I have read a few books on this topic, and they all sounded great. When I tried putting them into practice, they just didn’t quite click for me.
I tried focusing to relax.
I tried deep breathing to relax.
Nothing quite fit for me.
Until Wim Hof.
The Wim Hof Method seems more about control of my breath, not necessarily about relaxing. Control seems to help me relax.
An easy example is when I do any ice bath or shower work, or when I am in a sauna, then go into an ice shower, then back and forth for awhile.
I go into the ice shower controlling my breath. Slow, controlled inhale, then slow, controlled exhale. When my breath is slow and controlled, the ice shower doesn’t ‘shock’ me like one would expect.
My muscles don’t tighten up at all. I don’t lock up and try to squeeze myself into a ball when the cold water hits me.
I am relaxed.
So now, with the Wim Hof Method breathing exercise, this is taking breath work and controlled breathing into an entirely new realm.
What I do is inhale fully, then let the air out naturally, 30 times. As I get closer to the 30 I notice that I am increasing speed of my inhale, where the air comes in quicker and fuller. When I reach the 30th breath, this is where the fun starts.
On the 30th, I exhale fully, and push out just a little more air to make certain there is as little air in me as possible. Then I hold for 90 seconds.
Surprisingly, this is easier than it seems, when I can get out of my mind. When I can be at peace and
