Cold-showers / Cold Water, Breath, and the Strength Women Already Carry
Cold water has a way of removing performance. It asks for honesty before technique, and presence before pride. In this conversation from the Wim Hof Method Center in France, three women across three decades speak about breath, ice, fear, emotion, and the quieter strength that appears when the body stops negotiating with discomfort.
Cold-showers / Cold Water, Breath, and the Strength Women Already Carry - Full Transcript
Hello Emma! Hello! So nice to see you. So good to see you too. Thank you for having me. Oh, it's a pleasure. Yeah, it's amazing to be here at the French Centre. Actually, can I join? I really want to join this one. Is it okay if I sit here? Yeah, of course. Welcome, Paula. Thank you. Yes, we have the chance to have our YouTube master with us tonight. What a privilege. Oh my God, that's me? Thank you so much. That's you? Yes. You can have your own. Oh, thank you. No, but I hijacked your podcast. You better explain what you were here to talk about and I'll tag along. Nice. I thought we'd be as we're three women in the Wim Hof Method. I actually figured out that we're all different decades in age, not perhaps when we started. But we certainly are in this moment in time. So it would be really nice to share Wim Hof Method women from our perspective and how we are practicing the method as a woman in her 40s. In my 50s. In my 30s. Yeah, and just to see how it's changed, if it has any. And, you know, and yeah, I don't know if you guys want to add anything to that. No, I think it's the perfect time to talk about that because a lot of women ask.' If the Women of Matter is good for women.' And I think we are all three here with a big smile. So I think it's a real good time to talk about it. Yeah, absolutely. So maybe a little bit of background. So I introduce myself. My name is Emma, Emma Estrella. I've been doing the Wim Hof Method since 2015. I went to Wim's travel in 2016. Ac fe wnes i'n hyfforddiant yn 2017.
So it's kind of like nine years, nine, ten years. So when I started, I was in my 30s and now I'm in my mid 40s. Yeah, I guess in a nutshell for me, when I started the method, I kind of trained like everyone else. Like I was very much. had this new awareness for my body and a deeper connection from a spiritual point of view. The fact that I wasn't spiritual when I started, I was very much in... an irrational head and very corporate. And then when I started, I became a lot more aware of the yin and yang energy, especially the yin energy and awareness. And then I went into the water every day. I did a cold exposure every day and I did breathing, probably, minimum three times a week. If not daily, if not twice a day, if I didn't feel so well. So I was very much, yeah, an active practitioner, week. Could say for a few years and then COVID hit and then I became suddenly aware of my womb and I was like,' Whoa! I don't need to do cold every day, especially when I'm on my cycle, because before then it didn't matter.' But during COVID, I had this kind of profound shift of... slowing down and then appreciating that I had this beautiful womb that I still was disconnected from and I really honoured the moon cycle and I really honoured how I was during each cycle. And I looked into it a lot more and that really opened my eyes that I've had such a huge journey in that. And now, fast forward to where I am now, I honour the cycle and I appreciate that and the awareness of that and it comes a lot into my practice. What about you guys?
Okay, let's go with me. So I'm Stasia and I discovered the cold practice five years ago. Than the Wim Hof method three years ago. Since five years, every day I take a cold shower. And then, two years ago, I said,' Okay.' I want to become an instructor too because I really want to spread this message too. All people I knew — especially the woman — because it helps me really a lot. And, uh... I don't know if you already follow me in the YouTube channel, but I made a special video on menopause and really for me. It was a game changer. No symptoms at all, and What Emma just told before, I really appreciate to listen to my body. To go. In my daily life. Not forcing, but what I need and just following. My inner voice here. And I think it's really, really important in... In the days we are living now, in this... Foolish society when everything goes fast, Taking time to listen what is inside it. Really important. So that's why I'm here with you guys to share this. Thank you so much. I feel honored. To be between these two ladies. Like, thank you so much for letting me crash this episode. Um, It's funny because you started like at my age. It's kind of like I'm looking at a... Maybe future self, so it's it's really inspiring and also Sasha's story is also inspiring. Like when I heard the menopause episode, I was like,' Now I'm looking forward to be my menopause' and she was like,' You're still a long way there, you know, hold your holsters, lady.' But for me, my background... I started cold showers a long, long time ago. You've heard that story in another episode. I was dealing with depression and panic attacks.
Boom, gone. And for me, it was such a deep experience. Like, how was this so effective? That I went like,' Why did this work?' And that's how I found the Wim Hof Method. And then I went like for the rest of it, you know, like the breathing. Then now that we have this amazing new protocol of the mindset and everything, and I see life as a nice bath. And I like, I love everything all the time. It's like, like a nice bath. And the value it's given my life, it's beyond this world. And yeah, that's why I'm also here to share it. From the soul. Love it. Yes, I love it too. You are really inspiring. And I think it's really nice to have these three different ages. So I hope we will inspire a lot of women. Toen. To go and to dive deep into this method. Yeah, absolutely. And I think the takeaway for me over the years is that I think I kind of become more aware of my body because as you deepen in the practice, Actually, it's really about the yin energy. It's about doing everything with awareness. So awareness and intention are slightly different. And especially now, in the last year, we have a really transferable and a really relatable mindset protocol which has been introduced by a new academy manager and and it's really beautiful because it helps translate it a little bit more the core and to help you kind of recognize, as you touched on, that your body is your beautiful ally and it's been there your whole life. AC Mae'r meddwl yn sefydlu'r holl brofiadau neu ymchwiliadau eraill
ac rydyn ni'n gofio am ein gwerth mwyaf, sy'n y corff a'r tool a'r corff. Intelligence and, and actually, you go deeper for us because the womb wisdom is something that is untouched and people have been scared of over the last years and decades and stuff that, but actually, it's a really beautiful um mystery and it's nice to occasionally tap into that and have that as a relationship from the breath point of view and from a cold point of view. Yes, you're absolutely true because... We are afraid of this feminine power, so... We need to go back to this power and really to... inspire other women to go deep. and to radiate this yin energy. We need both yin and yang, but to go back to this energy, it's really, really important. Yeah, so you're sort of saying, on a collective, the yin energy, because I always say wisdom and power. And recently we've been a little bit more in the power. And power is no good without wisdom. And wisdom is no good without power, right? So I love how you frame that. Yeah, and also connecting. I think the Wim Hof Method is a lot — of connecting to your intuition. And I loved how you said it. Yeah, feminine and like our feminine sides. As women, even though we're women, it's like most of us are. Well, I can say that I'm more connected with that lately because of the Wim Hof Method, but... Most of women are usually not in that, like it's such a powerful, as you mentioned too, like such a powerful. Kind of like, yeah, it's intuition. And what I love about the Wim Hof Method is either you're a woman or a man. It's like tapping into that intuition. And for us women, we've been like a lot in this. We're all invited to that masculine part, it's bringing us back to that energy side. So on this note, I would like to ask you, as a woman, what's the most powerful thing that the Wim Hof Method has given you?
For me, it's this. Thank you. I think for me too, to go back to myself. To take my responsibility on over my body. And just to respect my body and not being in that world, just doing, I said, no. Now stop. It's time for yourself, and then after you can Du, But first go inside and look what is good for you. And take time. Yeah, I think it has a lot of layers in your question there. I mirror what you guys say or echo what you say. Yeah, it's a sense of belonging and, actually, it was the Wim Hof Method that allowed me to find my feminine energy because I think I was living in a masculine... way, just keeping up. Keeping up with the collective energy of the world. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying it's either good or bad, but I had adapted to. I find my rhyddi cymdeithasol, mind to the pub, cadw'r pynciau, byw mewn byd dynol. Roeddwn i'n gweithio'n dynol iawn. Roeddwn i' n... tradesman and then I was also in the forces so you know in the military so it was very much bum and I kind of like had this neglect and it took the Wim Hof method which is it was you know Wim Hof who's a man rydych chi'n gwybod, i ddod o hyd i'r egni ffemin, oherwydd i ddod o hyd i'r d r mae'n rhaid i chi gysylltu' r egni ffemin, sy'n cydnabod ac i... Let go and just be, and embrace you know. And the breath work is not about the force, as you said about the connection. So in order to maintain the Wim Hof method for so long, you have to tap into the feminine energy. Yes, even if we look at the advertising,
sometimes from Wim, we saw men, strong men. But it's absolutely not the case. So we are really here to show that. Also, women can be in this method. And to have a lot of advantage of this method. What would you say are disadvantages specifically for women, for example? Like if there's women listening to us right now and are maybe doubting, what could we give them? For me, it's the connection with the body and to... Thank you. To be able to stay in this masculine world. To take the real place, the right, the real and right place of the women. Which is really important. This feminine energy is really important. So go back to this energy for me. Thank you. It is really, I think, the most advantage we can have from this method. And also you talk about the mindset protocol. Hmm. Which is a game changer. And just to say, OK, I recognize that I am. The queen and I can do what my body wants to do without fear, just trust and have faith. Yeah. So you said about the negatives or the disadvantages also of being a woman. No, like... The advantages of, as Tasha said, especially women's advantages, what are those from your point of view? Yeah, what are the advantages? So I think, for a woman from a physical point of view, it can connect you back to your cycle. And it's a real personal journey, whether you choose to go. In the cold, on your cycle, because it could help with cramps, can lessen that, or you can choose to stay out because you want to honor the feminine cycle as well. So I think the advantage to that is that there is no pressure,
there is no right or wrong, and there is no comparison. And having that as your new way, which really isn't the social conditioning. You know, with competition, scarcity and... a'r pwysigrwydd o ddim allan. Rwy'n credu bod hynny wedi'i gyflwyno'n l i ganolfan y byddwn i'n hynod o bwysig yn unig os ydw i'n dewis mynd i'r d r neu ddim yn mynd i'r d r. From a mental point of view, it's just — it has expanded my mind to, from a limiting belief and from bringing awareness to social patterns and conditioning in my own voice, in my head. To penderfynu a ydych chi am wrando arno neu ddim i wrando arno lle mae'n dod o lefydd ymddygiad. Gan ddod o le cwmpas, ac o safbwynt ysbrydol, It's about, as you said, the king and queen in all of us and being the empress and having that kind of... So the masculine energy is like we know how to do it. Males know how. But the feminine energy is knowing when. And it's really kind of staying in that power. Hmm. Yeah. For me, it's a lot about, I talked before about this mental side. No, I forgot what I was going to say. Um, No. You will find it again. It's okay. Brain freeze, menopause. Yes, I remember it. I got it. Okay, so... Remember how I said, like, for me, life is an ice bath? Like I treat everything in my life like remains a lot of like the mental resilience. I can't do it because I could do an ice bath. So for me, it's a lot about that, you know, especially in... I know, you know, I know we live in a very comfortable place right now compared to what came before us,
definitely. And I'm super grateful. But there are some moments where, you know, there comes like, maybe you cannot do that. And it's like, no, yeah, I can. And I will because I step into an ice bath. And that's really something for me. Oh, yes. I really love this image to see every difficulty as an icebox. Because the first time, yes, it's scary, but we can do it. And then, OK, I can do it again. Oh, yes. Oh, I'm afraid. Oh, OK, I can do it again. Really nice, thank you for the tip! Oh. Glad it helped. I was very fortunate in my early years to, when I qualified as an instructor, I then got asked to do a talk. In London in front of 500 people, and I was like,' Whoa! I'm not ready. I've never done this, you know and yeah, I had a lot of support from my family and friends, and they were basically saying they wouldn't have been invited if the universe didn't know that you were already able to do it. So I did exactly what you said. I was like,' Wow! If I can step into a frozen waterfall, I can definitely stand on stage and talk about the Wim Hof Method.' So I did exactly that. Yeah, it's very powerful. And you, Parla, about your cycle, since you practice now for many years, did you notice some difference in your cycle? Yes, I could say that I'm a lot more tuned into my body. I don't want to jink this. But it's been a long time since. Like, um... It's weird, like, I don't even, I don't stain my clothes anymore. I'm so, so connected with my cycle that even if, you know, we all have challenging periods in our lives and stressful,
and of course it affects, like, the cycle is affected by so many things. We have an episode on this. Like so many things. It's not just the ice bath. And, um... Like, even though in those moments that it doesn't come that day. I feel my body and I know it's not going to come. And then when it's coming like five days later, it's like, oh, it's coming. So it's... It's more than, it helps a lot with the symptoms, of course. It really helped me regulate it. I was not, I've never been that precise. And also, like, I know exactly. When it's coming. I feel that's so powerful, you know, like, uh, yeah. And about everything being an ice bath, uh, in that sense too. I forgot again. Sorry. What about your memory? Does the Wim Hof method help for your memory? It does. I'm just so excited. So many things running into my mind. And you, Emma, what about your cycle? How do you handle all this? Yeah, as I said, I think for the first few years, I just ignored my cycle. I was just so excited to see a body of water that I went in regardless of my cycle. And then COVID happened, that I slowed things down. And I kind of honored, like, oh, maybe I don't want to go in during day one and day two. Maybe I want to have that duvet day. Maybe I want to have that hibernation. I can afford to not see anybody. I can afford to cancel. I can afford to go and just rest and kind of like... why am I feeling these new ways, if you like, because you know, because the whole world was changing, and and there was a lot of, I suppose, change from that side.
So I then began to experiment with my cycle. I began to do the breath work. There's some squeeze in the breathing, and I felt that when I was in on my cycle, uh, on my moon cycle, I then squeezed because then that would move the blood down and out quicker. So if this is getting too graphic for you, please fast forward. But I feel you will have — either a woman, or have wives, or sisters, or mothers, or you know, whatever. So yeah, I did the squeeze. I was like,' Yeah, that means that it will be shorter.' So I didn't have to endure five days. Maybe I can get it over in three days. So I was really experimenting with that, and it did. And and for someone who lives in a van, life, like the shorter my cycle was, the more beneficial for me. But then after like three three or four months, I realized. Here, the fruit only ripens at the right time and then it falls from the tree. And I was trying to even manipulate that. So I'm not saying anything against doing the squeeze in retention time or if you do the power breathing or anything like that. But I'm just definitely more mindful that I actually don't want to interrupt the natural process anymore. So I don't try and rush my periods by getting the blood out as fast as possible. So that was a new awareness and I feel I had to go through it. To figure out how things can change for me. So yeah, I ended up not interfering with the natural cycle. It makes sense. And what Wim also told us is that... We are nature. So why going against nature? So we just need to go back to all these natural things. Nothing complicated? Gold breath, mindset, and listen what is good for us. Yeah. But also saying that I did realize, and I don't know if any of you can relate,
but I did do a cold exposure on my cycle. And then I realized I didn't. I didn't bleed for six to eight hours later. I was like,' Yes, it's finished.' And then during the night, it came like with a vengeance. And I was like,' This is so interesting.' Even though my mind is out of the danger of fight, freeze, and I was all good and I warmed up after the ice bath, there was my womb telling me,' I'm... really still in in the holding on it.' Because maybe it wasn't out of danger, or maybe it was like,' stop the bleed' because we got to run from one village to another village or whatever. So I just found that really interesting that I had that six hours to eight hours before I was fully relaxed. Relaxed in order to carry on the flow, I don't know whether you've experienced that at all. But that was a really profound, deep questioning for me, like that's why now I prefer not to go in on day one or day two of my period because I just want to honor the flow as it is, and not kind of tense and and hold it back. I might be the only one with this trail of thought. I know I never experienced that because when I started really the Wim Hof Method, I was already in my pre-menopause phases. So I am not able to talk about this. But it's really interesting what you share. Yeah. For me, not during hours, but I've experienced shorter periods. And I never related it to it. Like two days, for example. And I was like,' Oh, wow.' This is... Party! But yeah. Maybe. And going back to the menopause, I know you've told us the story, but... I think it's really enriching to hear it like. And you're talking about natural. You know, not like Wim always telling us to go with the natural, and this is also natural. How did this natural method help you? Yes, it was really natural. So just listen to my needs. Going in the cold, there's a cold shower every day. Breathing like you,
Emma, maybe not every day, but at least three, four times a week. And then when I need an ice bath and just going through this. Weird period, like we said in French,' lettre la poste.' So it goes really fluently. No symptoms? My, how do you say, mes humeurs? My mood was really... Stable. And no hot flushes, I sleep good. So for me, it was really helpful. When I see my friends who are struggling a little bit during the night with hot flushes and so on, I try to say that there are natural ways to recover, but it's not always easy to talk about it. Yes. I refuse to admit that Perry exists. Yes, it exists. And I've read some numbers that apparently I'm in the period. I was like, what? So am I. I'm 46, I think. I can't remember. But I'm in the thick of Perry, apparently. But I refuse because I really think it's a conditioning from society. You are in the menopause or you're not the peri. Because otherwise, you know, as a teenager, you start, and then you have like a few years, and then all of a sudden you're into peri, and then peri is menopause, and then menopause. And I was like, no, like,' No, like when?' Surely the natural should be a lot longer, and maybe it's we are a product of what we eat, how we live our lives, more stressed, you know, the pollutions, the toxicities. In the world, the Industrial Revolution, like I do, think that all of that is a contributing factor, and they blame women on peri, and I'm a little pushing back on that. You know, I have a better relationship now with my womb because I've moved from into into the cup now, like I used to have tampons, and then really unaware of when I'm bleeding, and I was like,' Oh, it's full — I need to change it but now I can feel when it's happening.
And sometimes I don't need anything. I can just go to the toilet, and then that's when it happens. And then I can hold it on and then I feel and then I go to the toilet. Like, I don't need anything. So I'm bleeding with awareness. And that never happened to me before until I switched during COVID time. So Perry, it's not like I hate my wound. Ac nid yw'n gweithio i mi. Dydw i ddim yn teimlo fel hynny ond byddaf yn ystyried nad oes gen i blant ac efallai bod hyn yn ffactor cyfrannu hefyd ac rydw i'n dysgu i fwynhau'r rhan hon o fy n l rydw i wedi'i ddysgu'n ddrwg iawn yn ceisio cadw i fyny mewn byd dynol felly ie. So I'm like you and I have no children either, but I really listen to this body and I honor this body. Yes. I don't have children either, so we need to bring a lady with children. To tell us her opinion. That will be the next podcast. Stay tuned. That was the next podcast. Stay tuned. Yeah. That's it. You didn't hear? Okay. You know, I remember what I was going to say. It's funny because you were talking about menopause, perimenopause, not perimenopause. I don't know what is the stage before, if I'm in it or not. We tend to like put everything into boxes. And nature is not like that. You know, like when you go to the beach, it's not like level one, level two, and then, you know, it's... It's, you know, it's like, I don't know, I cannot say the word. It's kind of like a... Continuous. Yeah, like you're saying. A journey? Yeah, it's kind of like, it's not on, you know, boxes. Linear. It's not, yeah. The word will come to me. And so... When I heard this talk about, you know, temperatures and women and the ice bath. That was what I was going to say. I didn't finish my thought of everything being a nice bath.
Really, for me, it helps that the temperature is really down because it's the most I can challenge myself in a mental way. And when I step out of it, as you said it, it's like you feel the queen of the world, so powerful. And it comes with this, you know. mental resilience and so much more than the physical. Yeah. Thank you. Okay, so ladies. Have we done the round of anything we want to say or no? I think... What would you say? to a woman that is scared. by all of the information that's out there about How could they approach the Wim Hof method? You know, like really... Everybody, it's everybody and everybody. I learned this from Adele and I love that phrase. You know, like, if they want to do it for a specific reason, like, how does it help? And you know, like, how can they approach them, especially if they're all in their head, you know, about all of this, because it's really about tapping into that intuition, it's really valuable. So Yeah, so I think, maybe, most of your life, or part of your life, you've advocated your voice as someone else. If you've been listening to someone saying,' Oh, you shouldn't do that because of this,' or' You shouldn't do this because of that,' I would advise you to try for yourself and then just see where that... Goes because, beyond that doorway, could be freedom if I'd listened to other people telling me what to do for my body, my entire life. I wouldn't be here now. So find out yourself as you will start to feel empowered for making decisions for yourself.
It can start very gently and humbly, being humble and gradual. And to know that it's a combination of a physical, of being in the ice bath, but also a lot of it is mental. You can be a good chess player. Being a male and female, you can be a good climber. Being a male and female, so just because Wim Hof is a man, it doesn't mean that it's just for men. I would argue that actually, it brings back the feminine energy and there's a self-inquiry for you to find out how you tick in a really beautiful, non-BS way. Do you know? I mean, because the mind can lie to you, but being present in the in that moment, in a small, hormatic stress, you are it. It allows you to focus on different things and that's a beautiful process. So try it for yourself and then give an opinion. That was the word' grato.' Yes, gentle, gradual, and for yourself. I think you summarize everything. I get it. Wow, thank you. What's tomorrow night like? What do you think about it? Thank you. I would also add, like, the Wim Hof Method, it's not only about the cold. It's also the breathing and the mindset. And especially for those cases where, if it's your case, you might feel scared. The mindset really helps, and and you can start with that, and then with the breathing, and then at your own pace and time, you could go into the cold. And it's such a complete method. With his three pillars that, you know, like... It's also flexible in how you can approach it in your own time and in your own way. So it. It's been a game changer for me, and I would just say, like, you know, take your time, listen to yourself, as you said. I have nothing to add. I think you said everything.
Thank you. Bye! Thank you. Ha!
Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.
The method is often described through endurance. Here, it becomes something more intimate: a practice for listening to the body, meeting stress with steadiness, and discovering that resilience can be gentle as well as powerful.
cold exposure creates a clean form of stress. The body reacts first: breath shortens, muscles tense, and the mind looks for an exit. When you stay with the sensation, the nervous system learns a different pattern. It can feel pressure without immediately becoming pressure.
That is the practical beauty of the cold. It does not need drama to teach discipline. It gives immediate feedback, and with practice, the first shock becomes a doorway into calm.
Breathwork changes the relationship between effort and surrender. Slow, intentional breathing can shift the nervous system away from reactivity and toward regulation. The effect is not abstract. The body softens. The mind has room.
For the women in this conversation, breath is not a performance metric. It is a way of meeting emotion, fatigue, and transition with more compassion and more agency.
Age changes the context of practice, but not the invitation. Hormones, responsibility, recovery needs, and life experience all shape how someone enters the cold. The principle remains the same: listen carefully, build gradually, and let the method meet the body you actually have.
This is resilience without bravado. The practice becomes sustainable because it respects where each person is starting.
"The cold does not ask women to become harder. It asks them to become more present."
"Cold exposure is a practice in staying with yourself."
"Breath gives the nervous system a language for calm."
"Resilience can be precise, quiet, and deeply personal."
Begin with a manageable dose of cold and keep the breath slow enough to stay present.
Use breathwork before cold exposure when you need to settle the nervous system.
Let the practice change with age, cycle, stress, and recovery rather than forcing the same protocol every day.
