How do you breathe? Can it be better?
As a former swimmer, I have already experimented with breathing optimization. While living in Monaco, I was also friends with a free driver who held a world record. As an archer, I have also learned how to use breath in my shooting sequence in order to improve stability and power. Plus I also use my own creation of Breathing ABC every single day.
What will this book tell me to do next? I am curious but going into it, I am not holding my breath for any great revelations. Despite the fanfare, I am not sure if his methods will help with my archery performance. Plus I hate being cold!
First ideas from the introduction…
- Wim Hof Method
- Cold Exposure (I already know that this is not for me)
- Conscious breathing (doing my version already)
- Power of the Mind (let’s see what is said)
- Hormetic Stress –> low dose stress aimed at positive response (too much of course is the bad toxic stress).
- This kind of sounds like what I understand to be grit or resilience.
- Finding the right point between challenge and boredom is the basis of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi work back in the 1970s, regarding the Flow State.
- If something is too easy then there is no value, but if it pushes you over the limit, then you burn out.
- So… perhaps this method approaches the edge of flow where it hits grit?
The book is full of stories.
- His childhood and teen years show some stressful times for his parents(!) and detail how his morning newspaper delivery route created a perfect mix of quiet contemplation, self-discipline and physical activity. I agree fully with Wim that many youth today are missing these vital ingredients because they are stuck inside in front of screens. Whether good or bad, whatever experiences you have before adulthood will shape the rest of your life.
- Voyaging in Europe in the 70s was a completely different experience than what one might do now. Even my own travels in the 90s are vastly appreciated due to the changes in this crazy world. It is impossible to repeat either time. As a woman, I fear that international travel will never be that way again.
- When you match your energy and actions with your purpose, transcendence results. It is beautiful. It does show you that there is a better way to live but it takes self-awareness and discipline to re-achieve it on a daily basis.
COLD SHOWERS –> just the thought of this makes me uncomfortable. I actually made a fire and prepared a cup of tea while reading the chapters. Cold water is not my happy place. For years, I had morning swim practise and remember the sensations of diving into that pool at 6am. The nearby lake is cold to me now even during the Swedish summer. I am a wimp and I know it. A cold shower does not appeal to me but I did try as the book instructs…
- Purpose of cold water is to improve the elasticity of blood vessels thereby reducing heart rate. The stress response should therefore be mitigated. Also, he states that the limbic system will benefit from increased blood flow… Perhaps his research has shown this but I feel more so that the cold provides a quick shock response similar to extremely contracting a muscle in order for it to relax. This full-body method is used by golfers to provide relaxation.
- While competing in triathlon, I did use the cold pool up to hip level after long runs and hill sessions. I did exercises in the water while staying to a maximum of 5 minutes. BUT I always felt better after a wet sauna or hot tub. (FYI if you are going to do hot, wait at least 20 minutes after the physical effort, then make sure to be hydrated).
- Whatever scientific study is published, the only thing that matters is how you feel using this method. If you believe that the exposure is positive then do it. If it drives you crazy then don’t. It is your body so you make the decision for you.
If you wish to know more about the effectiveness of breathing… here is one of the end notes from the book –>http://wilfried-ehrmann-e.blogspot.com/2015/10/intensive-breathing-has-amazing-effects.html?m=0
If you try any of this, I wish you good luck and to have a back up rewarming method already planned if you are like me 😉
Kelea Quinn 