Wim Hof, some less savoury details

[Vajra Fist]

10 hours ago, EFreethought said:

 

Were your issues from the cold baths or from the breathing?

 

When people say "Wim Hof Method", they could be referring to the cold, the breathing, or both.

 

 

I'd say mainly the cold exposure. Feels amazing afterward, but the dry cracked and blistered skin was a significant drawback, as well as a far greater propensity for colds and flu. I was sick almost every week.

 

The breathing felt useful. I was one of the first people in the UK to get covid, much before vaccines or even testing was widespread. So it hit me like a truck. There was one point where I literally couldn't breathe if I lay down and was worried that I might suffocate in my sleep.

 

I had already stopped practicing WHM by this point, but I got up and did five rounds of the breathing. It hurt like hell, but it opened up my lungs like nothing else. Might have saved my life.

 

The breathing also feels like a jolt of adrenaline in the morning. A character in a Hunter Thompson book once said: 'Turn the music up, my heart feels like an alligator.' And this is how you feel after practice, fierce and full of vigour.

 

But from what I gather this is where it is problematic. Some qigong teaches have warned it taps in to your innate jing, burning it off for a temporary energy boost.

 

Could be just my imagination, but even after only practicing for a few years, I sometimes feel a lot older than those my own age (40), physically speaking. Back and joint pains etc. 

Edited October 16 by Vajra Fist

[EFreethought]

10 hours ago, Vajra Fist said:

 

The breathing felt useful. I was one of the first people in the UK to get covid, much before vaccines or even testing was widespread. So it hit me like a truck. There was one point where I literally couldn't breathe if I lay down and was worried that I might suffocate in my sleep.

 

I had already stopped practicing WHM by this point, but I got up and did five rounds of the breathing. It hurt like hell, but it opened up my lungs like nothing else. Might have saved my life.

 

The breathing also feels like a jolt of adrenaline in the morning. A character in a Hunter Thompson book once said: 'Turn the music up, my heart feels like an alligator.' And this is how you feel after practice, fierce and full of vigour.

 

But from what I gather this is where it is problematic. Some qigong teaches have warned it taps in to your innate jing, burning it off for a temporary energy boost.

 

Could be just my imagination, but even after only practicing for a few years, I sometimes feel a lot older than those my own age (40), physically speaking. Back and joint pains etc. 

 

I followed along a few WHM breathing videos, but I could not get past a 2:00 hold. It never got easier. I did not push the tension into my head in the 15-second hold after the main holds.

 

Now I am doing o2 and co2 tables from freediving. I breathe deeply during the breathing part, and only about 10 seconds of hyperventilation before the holds. I do feel like my baseline energy is higher, but not like the immediate boost that a lot of WHM people talk about.

 

Hopefully I am not using any core qi or jing. My instructor has said positive things about WHM and breathwork in general. But he does not think pushing the tension into the head as they do in WHM is a good idea.

 

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

11 hours ago, EFreethought said:

But he does not think pushing the tension into the head as they do in WHM is a good idea.

 

I don’t know how anyone could think that this would be a good idea 

[silent thunder]

When first encountering Wim... there was interest.  Charismatic, energetic and palpable force.

This soon dissipated, revealing what can be summed up by one word.  tension.

 

So this one moved on.