Hey guys, just wanted to share this with you as it has been extremely beneficial my for overall health. It's called the Wim Hof Method.

http://www.icemanwimhof.com/wim-hof-exercises

http://www.wimhofmethod....m-Hof-Method-English.pdf

I have been doing this exercise daily for the past 3 months and have found it not only to be helpful for my physical and spiritual health but fun and euphoric. At first it was difficult to perform but after about a week it became easy. I have noticed an increased awareness of my normal breathing, increased alertness and energy, more focus during meditation (which I often do directly after), and I have been able to expel energy from my body. I was even able to expell symptoms of a common cold from my body while percorming this technique.

I have been experimenting with using this technique before smoking spice and the results were delightful. I seem to feel more calm, centered, comfortable, charged, focused, and relaxed before going in. It definitely helps take away some of those "pre-blastoff jitters" (though not all, and I believe the nervousness is an important part of the DMT experience).

He also has a great interview with Joe Rogan that is worth listening to:

https://youtu.be/Np0jGp6442A

Anyways, just wanted to share this because it has changed my life experience in a positive way.
Peace and love mates!

I too have been using this method for a while now. It has significantly improved my well being. Especially the cold immersion part.

My breathing when smoking herbs has also dramatically increased. I can clear fully packed cones and with plenty of lung space to spare, in one hit.

I've been using Wim Hof's breathing technique and cold therapy for about four months now daily, and can say without a doubt that it has bettered me physically, spiritually and emotionally. My asthma has decreased dramatically, (also with the help of the Buteyko breathing technique). Energy levels are higher, have't been sick since starting it and if ever i feel emotionally down, after a round of breaths im back to calm equanimity. I Highly recommend everyone give it a go daily for a week and see the results.

I've been doing it throughout the day since this morning when I saw this... I can only manage to hold my breath maybe 20 seconds after the last exhale. The last few times my feet have gotten weird pins and needles, face and ears feel like I just huffed some nitrous (numb face, nearby fan causing flanging in the ears) and I've had a second or two of pleasant warmth at the very tip of my penis although I checked and everything down there is dry. Strange, but interesting. I'm kind of scared to try multiple 30 breath cycles in a row.

The first few times for me were strange too. Then after you do it a few times it gets easier and you can hold your breathe longer. The tingles become vibrations and you can focus the energy inside yourself to certain areas of the body (sometimes I like to move energy to my chakras) and you really can feel those focal points of energy while in this state. I'm up to a 5 minute breath hold after five rounds and the feeling of peace you experience while lying in complete relaxation without even having to move for breath is totally serene.

I encourage you to keep trying as anything new will seem difficult to begin with, but the benefits are tried and true. This has become an important part of my daily meditation routine and pre-hyperspace routine.

Related: The Anapanasati Sutta

This breathing method is a kind of hyperventilation, so my guess is what you're experiencing has to do with that.

More carbon dioxide is removed from the bloodstream than the body can produce. This causes the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood stream to fall and produces a state called hypocapnia. The body normally attempts to compensate for this metabolically but if excess ventilation can't be compensated metabolically, it will lead to a rise in blood pH called respiratory alkalosis. When hyperventilation leads to respiratory alkalosis, it can cause physical symptoms including dizziness, tingling in the lips, hands or feet, headache, weakness, fainting and seizures.

This is why you shouldn't use this technique when going for maximum breath-holds, as you don't really start feeling the contractions when you're low on oxygen, so you can keep going much longer without the extremely unpleasant contractions putting yourself at risk for blacking out (essentially you don't necessarily feel when you're running out of oxygen). This is especially important if you're diving to not hyperventilate before a dive.

I was very interested in free diving for a while so I researched this extensively. Had a 6 minute breath-hold, but I'm pretty sure I'm down to like 4 now.

Otherwise than that I don't see any problem with it, and I too have found breathing techniques to be very relaxing, and almost always putting me in a good mood, with a feeling of clarity

A funny one I found :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0meWkcH8Ow

Ignore the title, but besides that, It probably works similarly to the Wim Hof method, and when done once in a while puts me in best of moods, and I usually start laughing for whatever reason, so it's at least worth checking out!

Peace