Ice Bath NYC Wim Hof Style – I DID IT!

Ice Bath NYC Wim Hof Style – I DID IT!

It’s at 11 pm. Today earlier at 7 pm I was in the ice water. Living my most intense survival story. If you’re interested in Wim Hof breathing exercise and ice bath or simply seeing what I’m up to, keep on reading.

I’ll be sharing what I’ve done and what it taught me, which I didn’t expect that at all… There is an awareness I have, a new me.

Before going forward, I’d love thank to my gym for being open, so the trainers like Mike and Jen could offer us something like FIRE and ICE experience. Thank you!

First, what is the ice bath and who is Wim Hof?

Let’s start with Wim Hof, the guy who I was watching and learning about for the last year. They call him Iceman. He is pretty interesting… For me, he is a superhero because he wants to share what he can do with the scientist who is normally super limited by their work and mind. Wim wanted to work with scientists so they can learn how he does what he can do. What can he do? Well.. Staying in the ice for hours. Walking in the desert or snowy mountains for days without food or drinks (really, maybe he gets water), and diving in the polar ice waters when he talks about it he says “my eye’s retina froze, couldn’t see”. So when people and media were calling Superman, he said “no, anyone can do what I can do” and proves it since.

There are many things he can do, but the main thing ANYONE can learn is his simple breathng method. If you wish, you can combine it with cold showers. And BAM! No more sickness, higher immune both physcological and physical.

Learn more about him here, and watch my favorite videos of him below at the end to learn more about him.

Where did you find the ice bath in New York?

Good question 🙂 My gym had a program fire + ice bath. As soon as I saw it got really excited and wanted to try. I didn’t know much about what they will do, but as soon as seen the ice thought it should be something similar to Wim Hof ice bath and signed up and paid the fee, so I kinda locked myself in.

So, tell me again, why the heck you wanted to go in ice, when it’s already cold outside?

Hmm.. Good question. As you can see my video, I completely forgot what my intention, what my why was when I on my way to the gym. A part of me, a BIG part of me wanted to stay in bed warmth. Another part was biking to the ice bath like she knew something. My conscious part forgot. But the main reasons were:

I knew ice bath/cold would make my body stronger, healthier and happier.

I wanted to see if I can stay. I watched a lot of Youtube videos about it. I knew a lot. But I haven’t tried it yet. When my gym organized it, I had to go!

Tell me about the day.. How was it?

In the morning woke up to go play pingpong, however my apartment was cold!! The heater was not working. So I started feeling excited but close to nervous. I was fricking cold already! Was I ready for the ice bath…….

Went to pingpong, played really bad… Like my mind was elsewhere, or should we say I was panicking already? Then I came home, got in the bed, to take a nap… and I know if I didn’t pay already, I would stay in the bed. Didn’t feel so good…

Then alarm rings, and I get up. Wanted to record on my camera of the experience from the before to after. But I was late to gym. So I biked and was there on time. While I was going, asking myself why I’m going..

We started with the breathing technique. Wim Hof breathing is only one type of method and the amazing trainers showed us and guided us into 3-4 types of breathing techniques. This took around 1 hour.

Then we walked to the hot tub. Hangout in there the for around 15 minutes. They asked who wants to go first, and as you can guess, I was the volunteer. Haha!

Oh boy..

As soon as I get up from the hot tub, I could feel the cold weather. We are on March 10th, still, winter right? Walking to outside to foggy New York, there it was 2 bathtubs. Filled with thick real ice… OMG! I asked, am I really gonna do it? How am I gonna do it? Trainer Mike said, just do it once and quickly, and I did!!!! (watch the video!!)

I realized thinking, prep talks, analzing, strategizing is not gonna work, so I moved one feet in the freezing water and then other feet and quickly my whole body.. and it started.

How can I say.. time shifted. It was really slow, and also it was fast. Thinking OMG, 3 minutes, how am I gonna do it… never ending.. and when it’s done, OMG it’s over already?!

The first seconds in the ice, I thought I can’t do it. My mind was telling me, I should get up and get out of the cold water.. I call that part the concious mind. If I did listen to it I’d be in the bed in the first place.

What I did was to focus on my breath. That breath was different than Wim Hof’s breathing technique. And it does have a calming effect, x seconds of inhaling, then 2X seconds of exhaling. Earlier in the breathing part, I could do long times of inhaling and exhale. But as soon as I got in the ice, first my breath stopped, that’s the flight or fight response, no air movement, that’s when I wanted to get out with survival instincts; and I had to push myself so hard to remember how to breathe regularly. And then I kept focused on the breath. Inhale, and exhale in double time or at least slower than the inhale.

If with a purpose or mistakenly move a part of my body, especially feet and hands, it would hurt so much.. So I was not moving at all. I also closed my eyes most of the time, because I didn’t want to see the ice. I was trying to breath and be in a warm place in my mind. I was in a panicked place.

Yes, I could get out anytime, and staying was my choice. I was curious about learning what it’ll teach me and I knew there is no harm in doing that. Just a huge discomfort. I mean huge as your body gives you signals that you’re dying!!!

So I kept breathing and all the voices around me were away from me like the trainers kept talking and I was not listening. At some point, I heard smile for the photo, and I did that barely… 🙂 Terrified to break my focus. I may have spoke one-two word in all 9-10 minutes of my total ice bath time.

While I was not moving or talking, the guy who’s doing it in the other bathtub, couldn’t stop talking… Which later we discussed, some people don’t talk and want to be left alone, others want to look and talk.

In other circumstances I’d yell at him “be quiet” like in the yoga classes. (Ok not really yell, but get annoyed and distracted). But I had to really focus on the breath, and let go the guy’s non stop talking about random stuff just like the ice I’m touching for minutes…

I think the point is to shut down the thinking mind and let the body do what it does best, adapt to new conditions and keep you survived.

At the end of my first 3 minutes, they asked me to put my head inside the ice water. I was not sure if I heard it right, cause I didn’t prepare myself for that. Also was it healthy? I finish my showers cold, but never my head, believing too cold for brain/head not good. I asked them really. And so I did that, which is unbelieable to say but that last 3-10 seconds are my favorite time in the ice bath!

Oh hardest one? It’s the getting out the ice and facing the warm weather first time.. Your skin feels like needles on them. I was shaking and hard to walk.. And then the second hardest part is to get in the hot tub, so hot, more needles are attacking to your skin.. LOL

I was really happy that it was over and I was in the hot water, till I heard I’ll do it again. 2 more times… I was like nooooo….

They asked if we’re ready, we said no, we need to get warm a bit more. And after feeling hot, we went outside again.. It was cold even walking. I had no idea how I was gonna do it. I can’t do it. And then jump in. And breathe… This time I kept the end head in the water longer, since I was ready. My maskara washed off my face :p

When I was out of the water, shaking, trying to walk, I asked Mike “is it okay, I don’t do again? I don’t want to do the third one” the answer was “sure, if that’s what you want in 20 mins”.. I was not even able to speak properly.

Less than 15 minutes later I was ready for the last round. When we walked outside to next to the bathtub, the fear kicked in again… “is it okay I don’t do it?” answer was the kind welcoming “yes, sure if that’s what you want”. So I didn’t feel pressured or felt pressured by the kindness and jumped in the ice. This time was the hardest as I was shaking a bit inside the ice. And as if you remember the more you move, the more you feel the ice..

What are the lessons you learned pumpkin?

Hmm… I’ll make a list of the things I know, and also learned today:

1. The conscious mind has many learnings that limit the person. This “I” or “me” is shaped by parents, friends, life experiences, etc..
2. Limits like I can not do that. My body is like that. So many limitations. Science and medicine have lots of them on us!
3. Facing one of your limits or fears, such as staying stable in the frozen water for 3 minutes, 180 seconds… reprograms your mind around your limits.
4. From “ice water makes me sick, I can never do that, those Russians who do the ice bath crazyy” to “I can do anything!” to…
5. I can be anyone I want. Who says I’m blah blah… Well, you say! Or you believe. And to change that depends on this awareness of “it’s up to me”
6. And I learned today that it’s not the conscious mind says and believes anything. You can say things, the real mechanism in human systems are deep within like subconscious mind. If it believes that ice water will kill you, it’ll make sure you don’t get in the ice water, and feel scared, etc.. and probably kill you. You can say things it doesn’t change the belief.
7. Once you hands-on experience the breaking of the limiting belief, then the subconscious mind learns and reprograms your that specific belief.
8. And I believe also it activates new belief systems because now it’s researching what other limits I’ve put there that was not valid.
9. People who think they will starve, or die of hunger if they don’t eat when they are hungry… I’m sure when they do fasting, they will get over that limiting belief, and starts eating more conscious.
10. To summarize it, Mind is very powerful beyond our consciousness and you tap into that power when you do a Wim Hof breathing or ice bath.
11. And additionally, you get lots of confidence. In general, my inner self-confidence increased a lot. Not a cocky way but feels very natural..

The Wim Hof breathing technique itself is very powerful. Because pretty much you exhaust yourself with fast inhales and exhales, and then exhale completely and hold like that… it’s pretty fascinating to see that your body doesn’t need that much oxygen and you can hold it like that very long time. Just like the ice bath, your body handles the situation. This helps your immune system and autonomic nervous system to calm down as it’s not really a flight/fight situation..

Okay, will sleep now. I’ll continue writing tomorrow. Oh for now, one last thing, your skin gets sooooo good! My face was tight, shining and blushed. My legs, chest and bum was also firm and lifted. Just saying! 🙂

to be continued.

Below are some amazing videos, if you’re a bit interested in getting better of yourself, accessing some true powers, then watch them out!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

Tags: ice bath, ice bath nyc, wim hof ice bath, wim hof breathing, breathing exercise, breathing exercise nyc