Embracing the Cold
We’ve recently had several weeks of extremely cold weather in the UK. It’s certainly been a lot colder than last winter and there has been a decent amount of snow. I absolutely love snow so have been very excited by this! There’s something magical about the way everything looks under a white blanket. Anyway, the icy weather couldn’t have come at a better time… I had just finished reading Wim Hof’s latest book The Wim Hof Method and I was desperate to put his ideas into practice.
Wim Hof is an incredible human being with multiple world records to his name. From extreme cold exposure to high altitude climbing without clothes, Wim continually rewrites what’s possible. His way of enduring the cold and performing unbelievably well in extreme conditions is down to his “method”. The Wim Hof Method essentially combines cold exposure and breathing exercises. By exposing your body to the cold regularly, it will become more resilient to temperature variation. There’s also loads of science behind why this practice is good for you and Wim does a great job of explaining this in his book.
The breathing exercises are done to help oxygenate the body, relax the mind and boost the immune system. After a few rounds of these exercises, it’s amazing how long you can hold your breath for. I managed to clock a 3 minute 50 second breath hold after a few rounds and I was absolutely stunned by this. You also feel extremely relaxed afterwards and it’s a great way to start the day.
There are many reasons why Wim’s method has gained popularity but a long list of health benefits that include improved circulation, reduced stress and an ability to fight off toxins are likely the cause of much interest from the general public and the scientific community alike. Wim has achieved some amazing results and textbooks have literally been rewritten because of his achievements.
For me, I’m particularly interested in the mindset side of things. Watching Wim spend hours encased in ice without his core temperature dropping is inspiring. I’ve had ice baths and know how intense the pain can be. To be able to spend such a long time in the ice is truly incredible. So, when the forecast indicated that a cold front would be moving across the UK, I got very excited. The cold weather provided me with the perfect opportunity to test myself and see if I could put Wim’s philosophy into practice.
I started with Snowga in my garden. Snowga is a mix of snow and Yoga. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Yoga in the snow. The less clothes you wear, the better. I decided to spare my neighbours so kept my boxers on. I’m convinced that they think I’m crazy. Doing Yoga in the snow only in my boxers on one of the coldest days of the year… Yup, that’ll probably convince them. To be fair, they witnessed me running a marathon in my garden last year so they shouldn’t be surprised by me these days!
The interesting thing about Snowga is that although the cold is numbing, it’s a very invigorating experience. Having the snow under your bare skin and focusing on breathing through the pain feels very primal. It feels like you are connecting with nature. It’s powerful stuff. I finished off the session with a cold shower and a cup of tea. I actually haven’t had a warm shower this year. Viva La Cold!
I continued to test myself during the cold front by running in sub-zero temperatures wearing very few clothes. One run was so brutally cold that I could feel all of my energy drain away after only 20 minutes. Everywhere was covered with ice and the wind chill was savage. This was one of my tougher cold exposure experiences.
Long cold baths have also been on the menu. I need to get a thermometer to find out the water temperature but it’s been insanely cold recently. The water in my house has been so arctic that the cold baths have felt more like ice baths. Staying in for as long as possible and focusing on my breath has helped me to clock longer times than I’ve been able to achieve in the past. My next challenge will be to start timing ice baths… I’m sure there will be a blog post on this in the future.
I’ve been a huge fan of cold showers and wild swimming for a very long time but I’m keen to start pushing myself further and Wim’s book coupled with some freezing conditions in the UK has definitely inspired me to challenge myself with the cold even further. I’ve felt great from this whole experience and have looked at this spell of cold weather as a blessing.
“If we always choose comfort, we never learn the deepest capabilities of our mind or body. ”