Cold Showers.
If you read my last blog about the Bhastrika breath, you will know that I reference Wim Hof in that piece. Link to previous post
As I have found his guidance for the Bhastrika breath (although he doesn't call it that) so useful, I decided it was time to read one of his books. I chose The Wim Hof Method publication. Part of his method involves cold water therapy which many people already know and use. In the past I have dabbled with the cold shower thing, but dipped in and out of it, as I understandably found it pretty challenging. To be honest I'm always a bit reluctant about hopping on the band-wagon with certain things, but due to my positive experience using his guidance with the breathwork I decided to read one of his books, which then made me think I needed to give the cold water protocol another go. I now have some understanding that to become adapted to the cold water, you need to commit to 10 days of cold showers. Apparently this is when your physiology begins to change...
This time has been very different; I've consistently been doing the daily breathwork (described in my last blog), as I am noticing how it seems to have eliminated my 'faint' feelings. I think that the breathwork has also helped me with coping with the cold water. I must say, I feel it is more palatable to start this protocol in the summer, so that has helped too!
During the first cold shower, there was a lot of ooohhing and ahhhing as I watched the timer tick to one minute. It was hard, but when I got out my skin felt amazing, by day five I could breathe through the first 30 seconds without as much drama and by day ten I was doing two minutes, fairly easily. The first 30 seconds definitely feel the most challenging and there were a few days where I've almost felt like the water wasn't so cold and my brain felt very calm and in the moment. Wim says this is the power of the cold, that we can access deeper parts of our brain that we are not usually tapped into anymore, due to all our modern day comforts.
Other effects I have noticed are things I would once get overwhelmed with, are seeming to be more neutral now. Of course I still get stressed, but I feel like I have more confidence in myself to cope with them now. This could of course, be a placebo effect, but I actually started the practices before I had read much of the book, so I had a healthy dose of scepticism.
I feel that the breathwork and the cold water work wonderfully together for me. I am wondering how the cold water aspect will feel in the winter months, but by then I hope I'll be even more adpated to it, so let's see! I am currently on day 18 and feel great with the cold showers, I do a bit of a jig during the second minute - for some reason it seems to help.
I'm not of the opinion that everyone should have daily cold showers and I know for me, when I've tried it before, it wasn't the right time. But have a read of Wim's book, if you are curious, he goes into lots of details about the studies and research that has been done and his life has been an extraordinary one, so it's a great read anyway!
I must also point out that Dr Stacey Sims who is an exercise physiologist, nutrition scientist, and expert in female-specific nutrition and training for health, performance, and longevity, says that ice cold is too cold for women. 16 degrees celcius is best for the female physiology and we can still get all the positive responses from cold exposure. This is great news for me, as I don't have any desire to do ice bath plunges! She talks about this on her recent podcast with Andrew Huberman.
Contraindications.
There are some contraindications to the cold water exposure practices and for the breath practices, so please do read Wim Hof's book and follow his recommendations or work with a registered coach. Always check with your healthcare professionals too.
I'm so glad I've embarked on this journey and I know I'm a little late to the party with the cold water practice, but I honestly think the time just wasn't right for me previously. The book has given me lots of motivation and inspiration too.
Let me know if you have a cold water practice and what you think it does for you. I'm fascinated by this subject!
For more about my classes and my work, see my website Yogi Claire
