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Learn to breathe normally first
Why basics come first
People with sleep apnea or constant mouth breathing who go do Wim Hof get really high and feel great for a couple of hours afterward, and then they feel like crap the rest of the time, because they are back to their mouth breathing. Nobody would run an ultramarathon who couldn't walk up three flights of stairs. Breathing follows the same logic: the basics have to be locked in first.
How yoga was taught
Yoga used to work this way too. It was not taught to sick people. They had to get well and become normal first, and yoga was then meant to lift them to the next rung of human potential. Once someone is a normal breather, breath work practices are incredibly powerful, and they need those basics in place to deliver.
The unglamorous part
Getting normal breathing down is unsexy next to the gongs, white robes, and illustrious retreats of breath work, and it is the part that comes first.
Why do endurance coaches build a base first?
In the 1950s, the New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard had runners build weeks of steady aerobic mileage before any speed work. The idea was that a large aerobic base lets the body absorb harder training later. His method spread worldwide and shaped modern endurance coaching. Peter Snell won the 800 meters and Murray Halberg the 5,000 meters, both coached by Lydiard, at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Why can intense breathing feel so euphoric?
In a 2014 study in PNAS from Radboud University, volunteers trained in the Wim Hof method showed a surge of adrenaline during the breathing. Adrenaline raises heart rate, sharpens alertness, and produces a buzz. The same fast breathing also lowers blood CO2, which narrows blood vessels in the brain and can cause tingling and lightheadedness.
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