I don’t think I’d have tried Guided Wim Hof Breathing if I hadn’t been watching TV.
I hadn’t meant to, but I got a bit suckered into the BBC reality show, Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof, which had been shown earlier in the year. In case you missed it, it saw a group of celebrities taking on some daring adventures in extremely cold temperatures, all whilst being guided by Wim Hof.
Who Is Wim Hof?
Also known as The Iceman, Wim Hof is probably best described as extraordinary, and very, very, cool.
He’s got a whopping 21 Guinness world records, a majority of them involving extreme cold. One of them is running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle, barefoot and only wearing shorts. I’d been running in the Arctic Circle earlier in the year. Not quite as high above the circle as him, not quite as far, and definitely with trainers firmly on my feet!
He is an extreme athlete and a motivational speaker – sharing how he has trained himself to become capable of such amazing feats of endurance. He’s also helping others to recognise their strength within. The Wim Hof Method is followed by thousands of people and includes his Guided Breathing technique.
Freeze The Fear
The TV show was the first time I had heard of Wim. I was fascinated with how he used breathing and cold therapy to focus the mind and overcome challenges.
As often happens with TV shows, I was chatting about it with someone. They shared that they’d been following the Wim Hof breathing technique and were finding it very beneficial.
With only two more days until the end of the year, I still needed to complete another fifteen activities to reach my goal of trying fifty-two new things. I decided to look into it.
The Wim Hof Guided Breathing Exercises
The breathing exercises are just one of the three pillars that make up the Wim Hof Method. These breath exercises alone are reported to have a huge host of benefits, claiming to help release your inner fire.
Physiological responses can be impacted through this regular practice. It means you should feel more in control and resilient towards everyday stress. It’s also a great way to stir up some energy. I was curious as to how I would find the practice.
Taking A Deep Breath
The video was really easy to follow, as Wim Hof masterfully guided the practice with a kind voice of authority.
There were three rounds. Each round consisted of following the pace of the animated bubble on the screen to swiftly breathe fully in and breathe fully out.
After repeating the circular breath for a count of thirty, there was a full breath in, followed by a release which we held for at least one minute. Once the timer had counted down, we took a recovery breath before beginning with the next round.
A Breath Of Fresh Air
I couldn’t quite hold for the full time on the final round. It was a bit frustrating, but I’m sure with practice I would get there.
I wasn’t sure whether I would feel much on a first attempt. However, there was definitely a sense of increased energy, and a feeling of being more awake than I had done before I started.
It’s something I can see myself doing again. At only 11 minutes, there’s no reason to not find time in the day to complete the exercises, and I’m definitely interested to find out the impact it could have.
Want To Try It Yourself?
The guided breathing video that I tried was only 11 minutes long, so hopefully it should be fairly easy to carve out time to try.
Take a look at the Wim Hof Method website for details of the free app, and full information about the whole Wim Hof Method.
Cost Of Experience
This was free to try.
Recommendations
- Find somewhere you can relax. It doesn’t need to be a completely zen space, but somewhere you can either sit or lie comfortably.
- Remove distractions. Switch off alerts on devices.
Pay attention to the disclaimer beneath the video.
Don’t worry if you can’t follow the timings exactly. This is something that can increase gradually with practice.