I tried dunking myself in a tub of ice water for health benefits but discovered my inner strength instead

You've seen people pouring buckets of iced water over their heads in the name of the ice bucket challenge, to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS.

What if I told you there are groups of people who voluntarily dunk themselves in iced water as a regular ritual — for health and mental clarity?

Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof is perhaps one of the most vocal proponents of cold therapy. Nicknamed the "Ice Man", his superhuman feats have been well documented on social media.

The 61-year-old has traversed up a snowy mountain clad only in a pair of shorts, and swum underwater in a frozen lake.

In one more extreme case, scientists even injected Wim with endotoxin, a bacteria component which would cause flu-like symptoms in a regular human body.

But by utilising his breathing technique, Wim was found to be able to suppress his immune response. As he lay on the hospital bed under the watch of researchers, he did not develop any fever, chills or headaches.

Wim's passionate, at times almost unintelligible rambles extolling the virtues of cold therapy have also been captured in many of his media interviews.

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The phrases he throws out, such as "cold is merciless but righteous", and "the cold is my warm friend", are bizarre yet intriguing.

After watching several YouTube videos on his technique, my interest was piqued. As someone who has psoriasis, which is a form of inflammation, I thought it would be great if this could be a panacea for my condition.

As Wim said in one interview, "feeling is understanding", hence in a bid to understand, I sought out a Singaporean trainer in the Wim Hof Method, Tan Chun Yih — or Chun, as he prefers to be called.

The 37-year-old is believed to be the only Singaporean trainer to have flown to Amsterdam to be certified by Wim and his team.

That was in 2018. The daredevil and thrill-seeker was always on the trail of the next adventure, be it wakeboarding or skydiving. His penchant for the nightlife also took a toll on his body.

Pushing his bodily limits often resulted in him waking up with swollen limbs and joints — what appeared to be symptoms of inflammation. However, medical practitioners could not tell him what was wrong.

"They found that nothing was wrong with me. My blood test showed that everything was okay so it wasn't arthritis. And even a visit to a skin specialist the doctor there said he also doesn't know what's going on."

After exhausting all medical avenues, he sought treatment from a doctor of naturopathy who gave him two options — "to quit everything I love" or "healing from the inside".

Chun was willing to give it a shot, but didn't know where to start. From doing research on the internet, interviews of Wim Hof and his methods popped up.

What was supposed to be a 10-week online class took him six months to complete, because surprisingly, he "wasn't 100 per cent convinced" at the start.

But a trip to Nepal where he took an icy shower outdoors at 10 degree Celcius changed his mind. Using the method he had learned, Chun managed to brave through the cold shower and walked back to camp topless, astounding his hiking mates.

"That was the one time I felt that the cold water made sense, how it turned me into a momentary superhero in a way," he shared.

Conquering sickness

Chun reckons that the last time he fell sick was in 2018, ironically, on the flight back from Wim Hof training in Poland.

"I was burning up just before my 16-hour flight home." On the advice of his group mates, he "did the breathing method like crazy" on the plane.

"I had nothing else to do anyway on the flight home so I tried it out. And I dozed off."

When he woke up, eight hours had passed. It was the longest uninterrupted sleep he had ever had on a plane.

"The most amazing thing was that all my symptoms had completely disappeared," added Chun, who is a sales manager of marine equipment in his day job.

And that was the last time Chun said he felt so sick.

I try the Wim Hof Method

With such a glowing review, I felt compelled to try it out for myself.

At Chun's invitation, I headed down to Kampong Bugis where he conducts weekly introductory classes to the Wim Hof Method at Palm Avenue Float Club.

The 1.5-hour session which costs $70 includes a 45-minute training on Wim Hof's breathwork techniques, followed by a round-robin cold immersion exercise.

Of course, I was most nervous about the cold immersion — even in sunny Singapore I'd always turn on the heater before a shower.

To make it less of a shock to my system, I dutifully did as was advised and finished my showers with cold water in the two days before the class.

Breathwork

My class on a Sunday afternoon comprised 14 individuals, more than half of them male, and I was the only Singaporean. This is not a surprising statistic, according to Chun, pinning it down to the practicality of Singaporeans.

"I would say it's the Asian mentality as to what is worth their money. We probably find more sense in spending our money on a staycation or a Japanese buffet," he reasoned.

We went through several sets of deep breathing exercises at different speeds, the core of Wim's technique.

The higher levels of oxygenated blood in our bodies allowed most of us to hold our breaths for more than a minute after just one set, compared to about 40 seconds before the exercise.

Feeling light-headed or tingly are regular side effects. The tingling effect was especially prominent over my face and lips, and I also felt a strong tightness in the forehead.

Doing the breathwork has a meditative aspect, and can also cause different emotions that may not have had a proper outlet in the past to be released, said Chun.

"So, a lot of times during a nice quiet moment where you get into a meditative state, the body says, 'Oh, no, you're quiet, I think you can revisit this thing'. And then it just shows itself. It could be joy, it could be people just smiling nonstop. And I've seen people where tears just come up," said Chun. 

While practising the breathing method in Wim’s basement, Chun himself had a spiritual moment, where he felt his “forehead literally burst open with light and fire”, and felt he obtained clarity about his life.

“That moment was so powerful that I just burst into tears for five minutes,” said Chun, who added he still struggles to put the profound experience into words.  

There were no tears or extreme emotions expressed during my class, but I 'woke up' to groggy yet peaceful faces. It just felt as if we all had a nice long nap. One participant noted that the environment suddenly felt different although nothing had changed.

Then, it was time to get changed into our swimsuits as we padded down to the grass patch downstairs where two large tubs of ice awaited.

We were first asked by Chun to dip one arm in the tub for as long as we could. I expected to feel a sharp biting pain, but the discomfort was surprisingly bearable. Chun then instructed us to ready ourselves for a "soak" in the ice tub, two at a time.

Bolstered by that quick little test, I took several deep breaths to psyche myself up and imagined the sensation over my body before plunging in. The icy water hit me up to my ribcage, while I timidly kept my arms and hands dry, hanging them over the sides of the tub.

I made sure to continue taking deep and long breaths, guided by Chun. After several seconds, my skin must have acclimatised to the cold and I caught myself thinking, "Hey, this isn't so bad." I managed to hold out for one whole minute and emerged to encouraging applause accorded to all participants.

As we took turns for the second round, complacency must have got to me. I confidently placed my arms in this time, and regretted it almost immediately as I felt the piercing pain engulf my limbs.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply as before, but I could feel my brows furrow in concentration as I tried to shut out the sensation of the cold in my mind. The minute felt like an eternity. 

Somehow, with the last 10 seconds on the clock, I still managed to inch myself deeper into the water, lying almost on my back. I would pay for my bravado later.

But unlike several of the guys before me, I couldn't muster the courage to submerge my entire face and head underwater. "Listen to your body," was a constant refrain from Chun during the session, which I thought I did. Of the five women present, however, only two of us made it to the end of the countdown both times. 

Why was the second round harder to endure? Chun assured that it was a normal reaction, as "your body is already cold and stressed". 

"The whole activity is about awareness and respecting your body's warning signs. This course is about being extremely forgiving to yourself, and to be very sensitive to these hints that will appear when you approach these various levels of stress and discomfort," Chun explained.

After the second dip, I walked out of the experience feeling a sense of calm and being quietly empowered.

The phrase "you are stronger than you think" may seem like platitudes in other contexts, but in this situation, it definitely rang true. I felt like I was walking on a cloud for the rest of the evening.

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However, I realised later that the last two fingertips of my left hand still felt numb, and continued to feel less sensitive even two days after the session.

Chun said this happens when people stay in the ice a bit longer than they should (oops), but it usually sorts itself out with time. After his recommended hot-cold water contrast therapy on my fingertips though, they slowly regained sensation within a day.

Was it an interesting experience? Most definitely. But would I try it again? Yes and no. I found the breathwork exercise to be useful, but as for the extreme cold, maybe not. The discomfort is too much to take.

My psoriasis plaques didn't show any observable improvement following the class, but it is probably naive of me to expect a one-time effort to work miracles. 

Biohacking enthusiasts should note that this alternative form of therapy is not for everyone — those with a history of cardiovascular disease or hypertension should consult their doctors before trying out the session. 

But through the experience, I've actually grown to 'enjoy' regular cold showers. After all, cold water has long been shown to benefit the skin and boost blood circulation. Mixed in with some deep and fast-paced breathing exercises as per Wim's methods beforehand, I've found that it makes me feel refreshed, energised, and ready to face the day.

candicecai@asiaone.com