“Now, deep breath hold for two minutes- go!” ✨😮💨
The first minute is a breeze. I ease into one and a half minutes and start wiggling my toes and fingers. At one minute 45 seconds, I’m writhing around…. just 15 more seconds!
“You are almost there!”, states Wim Hof. ❤️✔️👍
“Deep breathe in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Take a deep breath and hold for 15 seconds.”
This is easy, and lovely. I breathe out and repeat the process all over again.🔥❤️
I’m listening to a Wim Hof video and he’s guiding me through my morning breathing ritual.
I’m proud to say that this exercise has become a habit. I’m pretty consistently “Wim Hof breathing” 5-6 mornings per week now. 🌅😮💨
It all started at a seminar I was attending in Colorado last October. Saturday was a long day. We started at 8 a.m. and weren’t set to be finished til after 7 that night.
We had an hour and a half lunch break, and my friend Erin and I decided to take in some sunshine and exercise. We both determined that eating a large lunch and taking a nap would result in grogginess for the rest of the day, so we opted out of that plan.☀️🍱💤
I come out of the shower to see Erin laying on the hotel room floor deeply and deliberately breathing.
“I’m Wim Hofing! Have you heard of it?” 🥰✨😊
Indeed, I had, but really didn’t know too much about it and it hadn’t quite grabbed me yet.
“On long days in the office, I usually throw on a 12-minute Wim Hof breathing video on YouTube, and it perks me right up and gets me energized for my afternoon in the office," states Erin. 🔥🧑💼
I was intrigued, but not enough to follow up.
A few weeks later I drove home for a short visit with my folks. I wake up in the morning and my mom asks, “wanna join me for some Wim Hof breathing? I have been doing it for about 6 months now and I can’t believe what a difference it’s made with my lungs.”👪🌄🧑⚕️
Ok, I don’t know about you, but when something presents itself in my world repeatedly, I pay attention. I take it as a cue, from God, from the Universe, whatever you want to call it, “Pay attention. There’s something here for you.” And if I’m smart, I listen.
As I’ve stated in previous blogs, mom used to have asthma. Anything that continues to strengthen her lungs is awesome sauce!✔️😆🍮
I joined my mom in the beginner’s video. Mom had a leg up on me as she’s been practicing this technique for 6 months. Even as a former athlete, my lung capacity was no match for my mamma’s, as I struggled to hold my breath for even 45 seconds.
After we finished the 12-minute video, we just sat in silent meditation for several minutes.🧘📹I’ve had an on-again, off-again meditation practice for the last 10 or so years. Sometimes it can take up to 20 minutes to settle my brain down just to focus on my breathe; or whatever I’m choosing to focus on for that meditation.
After my Wim Hof session with mom, I was just “there”. So peaceful, so present, just ease. Lovely. ✨💌😊
That feeling became addictive. It actually became easy to get out of bed in the morning, do my Wim Hof breathing, and afterwards go immediately into meditation.
I used to get out of bed and immediately meditate. 50% of the time I’d fall back asleep. This never happens now when I Wim Hof prior to meditation.🛏️😴🧘
I think it works for me because it gives me something to “do” before I am able to just “be”. I mean, it’s not hard. Sit on the couch and breathe. Turn on a video and breathe when Wim tells me to breathe; hold my breathe when he tells me to hold my breathe. Follow along. No discipline required.
As stated directly on his website Wimhofmethod.com, “By practicing the breathing exercises, you are releasing more energy, influencing your nervous system and changing various physiological responses.⚡✨😮💨
“You are inducing voluntarily a short stress response which ultimately will lead to more resilience towards everyday stress, mentally and physiology and feeling more in control.”
I did the beginner video for a few weeks and was impressed by how quickly my lung capacity improved.🔰❤️🩹
I decided to kick it up a notch to the intermediate video. This is the video I’m currently working with where I eventually hold my breath for two minutes.
Some days are easier than others. When the intermediate session eventually becomes easy, I’ll find a more advanced video. However, who am I really trying to impress?🏺💈🛢️
I’m really just trying a new lifehack that makes meditation effortless.
This seems to be working so far! I’ll keep you posted!👍🧨💖
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