spiritual

• Allows deeper meditation and connection to your true self
• Experience greater awareness and love
• Strengthens your connection with Spirit

The most popular contemporary breathwork approach is the Wim Hof Method, popularised by the legendary cold-immersion adventurer of the same name.

In this article, I’ll talk about Wim Hof, what his is about, what you can expect, and how you can practice them safely and successfully.

Wim Hof Breathing

Named after the legendary ice cold-immersion athlete of the same name, Wim Hof breathing is an amazing blend of yogic breathing that can be combined with cold immersion to initiate major breakthroughs and insights mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Nicknamed “The Iceman”, Wim Hof got his name by breaking a number world records for cold exposure, some of is feats include

• Running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle, barefoot only wearing shorts
• Swimming underneath ice for 66 meters
• Hanging on one finger at an altitude of 2,000 meters
• Climbing the highest mountains in the world while wearing shorts
• Running a full marathon in the Namib Desert without drinking
• Standing in a container while covered in ice cubes for extended periods of time
• In total he holds some 21 Guinness World Records and is, in short, a beast.

The Wim Hof Method has three pillars, breathing, cold immersion, and commitment. In the breathing portion, a session typically goes as follows:

Controlled hyperventilation – This first phase involves 30 cycles of breathing. Each cycle you take a powerful breath in, fully filling the lungs and breathe out by passively releasing the breath, but not actively exhaling. You repeat this cycle at a steady rapid pace thirty times. This form of hyperventilation usually leads to tingling sensations or light-headedness which is fine.

Exhalation – After completing the 30 cycles of controlled hyperventilation, you take another deep breath in, and let it out completely. You then hold the breath for as long as possible.

Breath retention – When strong urges to breathe occur, take a full deep breath in. Hold the breath for around 15 – 20 seconds and let it go. The body may experience a normal head-rush sensation.

It is during the controlled hyperventilation phase that the first emotional waves and releases tend to come through (similar to holotropic). Just as in HB, you keep breathing and allowing these to surface however they need to. For me, I’ve found myself yelling as I exhale and eventually crying. For a lot of women I’ve shared the experience with, they seem to experience rebirthing trauma quite commonly, which manifests with some pretty intense emotional outpours as you might imagine!

Each whole phase might last about 15 minutes and tend to be repeated for three consecutive rounds, with a compounding effect as you can imagine. In my experience, breakthroughs happen in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

The way the breathing exercise is set up is to stimulate your nervous system and change various physiological responses. Through the process, you are voluntarily inducing a short stress response which aims to build resilience towards everyday stress, so you feel more in control mentally and physically.

With a focus on more physical and mental benefits, the Wim Hof technique is the most scientifically researched and validated of all breathwork techniques. The physical and mental benefits are well documented with Wim Hof including:

• Stress reduction
• Faster recovery from physical exertion
• Better sleep
• Improved sports performance
• Enhanced creativity
• More focus and mental clarity

Wim Hof is the easiest to learn and easiest to practice effectively alone. You can study it online through Wim’s site, check out a bunch of free YouTube videos, or attend one of many workshops taking placing year round globally.

Bonus: Go Ice Cold

For bonus points, you can go to the next level with Wim Hof and pair it with ice cold immersion through ice baths or cold showers. In recent years, cold exposure has gained serious popularity, because it is linked to numerous health benefits.

Research has shown that three minutes in a cold shower is equal to the magnetic, glandular and nervous system effects of 31 minutes of meditation. The practice also makes your skin beam like the sun, boosts your immune system, and increases your neuron velocity (makes you think quicker).

It also does two other things that are total game changers:

1) It builds your willpower and ability to overcome resistance to fear each day (trust me, you’ll never find a day where you willingly want to jump into a cold shower); and

2) It cultivates surrender to the present moment (cold showers force you to focus on your breathing and yield to the moment).

Practicing cold showers:

1) Starting 1-2 mins warm and doing your cleaning first (straight into the cold is brutal); and

2) Do Wim Hof breathing before to oxygenate yourself and then massively extend your exhales whilst in the water whilst focusing your attention ONLY on your breathing. It keeps your mind off the cold.

Try it for a week and see how you feel!