I've even had a few moments in the water when I started crying and coughing and releasing what felt like suppressed emotions. I feel I have a new spiritual relationship with water and look forward every morning to starting my day in the freezing cold. I feel my 'fight or flight' response and nervous system have been altered, in line with scientific studies done on Wim and others applying his breathwork, meditation, and cold immersion methods. Wim says that this method may help with PTSD, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addiction, and other psychological issues, and I believe this now.

I find myself more patient, peaceful, and calm in my body-in and out of the water. Considering I already lived a healthy lifestyle, the effects that I'm experiencing are more emotional and psychological. I'm now able to stay in the cold water for 20 minutes comfortably. Over the last three months, I have not missed a day of the meditation, breathwork, and cold exposure. I thought, 'This must be what Wim is talking about.' I was saying over and over, 'I am one with the water.' I felt happy, content, and accomplished. For the first week, it was very difficult for me, but I set my mind and opened my heart, and on the seventh day, I experienced a moment in the water I will never forget: I surrendered to the feeling, and I felt comfortable in the water. So as I was going back in the second day, I started saying aloud, 'My friend, my friend, I'm going back to my friend' to offer myself a little positive reinforcement. The following day I was not excited about getting back in the water, but Wim says to be patient, to commit, and know that cold water is your friend. I recognized I have some deep fears around cold water. As long as I can remember, I never liked cold water, and I got cold very quickly in freezing environments. A couple of times I almost drowned in an ice-covered lake, but my brother saved me. When I was a young boy, I had a few scary experiences with cold water in the winter, sledding in the snow and playing ice hockey. My mind and body were screaming, 'Get out, and get out quick!' When I first went into the water at a temperature of about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, I lasted for one minute before my body started shaking and my teeth chattering.

Then a friend sent me a text about Wim, and I decided to give it another try, but this time I committed to the advanced breathwork and the icy-cold immersion (commitment is one of the three pillars of the WHM, along with breathing and cold therapy). I started with the breathing and cold showers but wasn't having the experience that he and others were sharing, so I got discouraged, distracted, and stopped altogether.

Wim hof method breathing benefits