Angela iWim Hof Level two instructor in the snow training
AnGELA

AnGELA

The Ice Warrior

When the Wim Hof method really became my teacher

Wim Hof Level Two Training

I want less after Wim Hof level 2 training!! It took me to another level and not just the amazing things we learnt in the class room. I found a deeper connection and without sounding like a cliché, it was a complete rebirth.

I have come back from Poland and the Wim Hof academy not wanting more, but wanting less. But sometimes finding less can be just as hard as more. I crave Mother Nature and to be surrounded by unaffected love and connection.

I have experienced trauma in my life, abandonment, feelings of not being enough or being worthy of love. When I first started with the Wim Hof method I feel that I stripped back the first layer of all of this, it made me happier, healthier and stronger, exactly like they said it would. I became an instructor and stated sharing this amazing gift with the world.

When I started practicing the method on a deeper level through the power of the mind activities, the true learning began, as I started to go deeper with the cold, as Wim says, “I found the cold to be my teacher.” The thing was I was happy, and this was bringing up more crap inside me, crap that I didn’t even know was there, that needed facing. Fears that had been buried for years, fears that were painful, super painful, they changed every narrative I had ever told myself. I felt scared, I felt raw and I was vulnerable. I describe it like an onion with layers, the first layer came off with a few tears, but this layer was deeper and needed more love and there were a whole lot more tears. The big difference was that I had a trust. I knew that this process needed to happen. I couldn’t speed it up or slow it down, I had the tools of the breath and cold by my side and even when it was hard, when I wanted to hide away and pretend it was all ok, I breathed longer and I went colder! So many questions around, do. I need to understand it all, do I need some kind of talking therapy? I just want to move on from this pain and go back to being happy! I felt I wasn’t being authentic in any aspect, with my husband, my kids, friends, and my business. It all seemed a bit pointless until I had released this hurt.

Poland was looming for level 2 instructor training and I honestly didn’t know if I was up for the job. I wondered if I would just be a sobbing mess. But then deep inside, I knew that this was going to change my life forever and that the journey had only just begun.

The Mountain climb

The day before the mountain climb. A 1200m high mountain of 22km, which took about 6 hours in only shorts, I had my confidence, I knew what to do, but I was still harbouring so much sadness and fear. Then this happened!! The most powerful breath-work experience I have EVER had in my life. Laura Hof performed her magic and took the whole room to a place of all the love and all the power! In this breath-work session I felt strong, I felt present with every breath and was trapped in the experience, but when it stopped and I was laughing and sobbing and I didn’t even know! I was crying with this pure joy of FREEDOM!! The crap that had been holding me back had shifted, it was no longer in my body, I was like a new person, full of courage, self belief, clearly seeing the person I want to be right there looking at me! I really can’t describe it to its fullest other than pure magic! And that is what the Wim Hof method holds, a shit load of powerful science but the beauty of magic!

Needless to say the mountain the next day was effortless, it was more than enjoyable, even holding snowballs in my hands and laying down in the snow at the top. I felt alive, the most alive I have ever felt in my life! My whole body and mind were as one and the world was a beautiful place!

The Wim Hof Academy

There is a bubble that holds you so safely when you work with the academy. The academy themselves, people like Laura and Bart hold such space, but the fellow instructors are there with the same love, there is no judgement, no other agenda than being there for each other. I noticed when I transitioned back home, staying a night in a Hilton, the first thing I noticed was people shaking hands, when only for a few days, I had been surrounded by hugs, genuine warmth and love. Society has taught us to have barriers between us, to do the right thing and conform in a way that feels safe. I realised that this is one of the reasons I left corporate for the FREEDOM to be my true authentic self.

Now comes the real shit!!

Excited to come home and see my wonderful husband, gorgeous kids and dogs. They are all buzzing to see me and I am feeling so much love from these people who are my life, my everything!! I am so incredibly grateful for everything that I have, but that’s not quite the end of the story…

Within a few days, I feel myself triggered by social media, wanting to be away from the noise of teenage technology and even the TV, not wanting to be weighed down with school admin tasks and who the hell does the dishwasher! The house feels really closed in, suffocated by my surroundings. Calling my wonderful friend Lorraine, also a level 2 instructor and sharing my honest reflections of coming home, she reminded me of a similar conversation after level 1 and she was right, it was the same but this time it was way more! I remember thinking about so many changes I wanted to make and then slowly all those priorities drifted for the sake of what is expected of me, what society sees my life should be and the needs of others. Expected from me as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, a friend, an entrepreneur, a sister, a dog owner, it all feels just too much.

I want to take more time to observe the world and not be this constant doer! Be a human being not a human doer. I have heard this before but never really got it to its fullest, but now it is literally screaming in my face!! I don’t know if this is everyone, the time in my life, something in my genetics. I feel I just can’t breathe unless I’m out in nature.

How do I get that balance?

I teach authenticity but am I practicing what I preach? It’s like a tug of war inside me over what I should do and what I feel called to do. As any mother does, I want to do the best by my children and is my authentic life best for them? Do I wait or can I have the best of both worlds? My head is spinning…
I don’t have the answer to any of these questions but I’m going to make some changes. I want to see my family thrive but I want that for myself too. I can see this happiness just over the hill, but I keep slipping back down and I’ve had enough! I don’t want to forget the FREEDOM, I don’t want to forget the mountain!!

I want less technology, less commercial noise, less processed food, less extravagance, less pretending, less worrying about the future, less dwelling on the past, less proving myself!

Just all the love all the power!!

If I look too much at the bigger picture then I will just not do anything about this, but small changes everyday to lead to a world I want to live in, a world that holds me and I can breathe to my fullest, be of service and not just survive, I choose to thrive and be FREE!!

I am using this blog as an accountability to make some changes. Would love to know your thoughts or if you have felt something similar.

If you would  love to learn more about how to  work with the Ice Warrior, check out these links…

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