How to relieve stress
Our lives are constantly changing and every change can become a cause of emotional stress. As chronic stress is detrimental for your mental and physical wellbeing, stress management is an important part of our daily lives. To relieve stress in a successful manner, you first have to be able to identify your stressors. These are the triggers that are causing you to experience emotional stress. When you know what is causing you stress, you can use different strategies to return your body to a normal, relaxed state. The Wim Hof Method is a combination of breathing exercises, exposure to cold and commitment that can help you regulate your stress levels.
Causes and effects of stress
Stress is your body’s way of responding to a change that requires action. A healthy stress response can make you alert and will prime your body to tackle challenges. However, after the threat or challenge is dealt with, your body should return to its normal state. Because our bodies are not able to distinguish serious threats from normal everyday challenges, you are at risk of sending unnecessary stress signals to your body, which can lead to a prolonged and unhealthy stress response. Chronic stress is related to numerous health threats, including an impaired immune response.
In modern day life, a stress response can be triggered by events as simple as traffic jams, standing in line, and being late for work. Even your lifestyle can have a negative impact on the level of stress that you perceive. An unhealthy diet, lack of sleep, and even recurring negative thoughts can all send stress signals to your body.
Below is a list of symptoms that are related to a prolonged or chronic stress response. For example, stress is related to:
- - High blood pressure
- - Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
- - Symptoms of skin conditions such as psoriasis
- - Numerous autoimmune disorders
- - Sleep disorders
- - Chronic fatigue
- - Asthma
- - Diabetes
- - Obesity
Stress management with the Wim Hof Method
Over the years, ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof has developed a method that is comprised of multiple principles that have enabled him to complete astonishing stunts. Some of his feats include standing in a cylinder filled with ice for more than an hour and completing a half marathon in the Artic on his bare feet. With the help of his method, Wim Hof has managed to break 26 Guinness World Records. The Wim Hof Method is a unique combination of techniques, which enables you to take control over your own body.
With the help of meditation, breathing exercises, and exposure to cold, you can strengthen both your body and your mind. For example, routinely taking cold showers, which are a physical stressor, resets your stress response and ensures that stress won’t feel as overwhelming as it otherwise would. Furthermore, it exercises your nervous system, endocrine system, cardiovascular system, and respiratory system, which is beneficial for your overall health. Add meditation and conscious breathing into the mix, and you create a powerful awareness of your body that empowers you to ‘toggle off’ your stress response and prevent a chronic state of stress.
Practice the Wim Hof Method
The best thing about The Wim Hof Method is that you can start to benefit from it today and from within your own home! Wim and his team have developed a 10-week video course that teaches you everything there is to know about the Wim Hof Method. Thousands of people from all over the world have already signed up for the course and are experiencing benefits ranging from stress relief, better sleep, a relief of symptoms caused by autoimmune diseases, and faster recovery from physical exercise.
The three pillars
The Wim Hof Method is a unique and powerful method that is built on three pillars. These three principles are exposure to cold, breathing technique, and commitment. Together, they enable you to influence your body and to achieve things that you previously thought to be impossible. Multiple scientific studies have found proof for positive effects of the Wim Hof Method, and scientists continue to study the many effects and their causes.
