The Wim Hof Method (link to my personal breathwork updates) has been a pretty important part of each of my days since starting my lifestyle shift in October, 2020. I belong to a WHM group on Facebook. I don’t really participate but I do observe. Common questions come up from users on the experience of others in the group. This is a look at what I experience with the WHM.
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What Is My Routine?
My WHM method has evolved since the beginning. And, it varies day to day, depending on available time. Mostly, I try for sets of five rounds, two to three times per day.
Each of my rounds consists of 40 breaths followed by breath holds. I always start with a breath out hold. The second round can either be another breath out hold or a breath in hold, depending on how long the first round’s hold went. From there, I alternate. It usually ends up with three breath out holds and two with breath in.
On the final round, I’ve started added a second hold. I usually end with a breath out hold, followed by a recovery breath. I’m experimenting with holding that recovery breath for as long as I can. Interestingly, watching my blood/oxygen saturation, during that second hold, my saturation goes from the high 80% range to 100% quite quickly.
How Long Do I Hold My Breath?
As the rounds go on, the length of the breath hold extends. On the first round, breath out hold, I sometimes struggle to get a full minute. Typically, that advances to a minute and half to two minutes. On the breath in holds, I’m consistently at 2:30 to over three minutes.
What Body Position Am I In Doing WHM?
It varies. My favourite is in bed with my head on a couple pillows. This is the position I’m able to get the longest breath holds from. I attribute that to the fact I’m in a comfortable position and that I’m able to easier focus on relaxing my whole body and mind.
However, I often do the method in a sitting position at my desk chair. This, in no way, takes away from the benefits. In fact, I’ve heard others claim that it’s much easier to get full breaths in from a sitting position.
I also do a fair amount of my breathing in the driver’s seat of my vehicle. No, I don’t do it while driving. However, I’m on the road quite a bit and I try to take twenty minutes here and there to get the breathing in.
Have I Ever Passed Out From The Breathing?
No, I have never lost consciousness! I did come close once, though. When I first started doing the method after exercise to recover, I had an extreme dizzy moment when I thought I was going down. I made it out unscathed, though.
When I first started, I was a bit afraid of the dizzy feeling you get in the first 10-20 seconds of the holds – especially the breath in holds. If you’ve ever smoked cigarettes, it’s a very similar feeling to the nicotine head rush after inhaling. Hopefully, you’ve never tried that awful habit but it’s the only thing I have to compare it to.
But, that dizzy feeling quickly subsides and, with it, the desire to quickly end the breath hold. I actually look forward to it now because it’s such a great feeling to focus your way through that state.
What About Tingling Sensation In Your Fingers?
I don’t get this much anymore but tingling in your fingers is definitely a side-effect of the WHM. Just like the dizziness above, this sensation often goes away during the breath holds.
Sometimes, when I do the method in a lying down position, right after some pretty intense exercise, I get that same tingling across the front of my shoulders and my chest muscles. Again, this goes away quite quickly.
Do You Have Heightened Emotions During The Breathing?
I often have music videos playing or sometimes just the television. I find, from time to time, I do get more emotional than expected if a particularly sappy video is playing. I also seem to find things much funnier if I’m watching a comedy.
What Was That About Blood Oxygen Saturation Levels?
I bought an inexpensive fingertip blood oxygen and heart rate monitor. I wanted to see what happens while you’re doing the method. It’s quite interesting. The monitor goes from beeping because your saturation is at a low level to a full 100% several times during a session.
The lowest I’ve seen is in the high 80’s. The normal level I’m at is between 97 and 100%. As mentioned, I find it so interesting to watch the percentage climb while in a breath hold.
What Immediate Benefits Do You Experience?
I’ve stated this before at the site. I am a caffeine addict. I wake up each morning with signs of a dull headache somewhere in my head. For me, it used to be common to have all day headaches. It was becoming more and more common to experience nearly crippling migraines.
After the breathing, there is no sign of a headache. I have not experienced any sort of prolonged headache since October. I have not taken a painkiller since October.
I don’t drink alcohol that often. But, when I do, I no longer experience any sort of hangover. Before my lifestyle shift, it was not uncommon to wake up with a devastating headache the morning after drinking as little as two beers.
The other immediate benefit is the removal of any sort of brain fog or haziness. The breathing puts you in a state of alertness and overall well-being.
What Environment Are You In During The Process?
I often simply listen to music. I focus on the beat or on a specific instrument to relax my mind and body. I find, the less I think to look at the stopwatch, the less likely I am to stop the breath holds early.
I look forward to the end of all the COVID-19 restrictions and the coming of spring to get out and perform the method in nature, where it was intended. I have visions of being in the forest somewhere, resting against a tree or seated comfortably on the water in my Pelican kayak.
Personal Lifestyle Shift Update
I lost ten pounds in January. I had no goal set to do so. I certainly didn’t starve myself. It’s simply just the result of my lifestyle shift.
My heel seems to finally have actually healed. I have been able to start running again in February. I’m not sure when there will be any sort of racing events again in Canada but I certainly will be ready when there is.
From time to time, I have experimented with longer fasting and reducing my feeding window on my intermittent fasting. I’ve introduced cheat days about every second weekend. At this time, I allow myself some restaurant food or food that doesn’t fit into my new diet. However, the cost to me is that meal is usually the only one for that particular day.
I’ve thrown in a few fasts of over 24 hours. I haven’t, at all, noticed any increase in hunger during these times.