N-ice and easy for new way to live

Lifestyle – Exposure to extreme cold is one pillar of the Wim Hof Method, named for its founder who’s also known as the Iceman. But it’s not the only one. Breathwork and commitment are crucial too, according to Josef Steiner, an instructor in the method. He tells JUDY MURPHY how its benefits include reducing stress and boosting the immune system.

Fifteen years ago, Josef Steiner was sent a video clip of Dutchman Wim Hoff running across the Arctic Circle, barefoot and wearing only shorts. He was fascinated.

Hof who holds more 26 world records for endurance events – including spending nearly two hours in an ice-bath – has followers all over the world who swear that adopting his radical approach to building resilience has changed their lives.

The approach involves special breathing techniques and immersing the body in sub-zero temperatures to tackle stress and strengthen immunity.

Josef, who teaches Aikido and cranio-sacral therapy at the Nádúir Centre for Holistic Health in na Forbacha, reckoned there was method in Hof’s madness but, at the time, didn’t investigate it further.

However, about 10 years later his partner Ciara Ní Dhiomasaigh, who had sent him the original Arctic clip, forwarded another Wim Hof video to Josef.  In it, Hof outlined how he’d begun using extreme cold, along with the power of his own breath to transform his life

His wife had died by suicide 1995 and he was left with four children to rear. At a low ebb, he found that swimming in icy water helped him live in the moment as he dealt with the trauma of her suicide, while trying to rear their family.

“The way he was using nature and the cold as a way of healing, it spoke to me,” Josef explains. “I lost my dad to suicide when I was very young. After spending a lot of my life trying to overcome that tragedy for myself, it resonated.”

Josef began to explore it, on YouTube initially. In a way, it was a natural progression for him.

“I’ve been practising breathwork for many years and it also reminded me of Aikido,” he says of the martial arts skill he teaches.

“It’s a powerful reset that changes the mindset and physical sensations in the body,” he says of Wim Hof’s method, which he is now qualified to teach.

Breathing techniques, exposure to cold and commitment are its cornerstones.

Originally from Austria and raised in the Alps, Josef is more used to dealing with ice and sub-zero temperatures than most. As a child, he recalls his parents encouraging him and his siblings to have cold showers. Then, while out in the mountains hunting with his father, they played in the snow. Their house was also old, part of it dating from the 1700s, and when the stove wasn’t lit, it was cold.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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