This Christmas we are all going to get a bit stressed.
Perhaps you will not be able to do your usual workout and your routine is disrupted.
You can however do this breathing exercise to relax you before you verbalise your stress in an unhelpful way!
The 4–7–8 Breathing Technique
This breathing
technique developed by Dr. Andrew Weil is a great way to elicit the relaxation response
that gets more effective over time.
It is a direct
influencer on the Autonomic nervous system, shifting energy from the
sympathetic to the parasympathetic system, with many physiological benefits,
including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased circulation to the
extremities and skin, and improved digestion.
It can also help you let go of
emotional upset and cravings.
How to do the 4-7-8
Breathing Exercise
1. Place the tip of
your tongue against the ridge behind and above your front teeth and keep it there
through the whole exercise.
2. Exhale completely
through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
3. Close your mouth and
inhale deeply and quietly through the nose to a (silent) count of 4.
4. Hold your breath for
a count of 7.
5. Exhale audibly
through your mouth to a count of 8.
6. Repeat steps 3, 4,
and 5 for a total of four breaths.
This breathing practice
can be done in any position; if seated, keep your back straight.
Note that you
always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth.
The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice
as long as inhalation.
The absolute time you
spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important.
If you have
trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of
4:7:8 for the three phases.
Practice the exercise
at least twice a day and, in addition, whenever you feel stressed, anxious, or
off centre.
Do not do more than
four breaths at one time for the first month of practice but repeat the exercise
as often as you wish.
After a month, if you
are comfortable with it, increase to eight breaths each time.
Dr Andy Weil, the Bulletproofbodies team salute you.
Wim Hof, holder of 20
Guinness World Records for withstanding extreme temperatures.
He has climbed
Everest and Kilimanjaro in only shorts and shoes, stayed comfortably in ice
baths for hours, and run a full marathon in the highest desert with no water & food.
However the most
earthshaking effect of the Wim Hof Method is the ability to consciously control
the immune system to fight off diseases.
Our immune system plays a significant
role in almost all devastating diseases plaguing the modern world, and finding
a way to improve it can help us discover new avenues for medicine.
The Wim Hof Method is
similar to Tummo (inner heat) Meditation and Pranayama (yogic breathing).
Yet
it is something else entirely. While Wim has studied yoga and meditation for
many years, this technique primordially comes from what he terms ‘cold hard
nature’.
By subjecting himself to the bitter conditions of nature, he learned
to withstand the extreme forces of cold, heat and fear. If you learn this
method or technique correctly, it will empower you do to the same.
The first part is a
breathing exercise which can be likened to controlled hyperventilation. This
is, of course, an oxymoron. Hyperventilation is something which happens
involuntarily. But just imagine the breathing part, without any of stress
triggers that normally cause this way of breathing. The image will consist of
rapid breathing that makes one languid, invigorates one, makes one high on
oxygen. One mechanism of this practice is the complete oxygenation of your
blood and cells.
1) Get comfortable and
close your eyes
Sit in a meditation
posture, whatever is most comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your
lungs freely without feeling any constriction. It is recommended to do this
practice right after waking up since your stomach is still empty.
2) Warm Up
Inhale deeply. Really
draw the breath in until you feel a slight pressure from inside your chest on
your solar plexus. Hold this for a moment and then exhale completely. Push the
air out as much as you can. Hold this for a moment. Repeat this warm up round
15 times.
3) 30 Power Breaths
Imagine you’re blowing
up a balloon. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth in short but
powerful bursts. The belly is pulled inward when you are breathing out and is
pulled outward when you are breathing in. Keep a steady pace and use your
midriff fully. Close your eyes and do this around 30 times or until you feel
your body is saturated with oxygen. Symptoms could be light-headedness,
tingling sensations in the body, electrical surges of energy.
4) Scan your body
During the 30 power
breaths, delve into your body and become aware of it as possible. Trace your
awareness up and down your body and use your intuition as to what parts lack
energy and what parts are overflowing. Scan for any blockage between the two.
Try to send energy/warmth to those blockages. Then release them deeper and
deeper. Tremors, traumas and emotional releases can come up. It can be likened
to kundalini rising. Feel the whole body fill up with warmth and love. Feel the
negativity burn away.
Often people report
swirling colors and other visual imagery during this exercise. Once you
encounter them, go into them, embrace them, merge with them. Get to know this
inner world and how it correlates to the feeling of tension or blockages in
your body.
5) The Hold
After the the 30 rapid
succession of breath cycles, draw the breath in once more and fill the lungs to
maximum capacity without using too much force. Then push all of the air out and
hold for as long as you can. Draw the chin in a bit so as to prevent air from
coming in again. Really relax and open all energy channels in your body. Notice
how all the oxygen is spreading around in your body. Hold the breath until you
experience the gasp reflex on the top of your chest.
6) Recovery Breath
Inhale to full
capacity. Feel your chest expanding. Release any tension in the solar plexus.
When you are at full capacity, hold the breath once more. Drop the chin to the
chest and hold this for around 15 seconds. Notice that you can direct the
energy with your awareness. Use this time to scan the body and see where there
is no color, tension or blockages. Feel the edges of this tension, go into it,
move the energy towards this black hole. Feel the constrictions burning away,
the dark places fill with light. Relax the body deeper as you move further
inward, let everything go. Your body knows better than you do. After 15 seconds
you have completed the first round.
Start this practice
with one or two rounds. Try to do it daily and add two more rounds in a few
days. After you feel more comfortable with holding your breath you can start to
add exercises and stretches. Work up to a minimum of 15 minutes or 6 rounds
with exercises. You can do this practice for how long it pleases you.
If you feel dizziness or
pain, get out of the posture and lie on your back. Breathe easily again and
stop this practice session.
Reserve at least 5
minutes after this practice to relax and scan the body.
So the Marathons are over for another year. 40 years ago marathon running was considered extreme. Now normal people who train can achieve this distance. So what's your next challenge? How about I introduce you to Wim Hof
He has done the most
incredible of things.
For instance:
Hof holds 26 world
records, including one for longest ice bath.
In 2007 he climbed to 6.7 kilometres (22,000
ft) altitude at Mount Everest wearing nothing but shorts and shoes, but failed
to reach the summit due to a recurring foot injury.
In 2008 he broke his
previous world record by staying immersed in ice for 1 hour, 13 minutes and 48
seconds at Guinness World Records 2008
In February 2009 Hof
reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro wearing shorts within two days.
Hof completed a full
marathon (42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi)), above the arctic circle in Finland,
in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F).
Dressed in nothing but
shorts, Hof finished in 5 hours and 25 minutes. The challenge was filmed by
Firecrackerfilms, who make productions for BBC, Channel 4 and National
Geographic.
In 2010 Hof again broke
the ice endurance record by standing fully immersed in ice for 1 hour and 44
minutes in Tokyo, Japan.
In 2011 Hof broke the
ice endurance record twice, in Inzell in February and in New York City in
November, setting a new Guinness World Record of 1 hour, 52 minutes, and 42
seconds.
In September, Hof ran a
full marathon in the Namib Desert without water, under the supervision of Dr.
Thijs Eijsvogels.
The cold is his teacher.
And apparently, he can teach you! Wim Hof the bulletproofbodies Team Salute you.
