Be the change you wish to see in the world. – Gandhi
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference. – Niebuhr
Keep the focus on yourself. It’s key in life. These two brilliant minds (Niebuhr and Gandhi) remind of us this fact.
I don’t live to work, I work to live.
As I’ve mentioned, the only constant is change. How to embrace that? Physically? And in these challenging times?
The answer came to me in the form of Wim Hof https://www.wimhofmethod.com/breathing-exercises
This “method” combines the kundalini yoga I studied in Hamden, the meditation I learned at the Common Ground in Minneapolis https://commongroundmeditation.org as well as the ice baths I took while training for the half marathons I ran a decade ago.
Wim, known as the Iceman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaMjhwFE1Zw is pretty impressive. He has something like 26 world records, including being immersed in ice water for almost 2 hours.
I was attracted to his claim of improved immunity and signed up for the Fundamentals course after trying a few techniques found on YouTube.
The cold shower is at first, quite bracing. It’s a shock, frankly, but over time and increased exposure has become delightful.
One morning about 2 weeks ago, I found myself wondering how cold Lake Beseck might be. The meat thermometer registered somewhere in the 50′ range.
I recall the Boundary Waters trip I took in the summer of 2017 and how much fun it was to swim in the lakes and watch the beavers play.
It struck me; why don’t I get in Lake Beseck and play with the otters? (Granted, I have not seen any, but there could be some there.) So, I walked in.
Yes, I drew my breath in quickly. I knew that shock was coming, but kept thinking of playing with the otters and started to swim. It felt great!
Talk about being in the moment. Slow down your heart, I heard Wim say, as he often does in the audio. Feel your body.
I have been swimming every morning since then, feeling my body in nature and savoring it.
It has helped me stay in the moment. I highly recommend and wonder, are there any other Hoffers in the Hartford area? Where do you recommend an outdoor dip?
