Christian uses Wim Hof's breathing and cold-shower technique, 12-15 minutes daily, to manage work, school, and parenting. He noticed immediate mood shifts and more patience with his kids. His six-year-old son naturally breathes diaphragmatically and tolerates cold, showing what adults forget.
Chapters
My name is Christian. One year ago I saw a TED Talk with Wim Hof and I got interested. I found some of the method and I tried it out and I felt there's something here. I tried doing it and I find it calming. So I got more interested and I found out I could use it in my daily life. I have kids, I have work, I go to school. I have a busy schedule. It's easier for me than to do meditation because it has a physical aspect. So if I wake up grumpy and I don't have the energy, I can do a session and it can change my mood. I can go from being angry maybe, or like this, and be happy. It makes me smile and it makes me focus. I can use this focus with my kids and in my everyday life. It makes a difference for me. I think that anyone can benefit from this because we have busy schedules in the Western world. We live busy lives. You can get caught up in the busy life and you forget to live. If you forget to live, you forget to love, and then what's the point? Not getting enough sleep, which is quite common when you have kids, I can go do a short session, maybe 12-15 minutes, have a cold shower. That will give me focus and energy, and it will last most of the day. That way, instead of biting at the kids for, you know, something— you know, you spill milk— then if I do my everyday practice, I would be more calm, and then I'll say, well, it's milk, we'll clean it. Whereas if you're grumpy and, you know, not yourself, then you'll snap And it starts a bad circle, like in the house, in the family. When I did the Wim Hof Method in the beginning, I thought I needed to have calm surroundings, so I isolated myself, I closed the door so the kids wouldn't bother me. And one day I forgot to close the door. I have a son, he's 6 years old, and I didn't even notice he sneaked up on me, and he was looking at me like, "What are you doing?" He sat down beside me And he started breathing. I could see the interest, right? And then I thought about the cold. How do kids— they're natural around the cold. Of course they get cold and they shake, but if they have fun, they'll keep going. Like in the winter with playing in the snow. And I think that they can benefit from it if we don't inhibit them. Like, we always try to make everything so safe, but maybe they know. They know when it's enough for them. And the same with the breathing. They're so natural. They breathe with their bellies, with the stomach, like we're supposed to, instead of just up here. And well, my big son, Mads, he did some breathing with me, and I can see that he's interested. And I'm— after this experience, now that I've been here conquering the cold and getting deeper into the method, I definitely want to share it with my kids too and my wife. Everyone can benefit from this.
