After practising the Wim Hof Method for over three years now, I was incredibly excited to go to the Wim Hof experience live at the Roundhouse in London last Saturday.
Usually I practise alone and have used the Wim Hof Method for so many things: helping me in my transition from being employed to my own boss, feeling more confident, and more recently, modifying one of the breathing techniques during my pregnancy and labour.
If you’re new to the Wim Hof Method, I couldn’t think of a better introduction than doing a live workshop. But even if you’re no stranger to the cold, there was something truly exhilarating about Wim Hof leading the workshop himself and the collective energy at the Roundhouse.
It felt like everyone had let their egos take a back seat, and instead, the shared excitement for something we are all entitled to — full access to who we are as humans — took centre stage. This had to be the most important workshops I’ve ever been to (and I’ve done a lot of workshops).
In a world where quite often it can be easy to feel dragged down by life or disempowered, I honestly believe the Wim Hof Method is an antidote to that.
Wim Hof workshop, live at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.
Opening the workshop with music from Wim Hof and his team.
Wim hof breathing live
In the live event, it was much easier to get out of my head, which doesn’t usually happen until I meditate afterwards. Rather than meticulously count 30-40 breaths and focus too much on technique, we were instead instructed to allow feeling be our guide. I was really happy to hear this, as I’d previously shared a video on YouTube, sharing the breathing technique which you can view below, and sometimes people can get really hung up about the proper way of doing it.
Breathe Motherfucker — Wim Hof
As one of the Wim Hof Method instructors explained at the workshop, this is where ‘Breathe Motherfucker’ comes from. It’s not rude, it’s saying — get out of your head, stop overthinking, tune into how it feels for you, and breathe! It doesn’t matter whether your shoulders are moving a bit or you’re breathing through your mouth or nose — it’s the feeling that’s important.
Rather than the usual four rounds, we instead practised six rounds of the power breathing, and for the first time ever, I went into what felt like a completely euphoric expanded state during the breathing itself. I became unaware of which part was breath, retention, and the spaces in between. I’m not sure how long I was meditating for at the end, but I felt my physical body dissolve along with an incredible feeling of what can be described as light, expansion, and connectedness. I probably could have stayed in this state for the rest of the workshop, and I would have been happy.
I meditate daily, and can honestly say if you’re a regular meditator and you live in London, or any big city, practising the Wim Hof breathing before hand, feels incredible. You can then go into any regular meditation technique you’re used to. But often the breathing is enough.
If you’re into yoga, you might be familiar with the eight limbs of yoga. Dhyana is the 7th limb and can be translated to mean meditation. In this case, it’s the state or outcome of what happens once you’ve let go of any meditative technique. In the case of the Wim Hof Method, the breathing exercise is the technique and Dhyana is what happens afterwards, once you let go.
To start practising the breathing now, check out my YouTube videos below.
Ice bath time
Towards the end of the day, there was an optional ice bath which I think was why a lot of us were there. You could really feel the excitement/nervousness/anticipation in the air as we started to prepare as a group.
To warm up, we practised the horse stance (also called Goddess pose in yoga). I’ve never done it for this long before, but it really got me hot!
Practising yogic style exercises and the horse stance with a Wim Hof Method instructor.
The room was divided up with different coloured wristbands, and when it was each group’s turn, we went outside the Roundhouse to take an ice bath together. Once in, we continued with deep, conscious breathing, staying focused, and mostly quiet. If you’re doing this at home, two minutes is perfect to start with. You don’t want to go any longer than this on your first attempt!
After about a minute or so, my body felt really used to the water, and once out, I actually felt warm. In my previous ice baths, I’d always reach straight for a towel to keep me warm, but at the workshop, we were instructed to go straight back into practising the horse stance, which was a much more efficient and safer way to finish.
The day ended with an inspiring talk from Pierre Capel who is a professor in quantum physics, and has researched the Wim Hof Method to see what effects it has on our DNA.
After the final Q&A with Wim Hof, I left feeling full of energy, completely rejuvenated, and inspired to take up cold water swimming regularly alongside my morning cold showers. Bring on some wild swimming at Hampstead Health ponds!
Here I am a few days later, about to take a swim in the north sea. Afterwards, it’s one of the best feelings — as if you’re whole body is alive and electric.
About to jump into the North Sea in February.
Meg dog is a natural at this.
The Wim Hof Method: a revolution in health
The Wim Hof Method is changing science. While this isn’t the article to go into depth about this, it’s important to say that Wim Hof has now proven that he can control his autonomic nervous system — something that was previously thought to be impossible.
When you practise the Wim Hof Method, you also learn how to access the autonomic nervous system; it’s not something unique to Wim himself. Research is ongoing, but in addition to making you feel amazing when you practise daily, the Wim Hof Method is now thought to significantly help a wide range of health conditions from autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and also mental health, and obesity.
This short video explains how you’re able to influence your immune system with the Wim Hof Method.
You can also find out everything you need to know about the science behind the Wim Hof Method here, plus see an impressive timeline of research that spans over a decade.
Check out Wim Hof’s revolutionary online course here
Don’t, however, over intellectualise this — the best way to learn about the Wim Hof Method and how it can help you, is to get started, see how it feels for you, and make your own mind up!
You can check out Wim Hof’s revolutionary online video course here (affiliate link)
Thanks for a wonderful first Wim Hof workshop
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