Good description! It is also nice to read that someone else lost focus and got hung up on how long can you do the breath hold. I assume that is a natural thing and my goal this time around is to ignore the times. With my regular meditation I achieved the state you describe more often. I have to say getting to that point does feel like kind of an enlightenment. I am at a loss to describe it beyond a feeling of detachment and drifting, but also fully present.
Wow! And this after the exhale? Impressive. Tried it for the second time today, and holding for 1.5 minutes after the exhale was easier than it was yesterday. I could have held on a bit longer, but not much. I'm sure I'll increase the hold over time, but I don't know if I'll ever reach your lofty heights.
I'm presently reading a book on breathing that discusses the subject in some detail, along with other methods of breathwork, such as Buteyko and holotropic. And so I thought I'd try it. I wish I looked into the matter when you brought it up! But I'm still hesitant about the cold immersion. Baby steps. Quick question. The Wim Hof method call for a long breath hold after the exhale, whereas you said you held your breath after the inhale. Are you going rogue, or are you doing the extended breath hold after completing the cycle(s) as an extra feature?
My experience, and I think it would be everyone's, that I could hold my breath considerably longer after and inhale rather than exhale. With that in mind my belief was it would be easier to get into the deep meditative state in a longer state of oxygen deprivation. For me it worked, kind of, but it was elusive, and like I wrote it became a contest which seemed self-defeating. I think the original method was better for a longer-term commitment to find that separation between mind and body.
When doing the controlled hyperventilating part, do you breathe principally through your mouth? As I noted earlier, I found it difficult to keep pace inhaling through the nose.
Inhale and exhale through mouth only. I suppose it's a personal preference. If I remember correctly Hoff stated that doing whatever works for an individual than being strict to one form or another.
Finished that book yesterday: It was a genuinely fascinating read. The author is not a doctor or scientist, but rather a science writer who spent some years trotting the globe, researching the subject. I knew that how we breathe can change both our psychology and physiology, but I had no idea to what extent. Apparently, how we breathe can even affect the structure of our face and our air passages. He discusses the many forms of breathwork and their origins, with a number of them having documented benefits. The thing is, while there are some similarities between and among the different breathwork styles, there are also some meaningful differences - even when seeking the same outcome. So while I would not compare the Wim Hof method with yogic breathing, because their immediate objectives are not the same, there are apparently contradictory differences between relaxation methods. For example, some such methods call for deep, diaphragmatic breathing and pausing after the inhale, while other methods call for under-breathing, so that there is a slight sense of "air hunger" throughout, with pauses after the exhalation, but not after the inhale. Another method calls for no pauses. The only similarity among those relaxation methods is the slowing down of the breathing. The appendix summarizes the different approaches and their techniques. My takeaway is to do...whatever, so long as it is conscious and intentional. To breathe fast if I want to wind up, and to breathe more slowly if I want to wind down. Everything else seems to be just so much fluff and fold.
Do you guys do the Wim Hof controlled hyperventilation breathwork (apart from the breath holds) at the same pace as that in the video? Faster? Slower?
Did the 3 cycles just now, with a pulse oximeter, which is reportedly accurate to within +-2%. My oxygen went from 98 at the start to a low of 76 during the session. It bounced around and was 86 when I finished. It took a couple of minutes before it went back to 98-99. Have you guys checked your readings?
The oximeter we had crapped out last year and I haven't replaced it. When it was working it never crossed my mind to check it, now I wish I had. I more so go at my own pace, but when I had the video running, I was pretty close to the pace he uses.