“Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to be outside in a T-shirt in this sort of weather. Getting outside, being a little cold, is not necessarily a bad thing,” said instructor James Stewart as he led a workshop on the Wim Hof Method at Silverwood Park on Jan. 29. The class was indoors at that point, but Stewart’s assistants, outside on the terrace, were dumping ice cubes into three galvanized stock tanks filled with water. The air temperature was 17 degrees F.
Stewart was explaining mindset, one of the three “pillars” of the Wim Hof Method, the other two being cold immersion and breathwork that involves holding one’s breath. During the two-and-a-half-hour workshop, which was one of the events offered as part of the Great Northern Festival, Stewart talked about physiology, process, and the claimed benefits of the method, which is named after its creator, a Dutch athlete who is known as “The Iceman” because of his ability to withstand extreme cold for prolonged periods.
Stewart led 30 participants through a series of breathing exercises. First, he had them practice inhaling and exhaling fully and then, after a series of full breaths, he had them exhale, then experience “the neutral lung” – not inhaling or exhaling, diaphragm relaxed and not breathing. When they felt they needed to take a breath again, a “recovery breath” completed the sequence, with an inhale, then holding the breath for about 15 seconds, then an exhale.
He explained that some people might get dizzy or lightheaded, so it was a good idea to practice the method lying down.Other side effects can include cramping or tingling of the hands or feet, and all the side effects can be relieved by slowing down the breathing. He also encouraged participants to push themselves a little during the breath holding phase, exhaling a little bit or swallowing, which helps prolong the retention.
After a break, the group returned to do 20 minutes of the breathwork lying down, with Stewart walking around slowly, monitoring the room, and giving cues over new-age music that became more rhythmic as the time went on. “Fully in, let it go. Breathe in, relax it out. Expanding, relaxing. Belly, chest, relaxed.”
The goal of the breathing exercises is both meditative and physiological, Stewart said. The breathing focus creates a portal, Stewart said, into internal reflection and awareness of the body, a portal that allows one to leave the constant barrage of “external signals” we are confronted with every day.
The breathing also “resets” the nervous system, Stewart said. High levels of stress keep our sympathetic nervous system, responsible for our fight-or-flight response, activated chronically, he said. The breathing method, he said, provides a certain type of stress, but then the relaxation phase resets the baseline. “Chemically speaking, we’re going to stress you today. But that is an acute stress … We’re going to redline for a little bit, hopefully then reset it back to a more normal setting.”
After the longer breathwork session, Stewart asked for questions. “Is the deep state of euphoria I felt after I was done, for about 60 seconds, normal?” asked one man. “It comes and goes,” Stewart said. “Don’t be chasing the feeling,” he cautioned, instead stay focused in a meditative way on the breath. Stewart talked about his own practice. “The days I don’t want to do it are the days I most need to do it,” he said. He recommended a 30-15-30 approach: “30 days, 15 minutes of breathing, 30 seconds of cold shower. It will change your life,” he said.
Cold immersion has a similar resetting effect on the nervous system, Stewart said. For the last part of the workshop, participants changed into swimsuits, grabbed their towels, and then, coming out onto the terrace in twos and threes, lowered themselves into a seated position into an ice water tub, folding their hands in a prayer position as recommended by Stewart. (He had also suggested blowing on their hands.)
Stewart had coached them earlier, indoors, about what to expect and how to counter the body’s messages of “Get out of here! I don’t want to die!” Such responses lead to shallow panting breaths, and by slowing the breath, he said, one can transition from “Holy crap!” to “This is not so bad.”
He explained that the cold immersion can affect cognitive function and dexterity. “Let someone know if you’re in distress,” he said. “Don’t suffer in silence.” To the question of how long they would stay in the tub, he answered “until you want to get out, or until I tell you it’s time, whichever comes first.” At the very beginning of the workshop, he let participants know that they wouldn’t be forced to do anything they didn’t want to do.
During the immersions, Stewart, in hat, long-sleeved shirt and shorts, crouched behind the tubs and kept an eye on the participants. Their expressions ranged from cringing to smiling, from intensely concentrating to serene. Some got out of the tub sooner than others. After what seemed like a couple minutes, Stewart had to tell a couple people that their time was up. After they emerged from the tub, they headed toward the outdoor fireplace, where one of Stewart’s helpers engaged them in exercises designed to activate all the major muscle groups.
The participants were drawn to the workshop for a range of reasons. Some chose it from the Great Northern offerings and as a way to do something different in the winter. One couple made the workshop their first month’s date of a “12 dates of Christmas” gift. Some had heard of the method and were curious. Mary Lenzmeier, of Apple Valley, said that she had done a Wim Hof breathing meditation on the Insight Timer app a year ago and wanted to learn more. “It was invigorating, and mentally, well, I did it!” she said, with a big grin, referring to her time in the ice water.
Tony Schiller of Chanhassen has been a competitive athlete in marathons and triathlons for 49 years and is familiar with athletes’ use of breath control. “People who learn how to breathe properly have more energy and can last longer,” he said. He had listened to Wim Hof’s podcasts and was aware of the “outrageous claims” he made about his techniques. “I don’t consider them outrageous but they seem outrageous on the surface. So it’s okay to have a healthy skepticism. But you should try it and find out if it’s true,” he said.
(Stewart warned that people with epilepsy or pregnant should not do the exercises. The Wim Hof website adds to that those with coronary disease, high blood pressure or a history of heart failure or stroke.)
Below: First and third photos: James Stewart monitors and coaches participants as they sit in ice baths. The air temperature was 17 degrees F. Those who completed the immersion did exercises outside to engage their muscles, then watched from inside. The other two photos show Stewart leading breathing exercises involving rounds of deep inhalations and exhalations and then, in a “relaxed” state, not breathing. (Photos by Karen Kraco)
