“Mr Burrito Bowl, I’m stressed out.  Can you give me any life advice?”- Millions of people

Yes I can.  In the words of the legendary Iceman, Wim Hof, “Breathe motherf*cker.”   I use Wim Hof’s breathing protocol every single day.  Overall, his breathing method is a stress and anxiety reducer.  He couples his breathing with cold exposure and meditation for a powerful 1-2-3 punch.

The barrier for entry is practically zero, you just have to breathe.  It’s harder to get people on board with the cold showers and meditation, but if I could convince the masses of one thing, it would be take ten minutes everyday and do his breathing exercise.

That seemed violent, what’s this about?

First off, Wim Hof is an eccentric guy from the Netherlands.  Don’t worry about the swearing, he does it with an accent.  He’s real charismatic and developed a breathing exercise that helped him cope with the death of his wife.  I tell people about his breathing exercise almost every day.  People rarely actually follow through and do it, but when they do they call me and say things like, “Holy s*** I just did the Wim Hof thing. You weren’t joking that was awesome.”

I don’t expect this article will make a ton of people suddenly start to practice his method.  I’ve been told countless times how powerful meditation is and I still struggle to find time to actually do it.  I don’t have any grand expectations that this article will singlehandedly change people’s lives but maybe it will be another reminder to try the Wim Hof method.  If you hear about this crazy Wim Hof guy enough times maybe you’ll finally sit down and try it out for yourself.

The Basics

I tell myself to breathe in Wim’s charming accent at least 13 times a day.  It helps me to center myself and find calm in the storms of life.  Mostly it’s just fun to do breathing exercises and then see how long I can hold my breath.   To do this, you breathe in deep and let go thirty times. Then, on the last exhale, hold your breath. There’s no air in your lungs but you are still able to hold your breath for between 1-2  minutes.  Once you find you need to breathe again, take a deep breath and hold that for 15-seconds.  Repeat this cycle three times.

Interested in Reducing Your Anxiety?

If you are interested in reducing your own anxiety naturally, watch this 20 minute video of Wim Hof explaining the Wim Hof Breathing Technique.  Also don’t do this while in water because you might pass out and die. And probably don’t do it while driving or else your wife will get upset with you. Other than that, have at it.

There’s a great documentary from VICE about Wim Hof and his breathing and cold exposure techniques.  He’s a real interesting character.  It’s well worth the 30 minutes it takes to watch this.

Wim Hof Vice Documentary

I can’t express how much of a tangible difference doing this has made in my life.  I have a few different friends going through shitty times and doing this breathing exercise has helped them quiet their mind and actually sleep.

For me, it reduces general anxiety about work.  I do it before I get to the job site every morning and the tasks that seemed daunting before, now seem more manageable.  It’s not magic, it’s science.  It makes me just a little bit more relaxed and a little bit happier.

You Can Wim Even if You Can’t Walk

One of my favorite humans around is my brother-in-law, Jason.  An automobile accident last November left him paralyzed from the waist down.  He’s been doing this Wim Hof method for several years and it’s helped him, and my sister Lori, navigate this new world.  He’s too humble to call himself an inspiration, even though everyone is inspired by him.

Jason talks about the Wim Hof method all the time too but he’s in a wheelchair so people tend to listen to him when he talks.  I am not in a wheelchair so people ignore my advice to try Wim Hof breathing.  Jason’s also a lot smarter than me and uses more grown-up words so maybe that’s why.  It’s some real bullshit, honestly, but as long as people eventually try it it’s all the same.

“We want to hear about it from Jason!” – the masses

Jason and Lori were going to record a little video about the Wim Hof method for the article but they are chronically late people so they’ll probably send me the video sometime mid-November.  You’ll just have to trust me that he really does it.

His positive attitude has dumbfounded doctors, nurses and generally anyone he comes in contact with.  He’s just a badass and a big part of his healing process is staying centered using the Wim Hof Method.

Here’s a little video of their family going on their first hike post accident.  It has nothing to do with the Wim Hof method but they are just great people and you’ll like the video.

Once you get going on the benefits of the breathing you can start to take cold showers or generally expose yourself to the cold as often as you can.  It increases your brown fat and is a real healthy kick in the pants.

This breathing protocol mixed with cold exposure and meditation is a great technique to rid yourself of unwanted anxiety.  If you enjoy feeling anxious and depressed, don’t do this breathing exercise.  If you combine the breathing technique with cold exposure… man, you’ll just feel really great.

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Here’s a few more articles about making your life better.

1. The Snowball Effect of Life Optimization
2. A Bunch of Weird Things We’re Doing to Be Healthy
3. 7 Things I do Every Morning to Avoid Decision Fatigue