Say "Da!" to Snow

Say Yes! to snow.

and here's a fun video to warm you up to the idea of conditioning:

Epiphany Dip

Russians take a religious dip on Jan 19th, the Epiphany Day, celebrated by Russian Orthodox Church. 

"Some 30,000 believers dipped themselves in ice holes in 37 fonts in Moscow where waters were blessed by Orthodox priests during the night, with 260 rescuers monitoring the safety of swimming as air temperature was below minus 20 degrees Celsius."

This great pic is from http://www.englishrussia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1780&start=45

more Wim Hof: philosophy of cold

The Pool

This is the swimming pool "Moscow" that I spent years training in (as a Soviet youth).  As you see, it's an open-air pool.  We (the "Trade Union Reserves," aka Yunost water polo team) trained in the dive pool (center).  To get to it, we had to walk on the iced over sidewalks in nothing but our Speedos.  It felt reinvigorating.  Baptism by cold.

note: I have found this pic online without any author attributions; it is a rare snapshot of a now-gone architectural jewel of Soviet Moscow; if you know the author/photographer, please, forward the information to me.

More Wim H. for you:

Ice Box Madness

Looking for a convenient way to swim in winter I built myself an ice-box in my own backyard.  Caution: winter seasoning of this sort takes some ramping up (I've been starting all of my showers with cold water for over 7 years).  If this sounds like something you want to try, first, get a physical (and in some shape too).  As you see, the ice box had been freezing up on me.  This winter I'll be adding salt to the water.  This is a picture from last winter.  Ice got really thick so I had to bust my way through with everything I got (next picture).

More Wim H. for you:

Primitive Tools

To bust through the thick ice I used a heavy pipe and a 40 lbs dumbbell.  It worked.  Note: it really helps to have a few extra lbs of subcutaneous lining (if you know what I mean).  If you have zero body fat, I don't recommend this little pleasure.

A couple of Russians are demonstrating Tummo yoga (body-warming/inner warmth meditation):

Bliss: Ice & Spice

Bliss.  Once you submerge, the first sensation you get is right on the border of fire and ice.  A kind of ice-burn.   You gasp.  Intensity spikes.  Then, if you've been doing this for a while, you start to get your bearings. It's a brief meditation of sorts that I do most days in winter.  The point is to override the dread (on the front end) by focusing, step by step, on what you are getting ready to do.  You get in the groove, staying in the present, practicing decisiveness.  The second part of the meditation is to forget that it's cold by making a conscious choice to keep refocusing on your breath.  As soon as my breath stabilizes, I get the hell out.

this winter (2011-2012) gonna work on Tummo meditation. so far, it's been mostly willpower, breath-focus and metacognitive distancing (which is, all in all, good prep for tummo).

More Wim H. for you:

Afterparty

The after-party is simple: you dry off and you are done.  The rest of the day is a piece of cake after that. 

An amazing video (Wim is obviously an ace in tummo meditation) of a first ever documented barefoot half-marathon on snow and ice (shall we call it "polar running"?):

Winter's Fun!

Self-explanatory: winter's fun!

More on Tummo meditation:

Winter Trance

Winter trance.

In this picture (circa 1990, in front of Moscow State University), a friend of mine, Dennis, (middle) and I (right) spotted a "winter jogger" and decided to follow him for a bit.  He didn't like that. 

(also of notice: parked on the backdrop are the UAZ (Soviet era military "jeep") on the left (belonging to my family's) and a VW bus (on the right), a curious juxtaposition of vehicular war and peace)

Update: first snow today (Dec. 1st, 2010) in Pittsburgh; had to dismantle my "ice-box" (due to recent renovation of the deck); new "seasoning" plan - 'm going try to drag out my treadmill outside and run outside like the dude in the picture.

Late-Winter Update: my "seasoning plan" of using my treadmill outside failed (electronics couldn't withstand the weather); my plan "C" for the 2010-2011 year has been to walk my dog in surfer shorts and a skin-thin windbreaker.  My walks are usually about 45 min long (sometimes twice a day) and I can tell you this: I wish I had my ice-box... Walking drastically underdressed - to my bodymind - is far tougher than a brief dip in the ice.  Plan "C" ended up being a plan to keep!

Winterizing

Long-time family friend, Mr. V., winterized with dukha and spirits - Russian Zen.  I am sure this formula for seasonal wellbeing includes a sauna as well... 

Frigidarium # 2

Icebox # 2 for the 2011-2012 season.  As a carpenter I totally suck.  I wouldn't hire myself to build my own coffin.  But I tried: $200 or so worth of lumber, a few hours of labor.  Voila: a toy!  My attempt to waterproof it in the tradition of a Japanese Ofuro bath, of course, failed.  So I had to line it with a blue tarp (which gives it a tropical azure-blue touch).  So, here we are: ice has finally formed and I am using my old method of busting it up with a pipe.  Surrounded by ice, I watch a bird feeder.  Madness.