Day 1 of Week 1 for the Wim Hof cold shower challenge. I should have recorded it since the sounds I made were interesting to say the least. That was a rough 15 seconds. I did not get my head under the shower but I did manage to get the rest of my body into contact. I had to keep reminding myself “all in, just do it!”
My water comes from a well and so is COLD even in summer. In the winter it is even colder. Yikes.
Well, I did not die. It’s just a few seconds of cold water after all, and my hesitation and fear of the discomfort probably made it see worse than it actually was. Reminds my of my favorite quote from a move (Dune):
Fear is the mind-killer.
As for the breathing exercise I did before the shower, that was ok. I could only hold my breath about 2 minutes, which I guess is not bad. I am curious to see how that changes over time. I don’t like the headrush feeling, but I am laying down and I know if I were to faint I would just shift to normal breathing. I’m not worried about that. I once asked a sensei in a martial art class who I trusted to “choke me out” so I can see what it feels like to loose consciousness from that hold and better gauge when to tap out and when to try to break out. Happened fast and painless, tho took me maybe 30 – 60 seconds to feel fully back in the moment.