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Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

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Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#91

Post by newsbinator »

jrm4 wrote: post #21
8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #4

If this is revolutionary, why isn't everybody following his method? My skeptic alarm is going off, but also all of the investigative content I read about it seems to support the claims. I'm puzzled on why this hasn't seen mass adoption.

"Because it doesn't make anyone money" is my best guess. I kinda hate how conspiracy-theory-ish it sounds, but I can't much deny it any more? I'm one anecdotal data point: Never heard of this guy, but the cold shower thing just sounded plausible enough that I figured I'd try it. Not even the whole thing cold -- I start off with a hot shower and then just drop it for the last minute or so, as long as I can stand. And…

> After getting the regular yearly colds that I just presumed were a part of life...they just stopped.

The same thing happened to me after age 34 for some reason. It's been years so far. I haven't done any breathing exercises though.

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#92

Post by watwut »

trabant00 wrote: post #50

> The Hof brothers are identical twins, but unlike Wim, Andre has a sedentary lifestyle without exposure to extreme cold. The scientists had them practice Wim's breathing exercises and then exposed them to the lowest temperature that would not induce shivering. They concluded that, "No significant differences were found between the two subjects, indicating that a lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme cold does…

What are we supposed to conclude from that? Given two identical twins both doing those exercises, both in temperature just above shivering, their BAT and CIT was same, therefore what?

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#93

Post by thraxil »

swader999 wrote: post #44
gxon wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you describe the breathing exercises? Is it literally just sitting and taking deep breaths?

No, you inhale through your nose all the way, then exhale but not all the way out, to the point where you would be pushing it out if you let out more. Repeat 30-40 times. It is circular and continuous, you don't pause. Then exhale all the way out after your 35th cycle. Hold until you feel the intense urge to breath. Then inhale and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat above 4-5 times. Optional: On the last rep, see how many p…

Just piggybacking on this a bit with some tips in case anyone reads this comment and wants to try it:

Do this laying down. You are essentially hyperventilating. By the 35th cycle, you should be feeling very lightheaded, possibly seeing stars. You absolutely can pass out or at least fall down during this process. Do it laying down or at least sitting so you don't injure yourself. Obviously, definitely don't do this in the water (you don't do the breathing exercises and ice baths at the same time).

The inhale through your nose you do fully, really trying to get as much air into your lungs as possible. The exhale that follows is really just a matter of relaxing everything and letting your ribcage collapse back down and the air leave; you shouldn't be pushing it out.

If you've never done it before, it can be fun to have a clock or timer going where you can see it. See how long you can comfortably hold your breath before that urge to inhale comes. You'll be amazed. Similar techniques to this breathing exercise (hyperventilating to lower the carbon dioxide levels in your blood) are one of the ways magicians like Houdini and others that do underwater escapes can hold their breath for so long (of course, don't try that at home).

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#94

Post by coldtea »

collyw wrote: post #82
coldtea wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you tried them and not had results? Because there are a lot of N=1s anecdotes about it working for people, hence the large following he has. Placebo, make-believe and self-dellusion often work, especially for the kind of people looking into a miracle cure, which is what such leaders tend to accrue...

If placebo works as well as many prescription drugs, why is it looked down upon so much?

I guess placebo was the wrong word here -- as it implies effectiveness.

Replace it with pure make-believe of "feeling better" (as opposed to any physiological improvement).

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#95

Post by loceng »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #89
pugio wrote: post #36

For those interested in going deeper into the incredible world of breathing techniques I recommend "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" [0]. Part personal account, part research summary, the book covers a lot of the world's ancient breathing traditions (including Wim Hof and his antecedents), as well as what modern science has to say about them. As with many other aspects of holistic health, it's incredible how We…

> exercise your jaw. This can help build wider mouths (new bone growth!) and open up your airways. Do you have a citation for that? Jaw bone pretty much stops growing in your late teens. Increasing bone density is not the same as actual bone growth. By that rational doing deadlifts would stimulate your leg bones to continue grow which is obviously untrue.

Lookup the term "mewing" - apparently jaw changes after age 25 are difficult but apparently not impossible.

I'd recommend watching this interview between John Mew (orthodontist) and Bret Weinstein too: https://youtu.be/JYpPu-NrYSI

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#96

Post by loceng »

vmurthy wrote: post #69
rubatuga wrote: post #66

This is all pseudoscience peddled as a mental health miracle

When you say "all", do you mean Wim Hof's methods or in general breathing techniques? Do you have links to studies which have conclusively proved that breathing techniques are no better than normal breathing?

What most people who are "anti-breath work" seem to not take into account is ig someone's baseline breathing is good to begin with or not - and simply drawing their attention back to their breath could bring them back to within a normal range; maybe someone's chest is tight and they have abnormal breathing, maybe someone's nose is congested most of time so they mostly mouth breath, etc - but aren't aware their breathing is so constricted/limited until they start to challenge the status quo breathing they've adopted over decades - to finally start feeling what normal baseline of getting adequate/proper oxygen exchange feels like.

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#97

Post by rootlocus »

scrozart wrote: post #14

This source is a lifestyle rag for people who hike, camp, etc. They're recently posted some super unscientific stuff about not wearing sunblock so you get all your Vitamin D.

> super unscientific stuff

That's a very scientific assessment of the stuff.

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#98

Post by loceng »

NalNezumi wrote: post #56

Ah Wim Hof, reminds me of my friend that had to fight crippling depression.(and still is fighting) He found out about the cold shower, breathing technique from Win Hof, and started practicing it. What worked better than cold shower was Ice bath in the frozen lake. I were very skeptical at the practice first but oh boy, the sudden freezing shock really do wake some survival instinct inside you out, and your mind becom…

Kambo, a properly dosed frog poison applied to the limbic system by first searing small dots through top layer of skin, has a similar effect by strongly engaging the immune system once it detects the poison - and causes a whole body reaction where the limbic/lymphatic system rapidly clears out the poison (and whatever other stagnant toxins are in the system), dumping them into the stomach which then have to be thrown up to clear them.

There are trained/certified shamans who offer kambo ceremonies.

Re: Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges

#100

Post by chronolitus »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #60

A reminder that holding your breath under water until you become light headed is not a good idea: https://www.capradio.org/articles/2017/07/28/breath-holding-...

There's an interesting caveat here, the phenomenon is well known to apnea practitioners:

- Hyperventilating, then holding your breath underwater can easily be deadly.

- Doing the same without hyperventilation is much safer.

The difference lies in the fact that our ability to sense our limits are almost entirely due to CO2 buildup. We actually almost can't tell when we run out of oxygen, it's why pilots are fine one second and pass out the next when they don't notice that the oxygen runs out (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfF2MTnqAw).

Hyperventilating reduces your CO2 but leaves oxygen saturation almost unaffected, which for an unexperienced person is equivalent to doing a blind walk next to a cliff, and removing the barrier.

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