« One reason why so few of us realize what we really want is that we rarely direct all of our focus and all power towards achieving a result. Most people move through life without ever deciding to master anything in particular. » Tony RobbinsTony Robbins
As you know, being totally immersed in a new activity is the best way to discover it, to understand it well, to immerse oneself in it and to progress quickly.
This is the most effective way toinitiate change while giving yourself the impetus to pursue it at home. Any process of learning about oneself is a process that must be a long-term and autonomous one.
Athletes take part in training camps, salespeople in seminars, politicians at summits, and the most spiritual among us go on retreats. There are many examples that show the importance of creating a space, time and place that allows fortotal engagement in a practice that one wishes to understand, learn and, one day, master.
So when it comes to access to oneself, to know oneself better, to have access to its full resources to connect our best version, our deepest Nature, the one that little by little gets rid of its successive layers of fears and limiting beliefs, what could be better than to take the time to immerse oneself?
A two- or three-day course for yourself
So come and immerse yourself fully, during this weekend, in the program, imagined for you, which aims at connection and self-knowledge.
Cold management and breathing work are the main topics. Every morning we will practice exposure to the cold in different forms: sitting meditation, hiking, cold bath.
The specific breathing work will start as soon as you wake up and continue, as a red thread, throughout the day. We will experiment with several breathing techniques and detail their benefits.
We will practice movement through mobility work, animal movement and yoga.
Finally, we will have time to exchange about your presence at the workshop and how to make the most of it, about the theory that supports the Wim Hof method, about breathing and the impact of movements on our health and our thoughts.
The typical schedule for the day (as an indication):
8am: breathing and sitting meditation
9:30 am : breakfast
10:30 a.m.: Hiking
12h : cold bath
1pm : lunch
3pm: movement
5pm: breathing and cold bath
7pm: Dinner
9pm: discussion
10pm: rest
A dense program to explore your mental and physical capacities and acquire the keys to develop them.
Working on oneself is a commitment, a discipline..
What you will get out of this internship will be commensurate with your determination and involvement, which will also be stimulated on the spot.
If at least one of the following motivations speaks to you, then this course is for you.
you're curious to learn more about yourself
you want to strengthen and soften your body
you want to boost your physiology, especially your immunity and your vascular system
you would like to have more energy on a daily basis
you're looking to overcome certain fears
you want to learn how to better manage your chronic stress
you want to eliminate certain limiting beliefs
you're in the midst of questioning your life, searching for meaning.
you lack drive, energy, joy
This course is open to everyone (but is limited to 10 participants).
Sporty or not, of all ages, flexible or not.
Hiking, yoga and mobility workshops are adapted to the forces at hand, which is the advantage of small groups.
Where does the internship take place?
Our immersion is planned in Italy. The hotel where we will stay with full board is calledOur House. A family hotel located in a sunny village at 1800 meters above sea level. The exterior is made of stone and wood, the building materials of the alpine tradition.22 rooms in total, large communal areas and a bright restaurant.
The hotel faces a magnificent mountain range, offering a breathtaking panorama. At the foot of the hotel, a natural swimming pool fed by the mountain streams will offer a fabulous playground.
Meals are taken at the hotel, and the chef adapts to all restrictions and requests. Vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free meals are possible.
Our areas of life are constantly changing and each change is likely to cause emotional stress. As chronic stress is detrimental to our mental and physical well-being, good stress management on a daily basis is essential to prevent it from becoming permanent.
The Wim Hof Method is a combination of breathing exercises, exposure to the cold and mental training that can help us to regulate our stress level.. But to effectively reduce stress, we must be able to identify the factors that trigger it before choosing and implementing strategies that will bring us back to a state of optimal relaxation.
Causes and effects of stress
Stress is our body's response when we are faced with a change that requires action. It mobilizes our adaptive processes and prepares us to respond to the challenges before us. Once the action is over, stress is no longer useful and our physiology returns to a state of equilibrium. So much for theory.
In reality, because our bodies are unable to distinguish between a serious threat (which could jeopardize our survival) and a small everyday worry, we risk sending unnecessary stress signals to our bodies all the time. This can lead to prolonged stress and thus contribute to the onset of many health problems and a weakening of our immune response.
Our modern world has freed us from serious threats, such as running into a hungry lion, and a stress reaction can be triggered by such simple events as traffic jams, an annoying email or a setback. Even our lifestyle can have a negative impact on the level of stress we experience: unhealthy eating, lack of sleep and even recurring negative thoughts can all send stress signals to our bodies.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of symptoms related to prolonged or chronic stress:
High blood pressure
Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Symptoms of skin conditions such as psoriasis
Numerous autoimmune disorders
Sleep Disorders
Chronic exhaustion
Asthma
Diabetes
Obesity
…
Reset our stress management
Wim Hof Method, «Iceman» , developed a method that allowed him to accomplish amazing feats such as staying immersed in icy water for almost 2 hours or running a half marathon barefoot, shirtless, in the Arctic. Wim Hof has 26 such records in the Guinness Book of World Records. This method is a unique combination of meditation, breathing exercises, committed yoga postures and regular exposure to the cold. It helps us to (re)take control of our physiology, to strengthen our body and mind and to stimulate our adaptation processes. It stimulates our nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which greatly benefits our overall health.
It also allows a very good management of chronic stress.
Let us take the example of the cold shower, which is one of the pillars of the method. It is an important stress factor for the body and triggers all our stress reaction processes. By learning how to take a cold shower in relaxation and acceptance, through meditation and breathing, we will, every day, reset our stress management system and increase our tolerance threshold. Little by little, we will know how to limit, or even eliminate, the negative impact of stress related to "little daily worries" on our physiology.
Stress is a part of life, but when stress is omnipresent, it can prevent us from being the strong, happy, healthy person - « strong, happy, healthy” – that we have to be. So it's important to keep our stress levels moderate. The Wim Hof Method offers us all the tools we need to control our thoughts, emotions and ultimately our body. Physical and emotional stress are put back in their right place: they set us in motion.
Other ways to reduce your stress
There are several things we can do to reduce our stress level. In a simple way, at the risk of being simplistic, it's a matter of avoiding stressful situations, changing our behaviour in stressful situations, learning to adapt to stressful events and accepting the fact that we can't change everything.
Here are some examples of behaviours related to these principles:
Accept the fact that we cannot control everything in life, especially the actions of others. Instead of worrying about others, let's focus instead on how we react.
Learn to say no and set clear boundaries. Without limits, we will invariably take on more than we can handle, which eventually leads to stress.
Get enough sleep. Sleep restores our body and mind and promotes mental clarity and concentration.
Adjust our expectations to a reasonable level. Always demanding perfect results is a major source of stress.
I am practitioner of Budokon Yoga, created by Cameron Shayne. It is a mixture of yoga and martial arts and proposes to cultivate the spiritual warrior within us, a subtle blend of warrior and yogi. The warrior is the one who knows how to commit himself to change what can be, the yogi is the one who knows how to accept what cannot be changed. To use these two polarities yin and yang in us, wisely, is the assurance of bringing the right answer to the events that life offers us to live.
The Wim Hof Method for Stress Management
The Wim Hof Method is a powerful tool that can help you take charge of your mind, body and your life as a whole. Based on three powerful pillars: breathing techniques, engagement/concentration and voluntary exposure to the cold, the Wim Hof Method helps to reduce mental stress caused by a multitude of factors, including those described above, and helps to recover from physical stress caused by physical exertion. The Wim Hof Method has many known benefits, ranging from better sleep to the relief of symptoms caused by various health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. Scientists around the world have begun to discover the physiological mechanisms behind the Wim Hof Method. Numerous scientific studies have been carried out in recent years. They have yielded revealing results and have led to a better understanding of the functioning and limitations of the human body. To the point of rewriting certain books on human physiology...
Would you like to discover the Wim Hof Method? Come and participate in our discovery workshops..
We're all, always, very busy. Most of us are constantly juggling between our leisure time and our work. So in order to balance the things we need to do and the things we want to do, we need to make sure we have enough energy.
When we lack energy, we feel tired and our motivation to simply do what we are supposed to do will diminish. Lack of energy can have many causes, ranging from lack of sleep to depression. By following the Wim Hof Method, you learn to concentrate on the important things and free yourself from the stress that costs you energy. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world already benefit from the Wim Hof Method on a daily basis
Increase your energy in a natural way
When you feel short of energy, you can easily increase your energy level by identifying the underlying causes and implementing the appropriate corrective measures.
Get hydrated. Scientists have found that people who don't drink for long periods of time are twice as tired as those who are well hydrated. Making sure you drink enough water can help you get through the day. It's hard to give everyone an appropriate guideline for how much water to drink each day. An interesting indicator can be the colour of your urine, which should be close to a slightly light lemon yellow. Dark yellow, you are not sufficiently hydrated, translucent, you are too much.
Eat a healthy diet. If you eat properly, your body will be able to produce the energy you need. Avoid processed foods and foods that contain a lot of sugar. Instead of giving you energy, they use it.
Just relax. Stress puts your body in a fight or flight state. And that consumes a lot of energy. Stress hormones can unbalance your physiological rhythm and have a negative impact on your sleep. Chronic stress is very bad for your energy level. Good stress management is essential.
Get enough sleep.. Most of us don't get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. And getting too much sleep doesn't guarantee you'll be in great shape either. When your sleep cycles are constantly interrupted, you may wake up more tired than before you fell asleep. A healthy diet and low stress levels can do wonders for your sleep quality.
Move around regularly. Nowadays, many people lead too sedentary lives. We sit at work, we sit in transportation and we sit on the couch when we are at home. Scientific studies show that people who exercise 75 to 150 minutes a week have more energy than those who do not. But don't overdo it, overtraining can have a detrimental effect on your physiology and energy.
Recovering energy with the Wim Hof method
In the end, it's all a question of balance and logic. Deep down, we all know what we should change in our lives to be fit and energetic, but we know how to be very creative when it comes to making good excuses and locking ourselves into inappropriate patterns.
Regaining a positive dynamic and taking our body, and therefore our life, back into our own hands requires will and determination. The Wim Hof Method Wim Hof Method also helps to develop these two qualities.
La méthode Wim Hof Method is a unique and recognised method that can be used to regain control of your body. Proponents of the method report benefits such as better quality sleep, more energy, faster recovery after exercise and even relief from symptoms caused by autoimmune diseases. Its creator, Wim Hof, nicknamed "Iceman", was able to achieve extraordinary things, such as climbing Mount Everest in shorts and without a mask.
The method is established on a solid scientific basis and is practiced by many people around the world, including professional athletes. It is based on three fundamental principles, which are considered to be the inseparable "pillars". These principles are breathing, exposure to cold and commitment/determination. Together, these pillars allow you to take control of your body and fight stress, fatigue and many other obstacles in life.
Do you feel a need for energy? Don't hesitate to sign up for a discovery workshop. Once you are familiar with the Wim Hof Method, you can easily incorporate its basic principles into your daily routine.
« To leave one's comfort zone», « to leave one's comfort zone», « to widen one's comfort zone»... so many expressions that encourage us to explore new horizons, outside our known and mastered perimeter.
Listen to the blog or download it (Duration: 3:30 - 8MB)
Yes, but what for?
It is clear that these injunctions are aimed at those who, voluntarily, wish to develop themselves to their full potential and discover the best version of themselves. This implies engaging in a learning process (wise apprentice?) which, once started, will probably never stop. First of all, because you get a taste for the learner's posture. Then because as we "grow up", our perspective broadens and we open ourselves to new potentialities - our own and those that the world offers us. As progress brings progress, we thus create a virtuous movement that allows us to discover and tame our uniqueness and our omnipotence.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are not up to the task. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond all limits. It is our own light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: "Who am I to be brilliant, radiant, talented, wonderful? "In fact, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. To restrict yourself, to live small, does not serve the world. Enlightenment is not about shrinking yourself to avoid insecurity for others. We are born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not only in the chosen few: it is in each one of us, and as we allow our own light to shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. By freeing us from our own fear, our presence automatically frees others."
Speech by Nelson Mandela, Text by Marianne Williamson.
Adaptation at the heart of the process
It all starts with our birth, which is probably one of the most decisive exits from the comfort zone. Sudden light, cold, noise, hunger, touch...all these stimuli trigger emotions, actions and reactions within us, and initiate our learning and adaptation to the outside world.
Adaptation which is built each time following the same sequence. A four-step sequence.
After the unconscious incompetence - the first time - during which we don't know that we don't know (and we often live it very well!), we are quickly confronted with the conscious incompetence. And this is the first source of discomfort. For some of us, it is a source of uncertainty, stress, fear and triggers inhibition, flight or confrontation...for others it engenders envy, impatience, excitement, motivation and immediate action.
If we accept to face our incompetence and embark on learning, we may reach the third phase - conscious competence, when we know that we know. Competence is acquired, but exercising it still requires our will and conscious application. Then, with time and practice, we will succeed in forgetting that we know, to achieve unconscious competence. Things are then integrated, are part of us, and having access to them is no longer an effort.
As you will have understood, the challenge is above all to overcome the state of conscious incompetence, and to fully accept this phase of discomfort so that the magic of adaptation can take place.
Finding comfort in discomfort
So a favourable attitude can be to find comfort in this phase full of uncertainties in order to approach it in the best conditions.
Let us dare to draw a parallel with the competitive sportsman, champion of adaptation, who submits himself every day to training sessions that aim to destabilize the established physiological and mental order. This athlete knows how to approach his daily exercises by accepting the pain and the cohort of new and destabilizing sensations they generate. He plays with them, he introduces them to others, he searches for them, he intensifies them, he confronts himself but does not fight against them. He knows that they are the necessary passage so that on the day of the competition, he can be in the flow of the unconscious competence, the one that will give him access to his optimum potential.
The cold shower, an immediate application
I am no longer a competitive athlete today, but I still have a habit of putting myself in uncomfortable situations and seeking comfort. One of my rituals is to take a cold shower every morning. It is a simple and powerful act to refine my ability to maintain control over my reactions to stress.
If you want to get started, I recommend that you start the first day by taking a hot shower as always and turn the mixer tap to blue just before going out, and finish with 15 seconds of cold water. As the idea is to "go with it" without suffering and without struggling, you will try to relax your muscles (insist on the shoulders and trapezoids), smile (yes, yes!), and exhale for a long time. Repeat the operation the next day by slightly increasing the duration (5 to 10 seconds more). And so on and so forth. After a week, you will be able to shower for one minute under cold water, whistling! And then one day, you will no longer feel the need to go under hot water beforehand. And a few days later, you will look forward to that cold shower moment. You will have acquired a new skill that has become unconscious and is now motivated by an irrepressible physiological need and by the need to tune up with yourself. Just to see every morning where « you're at with the discomfort »
