A JOURNEY TOWARDS HAPPINESS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
A Twelve-Minute Routine To Boost Your Immune System and Lower Anxiety
A Coronavirus Quarantine Survival Tactic
When I first heard about Wim Hof and his “method” I was skeptical. This man claims that the trifecta of cold-exposure, breathing exercises, and meditation can strengthen your immune system, burn fat, improve heart health and many other things. I thought it was BS, but for some reason, I tried it.
After twelve minutes, I went from skeptic to believer, and if you give it a try, you will know what I mean. While there is plenty of scientific evidence for using the Wim Hof Method to improve the immune system, what I felt was something different: a complete mental reset, an overwhelming sense of peace and calm, and a complete elimination of anxiety. [FYI, I have no affiliation with Wim Hof and have received no compensation for this article. I simply believe in the method.]
I wasn’t sure if I was the only one who felt these effects, so I began to teach my friends, especially when they were in a highly emotional state. I began a habit of asking them how good they felt on a scale of 1–10 before and after the breathing exercise so that we could measure the change.
I had one friend who called in the midst of a crisis. He said that he was on the verge of suicide and I knew it was serious. We were on opposite sides of the world so we spoke over the phone for a few minutes and I talked him into trying the breathing exercises. I sent him a tutorial video and after fifteen minutes he sent me a message saying that on a scale of 1–10 he was now at a three and felt much better. Three out of ten doesn’t sound great unless you know what 1 out of 10 feels like.
I have another dear friend who suffers from clinical depression. We set up a daily call where we would do the breathing together. Each and every day, when I asked her how she felt on a scale of 1–10, her numbers were 2–4 points higher after our breathing exercise.
I have many more examples of people I have shown the method to but I won’t bore you with them. All I will say is this: In the current environment, with Coronavirus around every corner and on every webpage, I can think of nothing more useful than a tactic that improves the immune system AND alleviates anxiety.
The Method
NEVER do this while driving, near water, or while standing. This should be done in a seated or lying position in a safe environment. Passing out is possible. Here goes:
- Rate how good you feel right now from 1–10. One is the worst moment you can think of and ten is the best.
- Once seated or lying down, take a massive inhale through the mouth. Start from your belly, then fill your chest, and then fill any extra space in your throat, nasal, etc.
- Hold this breath for about a half-second. It should feel like you put the cap on a bottle that is overflowing with liquid. It is so full that some of the liquid comes out when you put the lid on.
- Now let the air out through the mouth but don’t exhale all the air in your lungs. I like to visualize a balloon that you have blown up but not tied yet. If you take your fingers off the end of the balloon, most of the air will immediately fly out but a little bit remains in the balloon. Our exhale should be like this. Just release whatever air wants to come out, but don’t force it.
- Repeat this breath cycle 30 times. You will likely feel tingly and/or lightheaded. If you feel these sensations, do not back off. Keep the intensity of your breaths or go further into the intensity.
- After 30 breaths, blow all the air out of your lungs, close your eyes, and hold your breath for as long as you can. If you are using a stopwatch, start it now.
- As you hold your breath, relax every muscle in your body as much as you can. I find it useful to focus on relaxing my jaw, throat, and chest.
- Once you need to take a breath, inhale completely (stop the stopwatch if you are using one) and hold the inhale for 15 seconds.
- At this point, you are likely starting to feel pretty good. Repeat this entire protocol three times. The results will speak for themselves.
- After you have finished three sets, re-rate how you feel on the 1–10 scale. If you did the breathing correctly you will almost assuredly be a couple of notches higher than before you did the breathing exercise.
I think it is helpful to see the method in action, so check out this Instagram video tutorial:
If you want to dig deeper into the Wim Hof Method check out his free mini-course or his full online course at https://www.wimhofmethod.com/free-mini-class.
As always, let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. If you would like to receive an email when I publish a new article, click here.
