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feevers


Registered: 12/28/10
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WHM 1
#26949061 - 09/22/20 10:08 AM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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I first heard about Wim from a Vice documentary years ago. Essentially he's Dutch guy who has 26 different world records for some pretty extreme feats, such as time spent submerged in ice water, climbing Everest with no shirt on, running a marathon in the arctic circle in -20c temps while only wearing shorts, a marathon in the desert with no water, etc. He also participated in a study where he was injected with e. coli endotoxin, and was able to not get sick. They then repeated the experiment with a dozen or so people he trained, and they all had almost no response while the control group of untrained people all got sick.
He credits his abilities to a combination of a simple hyperventilation style breathing technique, combined with routine cold exposure. In less than 4 days he is able to train volunteers to modulate their immune response (as in the e. coli experiment) as well as climb a mountain in subzero temps in their bathing suits.
I started doing the technique a month ago, planning to give it a month and see if there were any results. I mainly started it because I had been experiencing prostatitis for a couple months, essentially needing to use the bathroom 4+ times a night and always feeling like I had to go, with some fun burning pain mixed in. There is a lot of anecdotal stories of this method being used to knock down inflammation and possibly help with autoimmune disorders, so it was worth a shot.
My routine was doing the breathing technique once a day, and twice a day on M, W, F. I would also take a shower on the coldest setting once per day, for around 5 minutes.
I enjoyed the breathing because it feels really good. On the first round of breathing my limbs typically went numb and I felt completely relaxed, by the final breath hold on the 3rd round I would have an intense head rush and feeling of pure stress-free euphoria.
My prostatitis cleared almost completely up within 2 or 3 days of starting, and is still 99% gone today. I have other issues such as nerve pain and tendonitis that are helped by the breathing technique and cold showers temporarily, but it doesn't appear to be helping those much long-term.
My sleep has improved greatly, especially with the prostatitis now being gone. It kills almost all stress for a good 20-30 minutes after finishing. My anxiety levels overall seem pretty far down throughout the day, but it hasn't 'cured' me of it. Energy levels are definitely up.
So I definitely got some benefits from this technique after following it religiously for 30 days. I don't think it's the panacea that some of it's proponents portray it as, but it does seem to have the capacity to improve quality of life greatly. I also really enjoy cold water now, where before it was one of my least favorite feelings. It's crazy seeing the body adapt over time.
Yes, you can 'trip' using the breath technique. If you do enough breaths/rounds and really force your breaths and extend your breath holds, you can float away and start having minor hallucinations. IMO it feels really hollow and totally lacks the psychedelic headspace, really short lived too for the amount of energy it takes to get there. Many people have reported lasting tinnitus after pushing it too hard, so I personally keep it minimal.
I'll put the video of the breathing technique below. You want to make sure your in-breaths are as deep as possible without tensing your body up, the out-breaths aren't as important, you're not aiming to exhale everything. On the final out-breath before the hold you can let the breath out super slowly after starting the hold. On the 15-second recover breath, make sure the breath is as deep as possible, you should feel pressure in your head and I usually get a huge head rush by round 3.
Edited by feevers (06/05/21 05:02 PM)
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The Mycologist
Explorer

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Re: The Wim Hof Method [Re: feevers]
#26949081 - 09/22/20 10:20 AM (3 years, 4 months ago) |
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Wim is great. Too bad I get migraines when I do the full breath cycle.
-------------------- "That you are here—that life exists, and identity; That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

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mongo lloyd
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Damn, what a coincidence I literally just finished WH breathing, opened Shroomery and this thread was the first recent post I find the WHM pretty good, the cold shower is nice in the morning too
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birdeatingspider
Stranger in Paradise



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Re: The Wim Hof Method [Re: feevers]
#26960197 - 09/29/20 11:49 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Finally got to reading this. While I've heard of this method, this is the first hand experience I've read.
Always thought this might be helpful- I live in an elevated state of stress, constantly unclenching my hands and catch myself chest breathing. It affects my life greatly- I have issues eating, and wake up every 2 hours or so at night, brutal social anxiety/agoraphobia. Have you noticed any impact on mental health?
I'm at a place where I'm open to trying something new. While this sounds like something that would benefit me greatly- I cannot do cold showers. Can't.
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From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
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feevers


Registered: 12/28/10
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Quote:
birdeatingspider said: Finally got to reading this. While I've heard of this method, this is the first hand experience I've read.
Always thought this might be helpful- I live in an elevated state of stress, constantly unclenching my hands and catch myself chest breathing. It affects my life greatly- I have issues eating, and wake up every 2 hours or so at night, brutal social anxiety/agoraphobia. Have you noticed any impact on mental health?
I'm at a place where I'm open to trying something new. While this sounds like something that would benefit me greatly- I cannot do cold showers. Can't.
The breathing is pretty much a fool proof way to completely change my mood, no matter how shitty I'm feeling. It gives a brief "high" followed by about a half hour of calmness. Same with cold showers if the water temperature is cold enough.
My sleep has improved greatly, and my overall stress and anxiety is down slightly throughout the day, but it's definitely not cured or anything. I developed prostatitis most likely due to stress (that's the most common cause), my body is so tense that I have lots of imbalances that are now turning into different disorders. Getting into the wim hof method, I got rid of the prostatis almost immediately.
The key for me is integrating meditation into it, during the breathing and breath hold I try to just be completely present and let any thoughts pass. On my first breath hold I do a body scan/relaxation technique, which really helps since you often tense up after the breathing part as your body starts craving air. As the breath holds go longer I start getting flooded with distracted and panic'd thoughts, but it's becoming a lot easier to let them go, which translates into daily life as well.
As far as cold showers, you'd be surprised. I have awful circulation and am hypersensitive to touch and temperature... cold was miserable for me. Now I actually crave it after working up slowly to it. I started by just doing 30 seconds of somewhat cold at the end of a hot shower, and now I don't use anything but the coldest setting. It completely clears my mind and gives a nice energy boost. Might be a different story when the winter comes, but I'm hoping to stick to it.
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mongo lloyd
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Re: The Wim Hof Method [Re: feevers] 1
#26962177 - 09/30/20 02:25 PM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
birdeatingspider said: I cannot do cold showers. Can't.
Yes you can. Believe me, cold showers are amazing. Start short and build up. Being able to withstand something that is physically quite unpleasant through pure mental effort is the best way to start the day off.
Quote:
feevers said: Might be a different story when the winter comes, but I'm hoping to stick to it.
You'll feel really warm once you get out of a cold shower in winter. Get out of a hot shower and you'll be freezing.
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birdeatingspider
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My late bff was from Poland. He used to laugh at me bitching about getting out of a nice hot shower in the winter. That's what they do there, take a hot shower but make it ice cold for a moment before getting out, it makes the temperature more tolerable. Couldn't do it then, either.
I'm more sensitive than most, and especially sensitive to the cold.
I take cold showers after working out in the summer, does that count? Speaking of, I'll be back to respond, feevers. (Almost shortened your name to fee, hahahaha)
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From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
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birdeatingspider
Stranger in Paradise



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Re: The Wim Hof Method [Re: feevers]
#26963462 - 10/01/20 08:49 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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I can follow everything you posted. Used to be real big into meditation, so familiar with techniques and those intrusive thoughts.
And your method of working up to the cold shower sounds doable. After what happened to me last night, I am starting to really believe that stress is the biggest trigger to my seizures. So I wonder if I were to try this, how it would impact my disorder, if at all. Technically, 4 months down the drain, this would be an oppurtune time to try it. Got nothing to lose.
Any resources better than others on this?
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From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
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feevers


Registered: 12/28/10
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It's worth a shot, usually the breathing takes me 10-12 minutes and the showers take 5, so it's not a bad time commitment. In terms of stress/anxiety I look at it the same way as I look at a trip. When you're high you get that clarity where you see you where you're going wrong and how you should be thinking/living, but once you come down it gradually fades away unless you put a real effort into integration. Usually I follow the breathing with a 5-minute meditation, and my day becomes much more productive or fulfilling afterwards.
As far as resources, this journal article has a lot about the different physiological aspects of it that they've measured https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034215/
There are a handful of studies on the technique now, I know he has a website that probably has links to them.
The video I put in the OP is really all there is to it, follow the bubble, fully in, then exhale but not trying to empty your lungs, you want to be breathing in more than what you breathe out. You might feel all tingly in your fingers and toes towards the end of the first round if you're doing it right, my legs went uncomfortably numb the first time I did it but it's nothing dangerous. Maybe go easy until you know it's not a seizure risk for you.
There's actually an app that might be good for you. It has a "cold shower challenge" where you commit to 15 seconds at first, then gradually work up to 2 minutes over a few weeks. It also has the breathing bubble, but it's better because you can measure your breath holds and track them over time. I tapped out at like 40 seconds when I first started, now I'm doing over 2 minutes. Once you get used to it you don't need to use the bubble, I just like the app for the tracking.
Edited by feevers (10/01/20 01:29 PM)
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birdeatingspider
Stranger in Paradise



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Re: The Wim Hof Method [Re: feevers]
#26965548 - 10/02/20 09:30 AM (3 years, 3 months ago) |
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Whoops didnt post this last night:
What you describe in the first paragraph sounds really wonderful. Like what many of us need. How long have you been using this method?
Can't believe the effort you put into your last post. You're awesome, kicking ass, as usual- I truly hope it can help others, too.
These are great resources to investigate. I do think I will end up attempting, Wim Hof sounds as would be advantageous. Seems like the attempt in itself will benefit by means of developing a healthy habit.
Does anyone want to try this with me?
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From all I may be, or have been before, To mingle with the Universe, and feel What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
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The Blind Ass
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Once staid in a rehab/detox place coming off opi’s that didn’t have heat or hot water (and it was the winter & in New York) I involuntarily began doing this method at that time, and I recall it was pretty good. Maybe I’ll give it another shot next time I take a shower.
-------------------- Give me Liberty caps -or- give me Death caps
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