Newsletter #4

Newsletter #4

Early on in my self-improvement journey, I started with the Wim Hof Method. Years prior, I had read Koud Kunstje by Wim Hof and Koen de Jong (only available in Dutch), a book about the Wim Hof Method. I think I saw an advertisement for a Wim Hof Fundamentals course in Barcelona sometime in January 2020. This brought the book back to mind, and I thought why not try it? The book mentioned some cool benefits such as mental strength and cold resistance.

All the activities during the workshop were done under the supervision of certified instructors. Do not go into a cold body of water by yourself. Always have someone nearby who can help you if something goes wrong. There have been multiple drownings, both by beginners and experienced practitioners. Holding your breath for extended periods, as well as breathwork, can be dangerous. Learn the basics from a professional and always practice in a safe and non-moving environment. This is common sense—yet we all know the saying about common sense.

I booked the one-day course. Paying for a workshop to learn something for myself was a new experience. The workshop was a great success. I got hooked on the cold. During the workshop, we got up to surviving three minutes without oxygen. One of my arms moved by itself during the meditation. It felt very strange and good at the same time. To this day, I do not know why my arm moved during the meditation. Furthermore, I saw a variety of different colors during the meditation, which I later learned is common.

The workshop concluded with an ice bath. I was the first one to go into the ice bath. I managed to stay in the icy water for four minutes. Before entering, I was a bit nervous, but this quickly subsided once I was lying in the bath. The bath didn’t feel cold at all. This blew me away I thought to myself, How is this possible? Later, I learned that you can control your nervous system to an extent and temporarily disable the sensation of pain. My skin felt cold when I came out of the bath.

When exposing yourself to the cold, you must move your body afterward in a warm environment. If this is not done, the cold can get into your bones. Your body will then warm itself by shaking. I haven’t always followed this myself. I can tell you that I’ve felt very cold and shaky even in a warm environment with warm clothes.

After the workshop, I was all fired up. The next day, I gradually introduced cold showers by reducing the hot water supply. It took me two weeks to take fully cold showers. I started doing the breathwork in the morning while lying in bed. I even had to get up earlier so I wouldn't be late for work. Already in the first water and natural gas bill, I saw that I showered for a shorter time and saved a bit of money.