Wim Hof Breathwork and Cold Exposure Adventure
Queenstown Oct 2024
Laura (Livewild.nz)
I have always been excited to try new experiences, especially when it comes to natural health. I have joined a few local workshops teaching breathwork, Yoga, and meditation in my hometown over the past few years, and I am still trying to make these teachings part of my daily routine. Sometimes, I am good, and other times, it just seems like I am too busy to 'find time' when I know, in actual fact, that when you make time to slow down and build resilience, you become a better and more productive version of yourself. Still, life is all about cycles or seasons; sometimes, I just need a little extra sleep. Other times, I feel completely energised to get up at 5am and begin my day with exercise and breathwork. Either way, I am learning to be OK with what season I am in.
Laura from Live Wild New Zealand has a wide range of knowledge and experience in this well-being field. She offers various workshops and retreats both here in NZ and all over the world! She knows what she's doing, and after spending time with her and a group of strangers who have become my friends, I can see how she reads people's energy and can tune in to each individual's needs and points of resistance.
OK, let's go... onto the 4-day, 3-night Wim Hof adventure experience at Lake Hawea, just up the road from Queenstown, NZ. On arriving at Qtown airport and waiting for pickup, there is always something I try to do first. They don't call me the 'barefoot guy' for no reason. I found a lovely patch of grass to lie down in the sunshine and wait for my pickup. As you do, I start to look around and 'guess' who else may be waiting to go on the adventure. Sure enough, two guys in hiking gear are looking geared up are ready to go. Next came a lady who flew in from Hong Kong and a South African guy living in Christchurch. Laura pulls in to get us, and there are warm hugs and welcomes all around. We headed off to meet up with the rest up of the group. Many of the others were 'locals’, all but one having originated from other parts of the world.
As an opening adventure, we went straight to the Remarkables ski resort and went on a hike while getting to know each other. While not thinking too much about what we would be doing up here in the snow, I should have paid more attention to the Laura’s quiet comment, 'You may like to take a towel'. Once we made it up to near the summit, there happened to be a frozen lake. Oh, joy. Surely, we are not jumping into that pre-prepared hole in the ice (Laura and her kids cut an opening the weekend prior).
Yup, there we were, at the top of the Remarkables ski field in nearly 0-degree water for our first exhilarating cold therapy lesson without delay!
What a great way to 'break the ice' (pun intended) and form a bond between the group as we focused on our breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth and started to yell out words of what we were grateful for in life. "Family, health" were my two contributions before it was time to move out, back into the snow to start our 'who ha' which, if you haven't participated in the Wim Hof method before, is a way of moving your body and breathing to force your body to warm up naturally in a cold environment. It certainly works, but once this is done, we needed to hustle to dress and get moving down the mountain.
What's the whole point of this you may ask? Why would anyone willingly put themselves into a near-freezing state just to warm up again? Well, the accepted theory is that our bodies are more than capable of doing this. Still, most of us have forgotten that we can manage stressful situations and bring on calmness with our minds and breath alone. We don't need the comforts of life continuously; these are making us weak and apathetic. Putting yourself into a controlled stress situation and learning how to return to calmness builds resilience and inner strength, as well as being a righteous kick in the 'I feel ALIVE' department.
Next, we were off to our ‘home’ for the next three nights, the amazing 'Lake Hawea View' homestead. It is a beautiful and large home up on the hill with a view of the lake and surrounding Southern Alps. This place had an amazing open fireplace to warm the space and soul. There is something special about gathering around a fire and sharing our introduction story with people we hadn't yet met a few hours ago but had already experienced more than most do while living in the 'rat race' of day to day life in a city.
After our first of many amazing shared meals prepared by the most passionate and healthy food-loving chefs, Laura went into great detail on the various forms of breathwork and ways to use our breath in daily life to refocus in the home and workplace. Teaching us breathwork tools to help take the body out of the 'I am being chased by a tiger' stress state back into normal. It's not good for us to stay in the high-tension, high-stress mode that modern life can stick us in for such long periods.
It was time for an early night. There was a chance of rain or snow if we were super lucky as it really only snows down to the ground once, maybe twice a year here, but the reports were showing a chance of snow, and I friggin love snow!!
Upon waking and getting ready for the daily 0800 Yoga and breathwork session, I was happy to note that it was noticeably chilly outside. I started shamelessly telling everyone that snow was on the way!
As we started our Yoga, the snow came down. With the fire's warmth and the picturesque snow falling through the windows, I couldn't have been happier than I was at this moment.
Following our 'wake-up & stretch' yoga, we sat in a circle for a Cacao ceremony filled with gratitude and a side of history about the significance of Cacao and its nurturing properties. I have been having Cacao as I prepare for sleep for a long time. I find it really helps me set the intention to end the day, wind down, and slow the mind before sleep.
While this was a structured retreat, there was always 'down time' between sessions. Laura had it down packed what knowledge she wanted to pass onto the group, but as far as time went, "it went with the flow".
We split into Male and female groups for the next 3 hours. Heading outdoors into the spa in the near blizzard was a highlight! Not a breath of wind or any sound from the township below could be heard with the snow falling on my head; it was about now that some hair on my head would have been nice! Sitting in the hot tub, the seven of us got to speak man-to-man and share what we wanted, with each of us having a moment to be heard. I shared the battle with getting too fixated on 'needing' to make 'progress'. I struggle with letting the world pass by as I tick things off my 'to-do' list that never seems to get any shorter.
Right, it's time for more cold exposure! After a quick breathwork energising our courage, we were out of that bath and running toward the two inches of snow as a group. A moment later, I was sliding like a penguin and rolling around like a puppy seeing fresh snow for the first time. After exposing your body to this sudden cold shock, it's essential to bring your heightened state back to calmness. Don't rush back into a spa or sauna; use your breath and muscles to slow the breath and create warmth from within. Laura tells us that the 'warming up' period should last for twice as long as the exposure to cold. After we were done with our Wim Hof 'who Ha’s', we were into the barrel sauna for more heat and sharing. Again, this place we were staying at was 'silly good', and the snow just made the whole experience top-notch!
Once we swapped with the girls and headed back inside for some downtime, we sat around the fire playing some Jinger Tower game and passing around musical instruments for an impromptu jam session. (No experience required)
In the afternoon the groups came together for a Wim Hof breathwork session while the fire roared and snow continued to fall. This way of breathing is a very focused method that when practiced stimulates the parasympathetic system bringing your body down into calmness. I had done this type of breathwork prior a few times and really enjoyed it. The state that it can put you in can be pretty emotional and even bring up long-since-forgotten thoughts, pain, and pleasure. It's important to do this under the guidance of someone like Laura, who has not only been taught correctly but has had the experience to reinforce the teachings. While I have always found this type of breathwork inspiring and vision-building for me, for others it can be over-confronting. It may lead to a state where you need more support that is presently available to you if done at the wrong time.
I would recommend everyone can give breathwork a go, try to find a local teacher but check their credentials, and make sure they haven't been 'self-taught' from the internet if they are going to be taking you into the depths of intense breathwork that the Wim Hof method teaches us. The same goes for cold therapy; there is a growing awareness of how good both methods are for modern living. Ice baths are becoming more popular at health spas and gyms. You can start by taking a cold shower and building up from there. The research says that aiming for a combined 11 minutes per week of cold therapy can significantly impact our immunity, metabolism, resilience and overall well-being.
The next morning, the snow had stopped and the sunshine had come out. We completed our Yoga and breathwork and set out intentions for the day, followed by a quick-fire question/answer session where we each privately wrote the answers in our journals. This type of limited time to answer questions is a good tool to help identify what matters in life and helps to remove the noise. I once did one where we had 5 minutes to write our own obituary. Thinking about what your wife/partner/kids would say at your funeral was another challenging task to refocus on what in life really matters. As these sessions always come at you unprepared, this was quite confronting for some in the group.
At the end of this session, we had a 'burning,' where we wrote down one thing on a piece of paper that we wanted or needed to let go of. I had heard of this before and even had it suggested that I try this from my wife and another guy I know from my gym. I resigned from my position as a firefighter just over a year ago. This was 18 years of my life that I gave my all to. While I enjoyed my time and the experiences, people and skills I gained from this role I was in quite a negative state with the management side of this job and on my leaving day, all I given for recognizing my contribution was a notebook piece of paper saying, "See ya later" from my 'Chief'. After 18 years of giving my all to the job and the pain that comes with this role, I was less than happy with being 'just another number' in the system. So that's what I wrote down on my piece of paper. While the pain didn't vanish instantly, now when I catch myself thinking about this moment in my life, I can instead internally picture that piece of paper burning to ash and disappearing. I hope that with time, I will only think of the good times of being a firefighter.
After our meal, we went out the door for our next adventure! And this time I took a towel! Up and over the Haast Pass with the snow all around was a treat. After chuckling at 'Bum Bay', where the lake looks like a giant sat down, we arrived at our first destination, Fantail Falls. We were straight into building rock stacks! The highest amount of rocks stacked on top of each other wins! This was followed by the great kiwi pastime of skimming rocks over the water. Sure enough, the testosterone flowed as each male showed his strength and ability to hit more challenging targets while hoping his shoulder socket stood the test.
During the weekend, Laura repeatedly spoke to the group about the importance of play. Many adults stop playing and showing off their creativity. Don't be like that, she said. Go get amongst it and keep playing.
Stripping down, crossing the knee-deep water to the waterfall, and throwing ourselves into the near-zero water for two minutes was much to the delight of the numerous tourists dressed in winter jackets. I would believe it made a good photo for their Kiwi experience.
Warming up the only way we now knew, we were loaded into the van and off to a top-secret spot 2 minutes back down the road that Laura's kids had discovered while stuck in roadworks some years prior. Wilsons Creek would be passed by 99.9% of people, but if you ever want to return to the Jurassic period, stop here and head the 50 meters up this cavern to see some cool terrain and waterfall.
Considering that we had just been in cold water moments ago. This was an optional swim. However, even though I felt resistance myself, the group's energy got everyone to get their togs back on. We went as a group up the stream before again getting in shoulder-deep. Going under the waterfall here was something else! When cold water flows, it’s a step up from water that is still. After being in this 'shower' the water right next to it seemed warm. Even getting back to the 'shore' down where we had come from, for me it was nicer to swim down the shallow river than walk. After this experience in this wonderful place, all I could think of was, "This is living". To think about how much time I spend indoors just working through my 'to-do' list and that real LIFE is just a moment away at all times was quite profound for me. Back to our home for an afternoon of sauna, spa, and ice baths or sit by the fire chatting and playing Jenga.
I had mentioned the chefs earlier, but these two provided us with bellies full of nourishing and unique meals twice a day all weekend long. The passion they put into the food and the stories of where the food was sourced (locally if available) and why each was good for you was an absolute treat. As a reasonably basic eater, I would love to go into more detail. Still, I would fail to explain how good it was. Let's just say that you are not going to be disappointed until you realise that you will eventually have to leave this place.
This evening we sat around the fire playing music and talking.
Even though it was now the last day, Laura had an adventure planned for us. No time to start sulking about heading home, we were up and straight into our Yoga, followed by another Wim Hof breathwork session before grabbing a drink bottle and heading out the door. Over to the other side of the lake is a path that heads up, straight up via what seems like 100 hairpin paths until you reach a rocky point overlooking the lake and township. This would have been a challenge for any of us on a normal morning; however, Laura wanted us to practice our nose breathing. "Take a small sip of water in your mouth, hold it there, and follow me". This was a challenge; we could not take a cheat breath through the mouth, so we headed up the mountain until Laura stopped. "Who still has their water?" about half still did, not me though; my nostrils just couldn't take in enough oxygen. Laura has been explaining to us all weekend that nose breathing is more effective. It's not easier than mouth breathing; in fact, it has twice as much resistance to getting air in, but our bodies are more efficiently able to use the oxygen when taken in through the nose. This leads to greater lung capacity, endurance, and fitness if practised regularly so that it becomes your way to breathe subconsciously.
Onward and upward, we tried our best to control our breathing until we reached the top. Posing for photos on top of the world was a nice way to end. We raced down the mountainside, as we knew brunch was ready and waiting for us on the other side of the lake! Those who were faster had time to jump in the lake for a refreshing dip.
The time here on the Wim Hof adventure was coming to an end. This weekend for me was a much-needed 'circuit breaker', as I called it during one of our sharing sessions. While we were introduced to many practical methods to bring balance and calmness into our daily lives, I know that life comes with many seasons. Right now, I feel calmer and more focused on what matters most to me, but I still want to continue to grow as a Husband, Dad and entrepreneur. I am excited to be alive, and I am OK with the fact that sometimes I am going to be the version of myself that was here on the retreat, and at other times, I will be more focused on 'work'. I am grateful to my wife and kids for giving me space to go away, to Laura for her ability to connect and teach and to all the beautiful soles that have become my friends.
I will be back, and next time, I will bring someone with me to share this adventure.
Happy Earthing,
Blake