Tummo

The Wim Hof Method is similar to Tummo (inner heat) Meditation and Pranayama (yogic breathing). Yet it is something else entirely. While Wim has studied yoga and meditation for many years, this technique primordially comes from what he terms ‘cold hard nature’. By subjecting himself to the bitter conditions of nature, he learned to withstand the extreme forces of cold, heat and fear. If you learn this method or technique correctly, it will empower you do to the same.

The first part is a breathing exercise which can be likened to controlled hyperventilation. This is, of course, an oxymoron. Hyperventilation is something which happens involuntarily. But just imagine the breathing part, without any of stress triggers that normally cause this way of breathing. The image will consist of rapid breathing that makes one languid, invigorates one, makes one high on oxygen. One mechanism of this practice is the complete oxygenation of your blood and cells.

1) Get comfortable and close your eyes

Sit in a meditation posture, whatever is most comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction. It is recommended to do this practice right after waking up since your stomach is still empty.

2) Warm Up

Inhale deeply. Really draw the breath in until you feel a slight pressure from inside your chest on your solar plexus. Hold this for a moment and then exhale completely. Push the air out as much as you can. Hold this for a moment. Repeat this warm up round 15 times.

3) 30 Power Breaths

Imagine you’re blowing up a balloon. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth in short but powerful bursts. The belly is pulled inward when you are breathing out and is pulled outward when you are breathing in. Keep a steady pace and use your midriff fully. Close your eyes and do this around 30 times or until you feel your body is saturated with oxygen. Symptoms could be light-headedness, tingling sensations in the body, electrical surges of energy.

4) Scan your body

During the 30 power breaths, delve into your body and become aware of it as possible. Trace your awareness up and down your body and use your intuition as to what parts lack energy and what parts are overflowing. Scan for any blockage between the two. Try to send energy/warmth to those blockages. Then release them deeper and deeper. Tremors, traumas and emotional releases can come up. It can be likened to kundalini rising. Feel the whole body fill up with warmth and love. Feel the negativity burn away.

Often people report swirling colors and other visual imagery during this exercise. Once you encounter them, go into them, embrace them, merge with them. Get to know this inner world and how it correlates to the feeling of tension or blockages in your body.

5) The Hold

After the the 30 rapid succession of breath cycles, draw the breath in once more and fill the lungs to maximum capacity without using too much force. Then push all of the air out and hold for as long as you can. Draw the chin in a bit so as to prevent air from coming in again. Really relax and open all energy channels in your body. Notice how all the oxygen is spreading around in your body. Hold the breath until you experience the gasp reflex on the top of your chest.

6) Recovery Breath

Inhale to full capacity. Feel your chest expanding. Release any tension in the solar plexus. When you are at full capacity, hold the breath once more. Drop the chin to the chest and hold this for around 15 seconds. Notice that you can direct the energy with your awareness. Use this time to scan the body and see where there is no color, tension or blockages. Feel the edges of this tension, go into it, move the energy towards this black hole. Feel the constrictions burning away, the dark places fill with light. Relax the body deeper as you move further inward, let everything go. Your body knows better than you do. After 15 seconds you have completed the first round.

Start this practice with one or two rounds. Try to do it daily and add two more rounds in a few days. After you feel more comfortable with holding your breath you can start to add exercises and stretches. Work up to a minimum of 15 minutes or 6 rounds with exercises. You can do this practice for how long it pleases you.

If you feel dizziness or pain, get out of the posture and lie on your back. Breathe easily again and stop this practice session.

Reserve at least 5 minutes after this practice to relax and scan the body.

Summary

1. 30 times balloon blowing
2. Breathe in fully
3. Breath out fully and hold until gasp reflex
4. Inhale fully and hold for 10-15 seconds.
5. Repeat until finished
6. Take 5 minutes to relax and scan your body

Bonus Power-ups

• Add push-ups or yoga poses during the time you are holding your breath until you wait for the gasp reflex. Notice that you are stronger without air than you would normally be if you could breathe!
• Charge the energy up the spine by holding moola banda, contract the rectum & sex organ and pull the navel inward towards the spine.
• Stand up in squat position and do the balloon breath. Try to breathe away the burn. (get seated again the moment you continue the cycle, you don’t want to be standing and faint) See if you can get the energy overtake the pain. Don’t give up easily and see how far you can go if you have the willpower!

Cold Exposure

After the  body scan of the previous exercise you are ready let your body embrace the cold. It is very important to try to relax as much as you can, really be with the cold, only then can your body process the signals and start thermogenesis. As Wim says, “the cold is your warm friend!

Cold Showers

If you are new to cold exposure, start with cold showers. Begin with your feet and then follow with your legs, your stomach, shoulders, neck and back and finally your head. An initial shock, shivering and hyperventilation is normal. Try to remain calm and breathe easily. Close your eyes and really try to embrace the cold.

If you feel any strong physical uncomfortableness, like heavy shivering, numbness or pain, get your body warm again as soon as possible.

Once you are out of the shower, take a moment to do another slow body scan before you dry yourself.

Cold exposure works like weight lifting, you get stronger over time. There are little muscles around your veins that contract when they get into contact with the cold. After some time (only 1-2 weeks according to Wim) these become stronger, making your veins healthier and reducing the force that your heart has to use to pump blood around your body.

You can increase exposure over time. At one point the cold will feel just as comfortable as wearing your favorite pajamas and you can skip the warm shower completely. Notice how you feel amazing after a cold shower and sluggish after a warm one.

Ice Baths

After a few weeks of cold showers you can up the ante to an ice bath. Get 2-3 bags of ice at your local convenience store and put them in a half-full bath tub. Wait until around two thirds is melted or that the water has reached your designated temperature (10 / 12 °C (50 / 59 °F)). You can throw in a couple of handfuls of salt to speed up this process.

As with the cold showers, try to relax as much as you can. Start out with around 10 minutes and increase exposure over time. If you feel uncomfortable or in doubt, get out. After this exercise make sure you do another body scan.

It is normal to feel extra cold after a small period of time after the ice bath. This is called the after-drop. Take a hot glass of raw coca and keep your blood flowing by talking a walk. You’ll feel amazing after!

These exercises are extremely powerful when done consistently and with intent. Try them and out and report your findings in the comments below! Remember, the cold is your warm friend.

Interview with Wim

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Autonomic nervous system and concentration techniques

Typically, the autonomic nervous system, and independently regulated by the unconscious body. The autonomic nervous system controls functions such as breathing, internal organs, digestive system, the widening and narrowing of the blood vessels and affects the heart. In current medical thinking would not affect the autonomic nervous system can be exercised.

However, it appears from several studies that certain concentration / meditation techniques can independently exercise (Phongsuphap, Pongsupap, Chandanamattha & Lursinsap, 2008; Wu & Lo, 2008, Paul-Labrador et al, 2006), autonomic activity indeed. Mindfulness -based stress reduction has for example, led to a reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity in fibromyalgia patients (Lush, Salmon, Floyd, Studts, Weiss Becker & Sephton, 2009). Also, evidence is found that Wim Hof through his technique autonomic nervous system can affect (Pickers et al, 2011). By researchers at Radboud University examined the influence of the concentration technique Wim Hof was the activity of his autonomic nervous system and the (innate) immune system.During this experiment, parts of the E-coli bacteria were injected with Wim Hof and 200 other subjects. Administration of this matter, the body thinks it is being attacked. Normally, this provides an overreaction by the immune system, which for several hours resulting in flu symptoms (headache, fever and muscle aches). However Court had only a mild headache at the moment that the griepssympomen normally the strongest. The results showed that further Court only the half of the number of inflammatory proteins produced than the average of the other subjects who received this bacterium is administered.Lead researcher Pickers Court stated that through the concentration-controlled technology could generate a response against the administered bacteria. There arose a so-called "fight or flight response ', which ensures that the body is more the" stress hormone "(cortisol) was creating. This increase led to a reduction of the immune response, enabling the ignition protein (cytokine) that cause the flu symptoms for a large portion were suppressed.

Also from this study seems to be the autonomic nervous system. Impressionable The difference between this study and other studies (Lush et al, 2009; Phongsuphap, Pongsupap, Chandanamattha & Lursinsap, 2008; Wu & Lo, 2008, Paul-Labrador et al 2006) on the impact of concentration / meditation on the automatic nervous system, is that the body has not been put into relaxation but a "fight or flight" response was elicited. Meditation / concentration techniques are commonly seen on the same line as reducing stress and cortisol levels (Lush. et al, 2009; Carlson, Speca, Faris & Patel, 2007). You bring the body to relax, reducing the amount of the "stress hormone cortisol in the body is reduced. The technique of Wim Hof ​​is also different than that of other meditation / concentration techniques. The technique of Court, not as a primary goal to be the body in a relaxed state, but to bring. In the active state Wim Hof ​​has therefore a strong mind-set and used (trained) concentration to achieve certain goals in the above case the influence of the autonomic nervous system. This excited some chemical reactions that are conducive to his physical condition. The next page will elaborate on the last component of the WHM, gradual exposure to cold.



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