I ordered the doggo treats and oximeter. The treats came, but the oximeter was not in the box. Fun with Amazon ahead, yipee.
Question of priorities. Which one of you placed the order? Meanwhile, we haven't heard from the Cap'n in a bit. Hope he didn't take it a breath too far. If you're reading this, Cap'n, I recall you mentioned having tinnitus, something I'm all too familiar with. A few people complained online that doing the Wim Hof breathwork resulted in their developing tinnitus. I don't know if that would be the reason, and so I'm curious to know if your tinnitus coincided with your WHM breathwork.
My tinnitus came on long before the WHM breathwork. It is the result of being exposed to heavy weapons while in the military, and then followed by working in very loud environments, (Power plants, steel mills, oil refineries), for quite some time, most of it without proper hearing protection. Actually, the breathing and meditation helps with the tinnitus. I have also noticed that my tinnitus got worse after each Covid shot which lasted about 4-6 weeks before reverting back to the normal annoyance. Referring to Dr. Google that seems to happen in a small % of cases. Lucky me.
That's what I figured. Same here, sans the heavy weaponry part. After finishing Breath, by James Nestor, I started reading The Oxygen Advantage, by Patrick McKeown, a Buteyko practitioner, who essentially believes in slight underbreathing. I also have The Wim Hof Method by the man himself on my Kindle, waiting for my attention next. These damn books. They're like peanuts; you can't just stop at the one. This morning, I did the WHM, with 60-, 90-, and 120-second holds. The oximeter reading was at 37 towards the end of the 3rd cycle, but the oximeter is not reliable below 70. Even so, I'm presently concerned about going longer than 120 seconds for fear of doing some damage and possibly becoming Republican.
I did the WHM breathwork earlier today, following this routine: But it seems I haven't been doing it in the way it was intended. (Still haven't read his book; it's next on the list.) On the exhale, I actively breathed out rather than just "let it go," as clarified in this video: Have you guys been doing it the "let it go" way on the outbreath, or were you whooshing it out, as I had been previously doing? Just curious.
I catch myself whooshing it out, but try to remember to just let it out. Hasn't been a good week for breathing or meditation. Everytime I have set aside time I have been interrupted.
Okay, thanks for letting me know. The reason I ask is because I think I "whooshed" out more than I should have just before the 3rd breath hold, which I held for about 2 minutes. I think I might have passed out for a split second at the end. A few seconds before the 2-minute mark, I momentarily forgot where I was and what I was doing. (My eyes were still open.) And then I was back. Interestingly, although I began to breathe with the initial inbreath after the hold, I didn't have a very strong compulsion to do so. Looking back, I think the extended outbreath before the 3rd hold was the culprit.* I'll try not to make that mistake again. Talk about "getting high on your own supply," eh? *Also, I'm recovering from a cold, but I didn't have this issue 3 other times during the week, so I don't think the cold had much if anything to do with it.
I did the cold shower thing this morning for the first time (since the summer of 1999 out of necessity for several days). Reading Hof's WHM book now. He wrote that beginners should start the cold showers for only 15 seconds at first for a few days, then go up to 30 seconds, then 60, and then 2 full minutes. I didn't time it, but I was in for over 2 minutes, and could have stayed longer. It felt quite invigorating in part because it was by choice. Hof wrote that the pulse rate will drop by about 15 beats per minute in due course. That seemed over the top when I read it. But just after that first cold shower this morning, and several minutes after the breathwork, my heart rate was 44 or so, which is a few beats lower than I have ever recorded in the past. Interesting. I'll probably try to extend the cold showers for a minute or 2 longer in due course, but I don't see an ice bath in my future any time soon. Also, I've extended my breath hold times on the 3rd and final round. (I don't yet feel the need for a 4th.) The first and second breath hold I keep at the prescribed 60 seconds and 90 seconds, respectively. I've gone as long as ~150 seconds after the outbreath, but today it was just over 135 seconds. It's definitely a trip right near the end of the breath hold. A real sense of detachment. (From consciousness?!)
Glad you gave the cold shower a try. I find different days I have a different reactions to the initial hit of the water. The winter tends to take a bit longer to adjust. When I was down in New Orleans in July the water never even got cold, and I admit it felt good. This weekend I am buying a bag of ice at Costco and taking an ice bath.