Yin or Yang? Team Hot or Team Cold?
“To me, GOD is cold. I think of cold as a noble force. It brings me back to inner nature, the way it was meant to be. In this way, I do not only endure cold, I love the cold.”
-- Wim Hof
Yin Cold
Wim Hof is known as the Iceman. He holds 21 Guinness World Records including running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle (barefoot), and swimming underneath ice for 66 meters.Based on three core principles of cold therapy, breathing, and commitment, his methods are a meeting of scientific evidence and age-old wisdom conferred through nature. He believes that we’ve disconnected from our inner power through modernization, but with the help of these concepts, are able to reconnect.
Cold therapy --
Immunity is activated and fortified which reduces inflammation. Hormone levels balance and mood-enhancing endorphins rise. Sleep quality improves. Brown adipose tissue builds and aids in fat loss.
Breathing --
An increase in oxygen can reduce stress levels while signaling more energy. As a result, optimized immunity can expedite our ability to mitigate pathogenic influences fast.
Commitment --
Through patience and dedication cold exposure and conscious breathing are combined. Hof explains, “Armed with focus and determination you are ready to explore and eventually master your own body and mind.”
Yang Hot
Not all infrared therapy is created equal. Choosing a low EMF far-infrared sauna means reducing exposure to potentially harmful radiative waves. Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) are energy waves with frequencies below 300 hertz or cycles per second while Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) are electric fields with frequencies from 3 to 30 hertz. Clearlight is currently the only far-infrared sauna that offers documentation showing that where you sit in saunas can emit 3-5 times below the level of ELF concern. When compared, other brands emitted 20 times above this threshold. Far-infrared is a type of energy that travels 40-44mm into the body. This narrow band of energy penetrates to elicit physiological adaptation to detoxify from environmental exposures. Unlike steam baths and exercise-induced sweat, the sweat excretions sampled during far-infrared sessions has recorded heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, and arsenic. Like cold therapy, far-infrared has been shown to optimize immunological and stress responses that reduce inflammation and balance hormones. With modern pollution on the rise, it’s an affordable and reliable method of detoxification. Health benefits range, but most notable are dementia and cancer prevention and treatment, as well as autoimmune optimization.
Like both?
You need not be a hot or cold purist. In fact, the effects of both together mutually enhance one another. Combining both treatments is called thermoregulation. Thermoregulatory physiology is the hypothalamic-pituitary axis which regulates all aspects of metabolism. When we thermoregulate with both we improve detoxification, regulate hydration, improve circulation to the cardio and digestive systems, optimize blood sugar regulation, improve sleep, increase longevity, and reduce pain and inflammation.Are you a Wim Hof student? Do you alternate low-EMF far-infrared or participate in a similar cold therapy? Please share your experience here.Christine Dionese, co-founder of flavor ID is an integrative health and food therapy specialist, as well as a wellness, lifestyle, and food writer. She has dedicated her career to helping others understand the science of happiness and its powerful effects on everyday human health by harnessing the power of the epigenetic landscape. Christine lives, works, and plays in Southern California with her daughter and husband.
