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THE SEA IS majestic. It’s beautiful. It can be restorative and healing. It can help us feel calm and peaceful again.
But, it’s also powerful, ferocious and merciless and must be approached with respect. So, given all of this, how do we get the most out of our time in the sea? Especially that Christmas Day dip!
What is your intention?
What do we want from the experience in the cold? What is our intention? For me, I want the sea to be a force for good in my life. I want it to enrich my day. I want it to make me healthier. I want it to bring me alive and give me energy. So, that is my intention.
Of course, your intention might be different: perhaps you are preparing for a race or something like that. Then, your intention is different. But, being clear on that informs how we approach the cold.
So it begins
Once we are clear on what we want from the experience, then it’s time to get in! The moment we see those waves and feel that freezing wind, our body starts to react.
Our heart rate goes up, we get tense and we move up into the flight/fight stress response. Our mind even begins to focus on the worst case scenario. All of this is to help us survive.
This is an important reaction. But, we can learn to take control of that fear and panic and we can change that into a sense of control and even calm. How?
Chaos to calm
As we get into the water, we feel the chaos and the shock of the cold immediately. Whatever fight/flight response we felt earlier, is hugely amplified as we hit the water. We might feel pure panic, pain, shock, confusion and everything in between. But, that is part of the experience.
What we do next is most important: firstly, we try to find our breath in all the panic. Secondly, we begin to focus on our exhales.
The first few exhales will be non-existent. But, if we stay focused on them, slowly we will gain control of them. Finally, as we get control of our breathing, we can then slow those exhales down and when we do, a sense of calm arises in the body despite the pressure of the cold.
Less is more
The cold sea has been proven to improve our immunity, decrease inflammation and reduce stress and there is even promising research showing that it may play a role in the battle against dementia. And if our intention is for it to do all of those things, to become a force for good in our lives, then we don’t need to spend lots of time in the sea.
When it comes to the cold, less is more. So, put away the timer, and instead listen to our breathing. It will tell us everything we need to know.
Jump into the sea and pay attention to your breathing. At first, as described above, it will be chaotic and erratic. But, then, if you focus on it, you’ll regain a sense of control. Stay focused on your breathing and try to slow it down. If your breathing is controlled and calm, then that is how you will feel.
How we breathe is how we feel and the great news is we can voluntarily change how we are breathing in every moment. By doing so, we change how we think and feel.
So, in the sea, keep working on your breath until it’s under control. Then, if you can, slow it down. When we are able to do this, then a sense of calm arises in the body and mind. We can then feel calm and peaceful despite the pressure of the cold.
When you reach that point, you can settle into those feelings of control and calm. Enjoy them. The cold will be relentlessly testing your resolve, But, stay with your breath. When it is controlled and calm, then our body has adapted to the pressure; it has moved into the parasympathetic (peaceful) part of the nervous system. Then, you are getting all the benefits we have described. The cold has become a force for good in your life. Then, it’s time to get out.
When people gather at the sea, there is often a sense of competition: “how long did you stay in?” But, there is no messing with the sea. We must respect it and when we begin to understand the importance of our breathing in the sea, then we can let go of the timing and just enjoy it.
Afterwards
The body makes an infinite number of calculations and adjustments to help us deal with the cold when we’re in the sea. For example, the blood vessels in our feet and fingers constrict (often painfully) to help keep our core temperature warm. This essential adjustment keeps the heart, lungs and much more safe despite the cold.
So, the opposite is also true when we get out of the sea: our body makes a whole other set of calculations and adjustments to help us adapt to the air temperature and to stay warm.
With that in mind, here are a few things to consider:
Stand and continue to breathe calmly for a minute or two before putting your clothes back on. This allows the body time to adjust again to these new conditions.
Stay focused on your breathing. The real mastery of the cold is afterwards: if we feel like we’re getting really cold, we can panic and that makes everything worse. So, stay focused on breathing calmly. By doing that, you will remain calm and your body will do what it does best: adapt.
Move the body slowly, allowing the cold and warm blood to mix slowly and naturally. Avoid fast intense movement when you get out.
Our instinct is to run around the place and put our clothes on and turn the heat up in the car. We should instead, stay focused on our breathing. Move slowly and slowly put our clothes back on. All of this allows the body to transition back into the warm again.
The sea is magnificent, restorative and healing. It’s a pleasure, and privilege, to go for a dip. Once we understand how to harness its power, the sea can then become a force for good in our lives. And above all this Christmas, stay safe and mind one another out there.
Níall Ó Murchú has been a full-time Wim Hof Method instructor for the past five years. He helps people all over the world improve their health, strength and happiness by teaching them how to breathe and use the cold as a force for good in their lives. He is the author of the best-selling book “The Blissful Breath.” More on BreathWithNiall.com and Instagram.
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That has to be the longest article I didn’t read.
@Jason Ebbs: exactly what they want. The headline will stick in your mind though.
Seaspiracy on Netflix.
Stunned…..
https://g.co/kgs/Us1NVr
@Mark O’Donohoe: just watched this – no more fish for me!
@Patricia: pretty sad but to be honest if you watch any documentary on industrial farmed produce from any source (meet, poultry, fish) you would be left wondering what you would feel comfortable eating.
@John Egan: vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and very happy and healthy doing so
@Aedín: im sure it is, would 6 billion people be able to do the same
@Mark O’Donohoe: I haven’t eaten a morsel of meat or fish since I watched that, followed by conspiracy. I’m done.
Can we not have the small Irish boat as a symbol on fish products, like the guaranteed Irish symbol.
Give people the choice to pay a bit more for a more sustainable fishing method.
Ultimately, only a boycott on fish will force the fishing industry and government to implement changes.
@Ian Downes: that’s an ideal solution. Sadly the industry is anything but ideal. Cant see it happening unless the whole industry as it is collapses.
The fishing industry is always left behind. Lost most of the rights coming into Europe because we didn’t know/ want what we had.
Now, an advanced society realise what we let go.
Totally overfishing by everyone. The negotiations come up every December and the only sector that looses out every year are the fish
Great article
I see this rag isn’t happy the EU have started to plunder our waters.
@HonestGrump: The plundering of our waters began a long time ago
Last year decided to go “meet free Mondays” where I’d have veg only… apparently a kilo of meat uses like a thousand litres of water. Then moved to “fish free Fridays” as I knew about over fishing. Will I have a world changing impact? Probably not..but if I can help a lil bit, without drastically changing my life? I’ll give it go!
(This is coming from a prepper btw)
@The Kev in Kevlar: you need to learn how to spell before you can comment. The standard of English and commentators is very poor on this website. Including reporters. Just take moment reread and then publish
@The Kev in Kevlar: as they say.. lots of people doing they’re best imperfectly rather than a few doing things perfectly
@Aedín: **** their best
@Keith Rankin: hahaha you come at me for spelling rather that my point? Eat you troll food and go back under your bridge…try harder next time darling
@Aedín: underrated comment, full credit
Dont eat fish tis full of plastic.
Also, after Fukushima went (literally) nuclear, the sheer amount of chemicals is the Pacific,now leaching into the Atlantic has jumped a lot…
Seaspiracy on Netflix well worth a look. I won’t be eating fish anymore. The impact fishing is having on stocks, other animals and even the climate is substantial. Very long article but very good!
have your say