This only lasted for a minute or so before most of us had to get out. I started to get into what Zen practitioners refer to as “Mushin” or “no-mind”. Yes, I was still freezing, but I was handling it. I knew I couldn’t fight the cold so I forced myself to accept it the only way I knew how – by slowing my breathing and mentally commanding my muscles to relax.Īs soon as I got my breathing under control and relaxed my muscles, that’s when the initial shock became less brutal. My initial involuntary reaction was to hyperventilate and tense up. Every fiber of my body, every bone, every cell was screaming from the inside out. Nothing in my life prepared me for this sensation. And that’s when it hit me… a piercing cold that I’ve never felt before. I figured I’d just do it as fast as possible – the sooner the better. I’m fully committed and one of the first ones in the water. If any of the success stories I’ve been hearing about the Wim Hof Method are even partially true, then it will all be worth it. The possibility of discovering a new method that accelerates physical, mental and spiritual well being is highly motivating to me. And that’s exactly why I’m here today… because of the potential. Now I just want to live a happy, healthy life. My days of ego-driven physical challenges are way behind me. So why do it then? Why subject myself to this level of discomfort? Do I have something to prove? Nope. So yeah… it’s VERY out of character for me to be doing something like this. When the weather drops into the 50’s I’m typically wearing full winter gear. I’m a summer beach kind of guy… I’ve always avoided the cold. This already sucks and I’m not even in the water yet. The instant my shirt came off I was hit by the shock of the freezing rain and wind chill. “Ok, lets take off our clothes” said Matt, our instructor. But today there was nothing out there but a few ducks (and even they looked miserable). In the summer you’d normally see a ton of activity – kids swimming, life guards, paddle boats, etc.

We arrive at the lake’s public beach area and look anxiously at what we were about to enter.

The sheet of ice covering the lake had recently thawed, leaving the water a bone-chilling 42 degrees. In a few minutes we would be stripping down to nothing but our swim suits and entering the frigid waters of Seattle’s Green Lake. A small group of us just finished the classroom phase of a Wim Hof Method workshop and now it was time for the grand finale. Even though I was bundled in a down jacket, hat and gloves I was still shivering. “Oh boy… what am getting myself into?” Those were my thoughts as I’m walking in the freezing cold rain in the middle of winter, the wind pelting me in the face.

Wim hof method breathing benefits