or Those who follow Wim Hof #3
This is probably my first, conscious time standing on snow barefoot.
Feeling?
It melts, yes, snow melts, feet no:)
Me, standing barefoot on snow on a balcony around my garden pots.
Photo from the personal photo album. January 19, 2021
How far we go with the exposure to cold?
Again, I expose myself to Cold as for curiosity to feel the limits – how far could the human body go? However, I know the Cold from around my 15th when I started to stand all in cold shower. Ask me why? I have no clue, there were no internet or any kind of stream information to provoke this practice, but I have started it for myself.
In fact, we started at the similar time, but in different parts of the planet, and cause of different reasons. For Wim Hof it was a new breath and a way to survive the tragedy in family; for me it was just Cold.
I already used to wash my face, and a half of a body with new white snow, but to stand on it barefoot?…Hmmm…cannot remember now…Let’s say it is the first time!
You may need to read my two previous posts about walking on cold air to understand HOW it could be in real, and what limitations should put you away of repeating the same:
Those who follow Wim Hof #1 / Prophylactic self-isolation series. Day 292nd.
Those who follow Wim Hof #2/ Prophylactic self-isolation series. Day 306th.
Sleeping on a balcony in the winter
Please, do not repeat it, there are so many things to know before doing this that a good chapter in a book would be not enough:)
Yes, last week, next day after walking on cold along the seashore Those who follow Wim Hof #2/ Prophylactic self-isolation series. Day 306th., I spent a night on a balcony, sleeping on a balcony, on a fresh air at around -3 C / 25 F. Guys, this is the way to feel alive!
All the next day my body felt into deep relax, I was breathing soo deep and calmly as never before. I slept during the day a few days at least for around 1-2 hours.
And my analytical mind was switched off. I was just living creature, without “thinking head”. Those who read my posts daily may probably noticed – last week the posts were short, and a few I managed just to regurgitate without deep involvement (sorry for that:))
What if You Stopped Thinking All the Time? – Wim Hof, The Iceman
Colombia stories and pink dolphins
A few years ago I was at the internship in USA. There I met a few students from Colombia (we were in the same learning group at the university). Colombia! The country where I have never been!
How that has happened, but most of the free time we spent all together, talking, laughing and sharing the stories. Did you know there are pink dolphins in Colombia? Yes, the stories were just exciting.
Photo from aquaexpeditions.com (1)
One story about “cold allergy”
Once, we started talking about cold water and healthy life habits. One of the Colombian lady told she is allergic to cold water. I heard. For a moment I matched two things together trying to perceive “How that could happen?” So, I asked her to explain, how does she KNOW THAT IT IS AN ALLERGY, and how does she feel during cold shower?
She answered, after jumping (jumping!) into cold water or turning on a cold shower she feels her breath like disturbed and like not possible to breathe enough.
Explanation of “cold allergy”
First of all, it is always a good idea to start gradually. A body must to adapt itself a bit to cold. More so,
the breathing center (respiratory control center) is located in the medulla oblongata, in other words, upper part of a neck back.
Photo by OpenStax (2)
The breathing center must be protected from direct and sudden temperature fluctuations. So, jumping straight away into cold water, or opening a cold water in a shower when the shower head is up and water would run straight on your head and neck – bad idea!
Sudden temperature change in the area of a respiratory control center (medulla oblongata, or back of the neck) would provoke the feeling of lack of air and abnormal breathing like grasping air. Legs/arms/face first!
Once again, exposure to cold water should be gradual, starting from anywhere else, like arms, legs, face, but not from the back of a neck, ok:)
Photo by Pexels
You may order the Wim Hof’s book “Becoming the Iceman” on a Shop page or following the link below:
Becoming the Iceman
References:
- https://www.aquaexpeditions.com/blog/amazon/facts-amazon-pink-river-dolphin/
- By OpenStax – https://cnx.org/contents/FPtK1zmh@8.25:fEI3C8Ot@10/Preface, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30147954
Further reading:
- KOX, M., et al. Voluntary Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System and Attenuation of the Innate Immune Response in Humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 20140505, May 20, 2014, vol. 111, no. 20. pp. 7379-7384 ISSN 1091-6490; 0027-8424., with videos: https://www.pnas.org/content/111/20/7379
- MUZIK, O., REILLY, K.T. and DIWADKAR, V.A. “Brain Over body”–A Study on the Willful Regulation of Autonomic Function during Cold Exposure. NeuroImage, 2018, vol. 172. pp. 632-641.
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