Here is a brief outline of how it went for me followed by some more detailed thoughts I have been having whilst learning these techniques.
Week 1
Day 1 = 15 seconds cold water at the end of my shower
By Day 2 – I had forgotten to go cold at the end, 0 seconds
Day 3, 4 and 5 were all good increasing up to 30 seconds
Day 6 – 45 seconds
Day 7 – 1 minute
Day 8 – skipped my thoughts
Day 9 – 45 seconds
Day 10 – 1 min
Day 11 – 1 min 15
Day 12 – 1 min 30
Day 13 – 1 min 30
Day 14 – 2 min
I feel like I am into this habit now and I actually look forward to it, but struggle to find things to do when I am under the cold. Like I have finished washing my body already and it kinda feels like a waste of time, so i need to figure something out with this. I make sure I still have a warm/ hot shower first to wash everything well. Some days I change my shirt 3 times because I have sweated through them all during the day, so I feel like the hot water really cleans me well and I love to go as hot as I can – I loooove the heat and actually love sweating too, so I’m not complaining about having to change my shirts, this is a good thing, it means I’m working hard!
I tried the deep breathing for the 17 minutes on Day 2 and just once during the first 2 weeks. I felt a lot better in terms of mental clarity and I felt very calm in the end. I filmed it so I can compare when I do it again.
When I have attempted deep breathing in the past, there has been an overwhelming pain in my chest and a desire to just cry. I know deep down I need to overcome this to heal and i know there is something I need to address to heal that is stopping me, and all of that is coming up. I think also because I knew I was recording my first time trying the Wim Hoff breathing techniques, and I think i held in any emotions because of that.
When this happens it really puts me off trying again and I know I actually have a fear of breathing deeply as I also experienced an episode when I was 23 years old that I couldn’t understand and I couldn’t breathe any more. I was rushed to hospital and put on oxygen and the doctor deemed that my lungs had collapsed. I wasn’t given any medication to help, medication couldn’t help this condition, instead i asked for something to help me, anything and I was given a breathing apparatus that i had to practice each day to get my lungs back to full capacity. I did it for 3 days in a row and i was able to breathe properly again. I had also recently undergone surgery on my sinuses and the doctor thought that the anesthetic may have contributed to my lungs collapsing. Whether this is true or not, this is on my record and whenever I see a new doctor they like to point out how ‘severe’ that condition was for someone of my age at the time. At the time I was 105 kg and had dropped 15kg and was feeling good about my progress, so there were a lot of changes, and a LOT of emotions associated with that and i believe I was just completely broken hearted and it finally came to a head in the form of a panic attack.
I felt the positive effects of the breathing for a few days after, and especially in my gym session later that afternoon. I felt like things moved a lot easier and I had less pain. My coach was impressed so that was a good sign.
Overall I think these techniques are going to become a daily for me eventually and I am moving into the ice baths next before winter comes so I can acclimatise ha ha,
