In the quest to strengthen our body and mind, we sometimes come across unconventional methods that challenge our limits. My encounter with the Wim Hof Method was one of those experiences that not only pushed me out of my comfort zone, but also helped me discover a deeper connection with myself. In this post, I want to share how breathwork and cold exposure transformed my life during the pandemic and how, in the end, they led me to an unforgettable experience at a retreat in Byron Bay. Shall we dive into this adventure of health and self-care? Join me!
It was literally 2020 and we were still in the dark about what was to come. The world was just weeks away from shutting down completely, many of us would be totally isolated from the people we loved and from our daily lives. At that time, more than ever, health was going to be the main topic in any conversation, and ways to stay strong and healthy would become a priority for everyone.
It was a time when we barely heard on the news that the Chinese were facing a so-called "Covid", but we saw it so far away that we never thought it would reach us.
A few weeks later, I was already settled in at home with my work computer on my bedroom desk, working from home for the first time in my life.
The economy crashed and I was one of the lucky few who didn't lose my job. My salary was cut in half, but along with that, the company thought it would be fair to cut my work day in half as well. So if I didn't have much to do already while stuck at home, my working hours were also reduced to just 4 hours a day. So, if there was one thing I had to spare, it was time.
I don't know if you are one of those who think that nothing happens by accident, that everything happens for a reason, but I received a little piece of information that was going to change the rest of my pandemic days.
I sat in front of the television, determined to get hooked on some series that would completely captivate me, so that I could fill my days with something that would at least distract me from the madness we were experiencing.
It was when I was browsing through Netflix that I found Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Lab series . Goop is Gwyneth Paltrow's Wellness Blog , and why not, they decided to make a 6-episode mini-series where each one talks about a trend and their team's experience making it. (The truth is that Goop is the inspiration for Root)
There's a chapter on fasting, veganism, psychedelic travel and... cold.
It was chapter 2 of this series that was going to introduce me for the first time to one of my favorite characters in the world: Wim Hof.
His physique alone invites you to trust him and want to be his friend. A nice old Dutch man, with an accent and badges, who happens to have broken I don't know how many world records and has challenged the logic of modern medicine with his famous Wim Hof Method , which consists of 3 things:
Breathwork : Breathing
Mind : Meditation
Ice baths : Exposure to cold
Please, after finishing reading this blog post , run to your TV, turn on Netflix and watch this episode. It will make you want to jump into cold water!
As soon as the episode ended, I ran to see my mom, who was going through a cancer recovery process and was totally into anything that would help her get her immune system back and make her body strong and healthy again.
—Mom, you have to see this man!—
We watched the series and, from that moment on, we downloaded the WHM app, where every day we did guided breathing and began to bathe with cold water.
After almost a year of doing her breathing exercises, I could hold my breath for almost 2 and a half minutes and take cold showers every day.
Like most people, I got COVID, but my symptoms were minimal and I recovered within a couple of days.
I felt my body healthy, awake, and energetic. I exercised with pleasure and enthusiasm. There were days when I doubled my hour of exercise because of all the positive energy I felt.
I consider myself a person with high levels of anxiety and stress, and while I followed the WHM, all my days were lived in a much better way.
We were back out into the world, lockdown and quarantine were over. The world was desperate to reconnect. Not just in running clubs , group cooking classes, exercise studios, but also in wellness .
I started to notice on my social media that they were promoting Ice Baths and Group Breathwork sessions. I totally identified with them and thought, “It’s my time to give it a serious try.” However, time kept passing and I kept seeing the ads for these workshops , but for one reason or another I never got around to joining any (everything happens for a reason).
After a few years, a new series came into my life: Limitless with Chris Hemsworth. I would tell you that just to see Chris Hemsworth shirtless for half the series is worth it, but the truth is that CH is the plus of the series, because it is full of super interesting information about all the practices you can implement in your life to promote longevity and health.
They explain perfectly the reasons why stress control through breathwork, fasting, cold exposure and a few more help keep your immune system, cells, hormones and systems strong and healthy.
The entire Limitless series was filmed in Australia, in Byron Bay.
The shots of the place, its lifestyle, the series, everything called to me, and I felt a huge desire to get to know Australia and, specifically, Byron Bay.
Time went by and I had my vision board with photos of girls who looked like me riding bikes and visiting Byron Bay cafes.
Soon after, I decided that what I wanted to do in life was to dedicate myself to wellness and become certified as a Pilates instructor.
My Instagram feed was filled with ads and reels of Pilates studios, which I followed for different routines or inspiration. One morning, the most incredible reel crossed my path: it was a yoga shala in the middle of a tropical jungle, full of Pilates reformers, and the caption read: “Byron Bay: Pilates Retreat.”
It seemed like a direct call to me, I opened the profile and followed them, while writing in my mental bucket list : "Go to the Pilates retreat in Byron Bay one day."
One morning, life gave me the opportunity to put a checkmark on my bucket list , and suddenly I was on the plane on the way to Byron Bay with my place on the Pilates Retreat paid for and reserved.
Life can be super magical if you open yourself to receive everything it has to give you.
When I arrived at the retreat and read the itinerary, I almost jumped up and down with excitement when I read: 4:00 pm - Breathwork & Ice bath .
It was MY time, at last, to try it. We arrived at the shala , where we did some movement exercises to warm up the body, and then we lay on our backs to do the Wim Hof breathing, which I knew so well.
I felt very comfortable doing them because I had been practicing them for a long time, but talking to other people at the retreat, I realized that it can be a little overwhelming to hold your breath for 1+ minute and then hyperoxygenate your body.
That's exactly what breathwork does : it fills your cells with oxygen. The more you oxygenate your cells, the stronger they become; your circulation improves and your heart stays healthy.
Also, by taking deep, rapid breaths, you put your body into shock as you cut off the air and hold your breath.
What you're doing is playing with your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
The sympathetic system is the nervous system that increases heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate, and is activated when you are in fight-or-flight mode , that is, when you are in danger. And the parasympathetic system is the one that helps you return to your normal state and counteract the adrenaline and cortisol that your body produces to react to danger.
This is super important because cortisol is not as bad as we have been told. On the contrary, activating our sympathetic system is in our nature, and we need to activate it from time to time to keep our systems active and functioning.
The problem with cortisol is when it is constantly in your body, unchecked, and at super high levels, it ends up damaging and weakening your immune system.
Ice baths not only put your body into a state of shock instantly, but through breathing and control, you learn to control your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems within the "risky" situation.
This will eventually help you to super strengthen your immune system and be able to have control over your anxiety, stress, lack of sleep, constant fatigue and even autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, etc.
After doing the breathwork , we move on to the ice bath .
I saw several people go into terror and panic when they entered the water. You saw people screaming: "No, no, no!", "I can't, goodbye!", "Get me out!", "It hurts!", without having been in the water for even 10 seconds.
I didn't know what to expect from myself.
It was my turn and I entered the 3°C freezing water up to my neck. At that moment, I felt the shock and my whole body hurt in an instant.
My breathing increased, my heart raced, and I felt the urge to panic and run away from the situation as quickly as possible.
But no, it was my time to take control of my mind and body.
I began to breathe super deep, more and more controlled and slower. My body became sleepy and relaxed. The cold and discomfort were still there, but my mind and body were focused on my breathing and the feeling of bringing peace to every inch of my being.
I closed my eyes and literally stopped listening to everything that was going on around me.
I was with myself, aware of all my systems: my mind, my heart, lungs, skin, joints, muscles. I connected completely with my ENTIRE being.
Without realizing it, they told me "3 minutes." And I was able to get out of the water, calm and unhurried.
I didn't feel cold because my whole body had no feeling; I was completely asleep from the cold.
I felt so proud of my power of control, so amazed at the connection I was able to have with every part of myself.
Maybe for other people who have already done it, it wasn't as shocking or as important, but I felt like one version of me entered that vat and a completely new one came out.
A more confident, more complete, more conscious self and, above all, a self that is more at peace and reconciled with itself.
"What a blessing this body is and all it can do, how magical to be able to be completely in sync with it," were my thoughts for the rest of the day post ice bath .
I hope that this blog post gives you the desire to try it and that when you are there, among the ice and the cold water, you remember me and open yourself to feel everything, to control your breathing and to reconnect with your mind and your body.
I wish you a magical experience.
If you have already done an ice bath or breathwork , tell us about your experience. We love to read your comments.
댓글