How to make the cold your ally, friend and medicine.

It's been unusually cold here lately.

I know, I'm from Mexico so our cold weather is NOTHING compared to some of you fellow STEEMERS' countries. Still, we've hit below zero Celsius some mornings, which makes it a terrifying prospect to get out of bed, take a shower and go out into the world (specially since almost no one has heating around here).

I used to hate COLD mornings, I would carry this constant feeling of dread and sluggishness for as long as it felt cold. Nowadays, I cannot wait to get out of bed, feel the cold morning breeze as it leaks through the holes in my window and jump into a freezing-cold shower, without even touching the hot water faucet.

And why, oh why, would I ever want to do that?

Well, I owe it all to a 58 year-old dude that I once saw on YouTube and I can honestly say, that he's been the biggest influence on my habits, behavior and outlook in the last couple of years.

His name is Wim "the Iceman" Hof, and I expect/hope that you've heard of him. He holds 26 world records for things like the longest ice bath, climbing mounts Everest and Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but shorts and boots, and running two full marathons: one above the artic circle in Finland (at -20°C / -4°F) wearing - you guessed it - nothing but his distinctive shorts - and the other one in the Namib desert, at temperatures up to 50°C /122°F.

I mean, this man is a quick shot of ultra motivation for those who need it, and he over delivers.

What made me obsessed over Wim Hof, instead of just becoming one more of the many super-talented individuals you see everyday on the media, is the breathing technique that he uses, and he shares it for free.

In this day and age when we are overwhelmed by promises of quick fixes and effortless solutions that end up being useless at the very least and damaging at the most, finding an easy and readily-accessible technique that immediately proves itself to work on your levels of health, strength, happiness and endurance of extreme conditions is a rare precious jewel, a gift of life.

Instead of explaining the technique, I'll direct you to the link where I learned it, it is from the great Joe Rogan podcast, and in just a few minutes, Wim guides you through the steps, so simple that once you see this, you'll always be able to do this technique anywhere you are.

Check it out, and TRY IT!

Let me just say that I have no affiliation with Wim Hof whatsoever, and I share this just out of excitement, because if only one person were to read this, try the technique, and get a fraction of the fun and the benefits that I've felt jumping into the cold, breathing in and out like a mad man, and holding my breath ever a little longer (my record is 3 minutes and 36 seconds), well, I would feel like I achieved something beautiful.

I'd like to meet Wim one day and thank him, as we walk along barefooted and bare chested around some frosty little mountain, in one of those cold cold countries that now I'm dying to visit.

You can find out a little bit more about Wim Hof on the Vice documentary they did on him, right here:

Thanks for reading compadres!