Title The Wim Hof Method
Author Wim Hof
Year Published 2020
Kind of Book Health/Self-help
How strongly I recommend it 4/10
My Impressions I didn't feel like there was really anything in this book that couldn't be found in a podcast interview with Wim. Plus his enthusiasm and spirit comes across much better in person (audio/video format) than writing.
Date Read Jan 2022
Practical Takeaways
Breathing
Always do these breathing exercises in a safe environment (never in an environment in which it might be dangerous to faint, like in water)
Do breathing exercises before breakfast on an empty stomach
Begin with thirty to forty deep breaths.
When you are new to the technique, breathe through the nose.With more experience, breathe in through your mouth or through your nose.
Breathe in fully and then let it go. Here comes the wave again. Follow the breath fully in, then letting go. Fully in, letting go.
follow the wave coming in onto the shore, and then let it go. The breath is as big as the ocean. Let it in fully, then let it go.
Do this thirty times or until you feel lightheaded with a tingling sensation in your arms and hands and a looseness in your body.
When you feel a real urge to breathe again, go ahead. Breathe in once, inhaling fully, and then, when your lungs are full, stop again.
don’t hold your breath so long that you pass out. Just breathe in as soon as you feel you have to.
Remember to always follow the breath as a guide and not to force it. Letting go is the key.
Go and do the breathing sequence once again. Round two. Forty breaths followed by a hold after the last exhalation
When you feel the urge to breathe again, take it all the way in and hold it for ten to fifteen seconds.
Do four rounds
STEP 1)Sit in a meditation posture, lying down, or whichever way is most comfortable for you, in a quiet and safe environment. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction.
STEP 2)Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. Be conscious about your breath and try to fully connect with it. Take thirty to forty deep breaths in through the nose or mouth. Fill up your belly, your chest, all the way up to your head.
Don’t force the exhale. Just relax and let the air out. Fully in, letting go.
STEP 3) At the end of the last breath, draw the breath in once more and fill the lungs to maximum capacity without using any force. Then relax to let the air out. Hold the breath until you feel the urge to breathe again. This is called the retention phase.
STEP 4)When you feel the urge to breathe, take one deep breath in and hold it for ten to fifteen seconds. This is called the recovery breath.
STEP 5)Let your breath go and start with a new round. Fully in, letting go. Repeat the full
cycle three to four times.
Cold Exposure
(cold showers) Start with a minute or two, tops. And then, if you wish, after the ten days — once your body has reconditioned itself —you can increase the exposure.
increase incrementally the length of our cold shower each day
Embrace the cold; let it take you to the depths of yourself.
(to help get rid of cold hands)
1)Fill a bucket with one-third ice and two-thirds water.
2)Redirect your mental focus to your hands
3)Place your hands into the ice bucket.
4)Hold your hands in the bucket fortwo minutes. At some point, they should start to feel warm instead of cold.
5)Remove your hands or feet from the ice bucket, but keep your mental focus on them. 6)Shake them out several times to encourage the blood flow into your newly awakened extremities.
Other
have a clear picture in your mind of the goal you intend to accomplish.
eat only when your body requires it as opposed to at fixed meal times
let your children climb trees
do 20mins of breathing exercises to cure hangover
If you identify any inner resistance to your intention, just keep breathing steadily until you feel an alignment between your body and mind.
During exercise breathe more than you feel you need to,
live in harmony with nature.
(To get warm) Get into a horse stance (half squat position)
Big Ideas
Clothes are partially responsible for cardiac arrest
Because
Clothes de-stimulate our vascular system
Cold Exposure is the best way towards enlightenment
The body registers cold, heat, and emotions all as being stress signals
Sometimes the connection between two people is so strong that sex (or anything else) is not needed to heighten the connection
Cold water exposure brings you to the present moment
Because
It is very difficult to focus on any thoughts while you are freezing in the water
Sharing happiness is double happiness, and sharing sorrow is half sorrow
Cold Exposure and Breathing practices over time will allow you to have a heightened sense of awareness to internal changes
Surprising Facts
Cold exposure has been practiced for thousands of years.
The strange thing about hypothermia is that you don’t want to wake up; you just want to go to sleep.
If your core temperature dips only 2 or 3 degrees below its normal state, you go into hypothermia, a hypothermic state. If it dips 3 degrees or more than that, it’s irreversible; your core body temperature spirals down, and your body is no longer able to heat up.
clothes actually de-stimulate our vascular system, the intricate system that delivers blood throughout our bodies.
When these little vascular muscles are not tuned up, not working at an optimized condition, our heart is forced to pump much more, deeper and stronger, to get the blood flow through. This puts undue stress on our heart on a chronic basis.
The more often you take cold showers and the more accustomed you get to that initial shock, the more you begin to crave the sensation.
Carbon dioxide is an acid, and the breathing causes your pH level to increase, bringing your body into a temporarily alkaline state.
Unknown Terms
Interoception:
an awareness of what’s going on within our bodies. It is what tells us when we are hungry or full, hot or cold, or when we need to use the bathroom. There is even
evidence that it might just be that infamous “sixth sense,” the “gut feeling” we know we should follow.