Breathing Techniques from Wim Hof the "Iceman" and world record holder. From Joe Rogan podcast
Interesting, I lasted 2:20 on my first try. Will hit up the podcast fo sho, thanks.
Holy shit that was fucking cool. Everyone try out that exercise.
Its hard to understand the point he is trying to make but after the deep breathes there is a jolt of presence and an amazing amount of control over the breathe along with an overall state of calmness, thats why holding the breathe is much easier. Elliot Hulse talks about this, same thing happens when you take a cold shower. Seems like its due to rising oxygen levels, and since CO2 is lower breathing becomes less "automatic" because nerves in the respiratory system are no longer getting signaled.
He's not very articulate with his teachings, maybe it's the language barrier, but he has great intentions.
Yeah this guy climbed Mt. Everest with no shirt and shorts and no oxygen tanks on top of that. Fucking insane. He ran a half-marathon in -30F in Finland in shorts and no shirt. He got people in their 70s with arthritis to climb Kilimanjaro in shorts.
The Vice docu is on youtube for free and its worth watching if you can tolerate the vice kid's faggy voice.
So I've done many rounds of this breathing over the last two days. Some things I've noticed so far:
1. I'm calm af afterwards and it lasts for about an hour
2. If stressed like at work I can use the breathing to change my state
3. He's onto something with it being the cure for depression for sure
4. It gives me a noticeable energy boost if tired
5. He says the techniques cure hangovers, and I wouldn't go that far but I def feel better after doing 2 rounds of breathing this morning
^been doing it a lot too, in the cold shower works great
The results seem the same as meditation but it is like a presence hack, it only takes 30 breathes to really fall into the desired state.
Like Joe says I've seen Jiu jitsu guys doing similar beathing, never really understood till now.
The results seem the same as meditation but it is like a presence hack, it only takes 30 breathes to really fall into the desired state.
Theres something to the oxygen-packing thats different from meditation or taoist breathing.
And since you can feel the effects immediately and anyone can do it, its more powerful than a loaded word like meditation
agreed
I'm still unsure if his breathing is simply hyperventilation, or if something is different since it is controlled. The whole pH hypocarbia thing is true, but people die in shallow water blackouts from this type of stuff too.
Also, I don't get why he keeps on discussing adrenaline and stress hormones, this shit makes me feel calm and how would stress hormones benefit an immune system.
If anyone can explain please do...
"What, then, happens if hyperventilation — deliberate over-breathing — is continued? The ‘wash-out’ of carbon dioxide progresses, from the lungs, and hence from the blood, and from the body tissues including, importantly, the brain. Carbon dioxide is a crucial variable in acid–base homeostasis; its reduction shifts the body fluids towards greater alkalinity (increased pH) and this has further knock-on effects. For one thing, it tends to cause constriction of some blood vessels, particularly those in the brain, reducing its blood supply and therefore its oxygen supply. So, in what might seem the midst of plenty when an excess of air is being shifted in and out of the lungs, the brain can actually be short of oxygen. It is for this reason that persistent, vigorous over-breathing soon makes us feel faint and dizzy. Another result of the alkalinization of the blood may be tetany: an uncontrollable twitching (caused by neuromuscular over-excitability consequent upon an increase in the binding of calcium ions to proteins in the plasma)."
Hyperventilation is actually shown to decrease oxygen in the brain, which is what causes someone to faint. What
Wim is teaching can't be simply hyperventilation. Yet, he still does discuss seizure like movement and dizziness.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034215/
This explains the role of stress hormones and how they are anti-inflammatory. Cool information for anybody with autoimmune disorders. This is the case study of his 12 subjects.
In the study they did the breathing for several hours a day plus visualization plus exposure to cold. Pretty intense