![]() ![]() The nature of Yin and Yang is that they balance each other, support each other, and also transform into each other. These two extremes can be thought of as reflections of Yin and Yang, with Yang being heat and Yin being cold. When we are cold our body adapts and retains heat in the trunk so our vital organs don’t freeze up. When we are hot our bodies adapt and self-cool, the pores open and we sweat. So, how could having an ice cold shower in the middle of winter be any help at all? Well, we need to look in more detail about our own temperature regulation to understand this. ![]() As a rule of thumb, unless someone is constitutionally very strong in this area we advise to always keep the feet and waist warm in cold weather and to avoid drinking iced drinks, especially after meals. Maintaining a healthy fire that is not raging but not too low is key to regulating many aspects of our health. In Chinese medicine all the metabolic processes are envisioned as types of fire in the body, like a digestive fire or a fire in the heart. This plays a role in the common cold and flu but also significantly in women’s health and digestive health in general. It is thought that when the cold ‘gets into your bones’ it can lodge there and freeze up our blood circulation and general health. The first thing that stands out to people familiar which Chinese medicine is the question of exposure to the cold- is it beneficial or detrimental to our health? From the traditional perspective exposure to cold is seen as playing a definite part in many illnesses. If we look at the WHM through the lens of Chinese medicine, we can uncover some useful knowledge about how it is best utilized and gain a different angle on how it affects our health. Wim Hof himself has drawn heavily from Eastern practices and through experimentation he has innovated to create this simple system that aims to transform people’s physical and mental health. This invigorates the body and has a potent effect on many aspects of our health, from reducing inflammation and clearing out toxins from the body, to helping with pain and greatly boosting blood circulation. ![]() The cold-water exposure progresses from finishing your shower with 30 seconds of cold, to having purely cold showers and then to cold-water swimming and ice-baths. The over-all effect is one of feel light, relaxed and energized in the body and calm and clear in the mind. This initially boosts oxygen throughout the body and the breath-hold then increases the base level of CO2 in the blood, which in turn makes more oxygen and energy available to the body. The breathwork technique involves taking 20-30 swift big breaths, then exhaling and holding the breath out whilst relaxing the body. In a nutshell it is composed of 3 elements- breathwork, cold-water exposure, and mind training. The Wim Hof Method (WHM) has exploded in popularity over the last decade, partly due to the uniqueness and charisma of it’s founder and partly due to its powerful ability to help people’s lives. ![]()
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