#Wim hof breathing exercise how to#
#Wim hof breathing exercise full#

As the blood CO2 levels are now at normal or elevated levels, the body will use this O2 efficiently (again, due to the Bohr Effect). The purpose of this is to quickly reset the bodyвЂ™s O2 levels. When we finally need to breathe, we take a very deep breath and hold for about 15 seconds.

#Wim hof breathing exercise full#

Phase #3: Recovery breath (short retention on full inhale)

The hypoxia-inducible factor 1a gene is expressed, to help the body make adjustments to better thrive in a low-O2 environment.

After (very approximately) 90 seconds, a significant amount of adrenaline (epinephrine) is produced.

When the O2 level drops far enough, it triggers the body into doing a couple of cool things: However your body is using up O2 throughout the retention, so after about 1 minute your blood O2 is lower than it can normally get. Remember that in general you can hold your breath until your blood CO2 levels rise above a certain threshold? After reducing the CO2 levels in Phase #1, we can hold our breath much longer until the CO2 eventually rises that high вЂ“ this can be 3-4 minutes for some people. The body responds to this short stress in a variety of very positive ways (a valid example of hormesis) вЂ“ that form the majority of the health benefits of this exercise. The purpose of this phase is to decrease the blood O2 level from ~100% to a safe but unnaturally low level for a short period of time. Phase #2: Retention at neutral lung pressure This causes some of the benefits and also helps with the retention in the next phase. However when the CO2 level is low, the O2 attaches too strongly to the hemoglobin (known as the Bohr Effect) and so the O2 isnвЂ™t released so much to the cells that require it.ДЄdditionally, the deep diaphragmatic breathing (вЂњstarting from the stomachвЂќ) stimulates the vagus nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces the bodyвЂ™s fight-or-flight response and causes it to relax.

Light-headedness & muscle cramps: usually, hemoglobin collects O2 at the lungs and releases it around the body.

Tingling: these pins-and-needles feelings are from the nerves randomly firing, ultimately caused by the low CO2 levels in the blood.

For some individuals in very deep sessions they might also experience muscle cramps such as the thumb and fingers getting tense. Three common sensations that people experience in these situations are tingling and light-headedness. You do not in fact get вЂњcharged with OxygenвЂќ!

Breathe somewhat more quickly than naturalДuring normal breathing your blood O2 levels are around 98% (depending on factors including altitude) so contrary to some misunderstandings this doesnвЂ™t really increase O2 levels because it canвЂ™t go higher than 100% anyway.

Breathe out as relaxed as possible by simply relaxing the lungs (вЂњlet it goвЂќ / вЂњnever forceвЂќ).

For example the following pieces of advice are commonly given: The main purpose of this phase is to reduce the CO2 levels as much as possible while remaining in a relaxed state. When your CO2 levels become too high you feel discomfort, and your diaphragm (below your lungs) may start to twitch as a reflex to force you to breathe. This is not because you run out of Oxygen but because the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) level in your bloodstream becomes too high.

If you hold your breath right now youвЂ™ll probably feel an urge to breathe after about 30-40 seconds.

Holding your breath without the Wim Hof Method

Holding your breath without the breathing technique.

#Wim hof breathing exercise how to#

There are many resources online explaining in detail how to perform this вЂ“ in particular itвЂ™s part of the official Fundamentals course by Wim Hof*ДЄ variation of the method is also found in yogic teachings, where it is named Rechaka Pranayama.Д«ut what exactly is happening inside the body during a session of Wim Hof Method breathing? What are the real benefits and why? LetвЂ™s take a more detailed look at the BiologyвЂ¦ A short breath hold for about 15 seconds with the lungs full of air.Holding the breath at neutral lung pressure for as long as you can do so comfortably.30 deep breaths faster than normal pace (controlled hyperventilation).Alongside cold showers and ice baths, a major part of the Wim Hof Method is a breathing technique with the following sequence: