If there's one way to test and defy our own capabilities, it's jumping into a pool full of ice.
It turns out that sitting in the freezing cold water has a number of benefits. It can positively impact our happiness, energy levels and overall wellbeing - both physically and mentally.
Dutchman Wim Hof holds 26 Guinness World Records and is praised for developing a method which uses breathing techniques, cold immersion and mindset training to tap into our own power, pushing us to fully embrace our means.
When we go into the water, an entirely different breathing technique is used, bringing a sense of calmness rather than panic.
The mindset component is about realising how powerful we really are, and how we can conquer that.
"What Wim has done is brought us a method using the three pillars to really unleash our true potential and break through our conditioning as it is at the moment," physiotherapist and Wim Hof instructor Nigel Beach told Newshub.
"That conditioning is as a result of the pressures and the stress in our lives and environment."
The breathing puts a stress on our bodies, which helps dampen down the sympathetic nervous system and pushes us into a calm state.
It is good for pain relief, utilised often in child birth, and is calming as our PH is altered, elevating our levels and making it hard for our pain receptors to feel pain.
The ice is an environment which can pose a threat and a controlled discomfort.
By using the breathing and the cold immersion pillars together, Wim Hof practitioners believe a power is unleashed over our own mental state.
"We just get guided through the ice - in that controlled, gradual, non-forced way," Mr Beach said.
"If we rationalise it, we're calm, we go through it, then we get the benefit of dampening down our sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for this fight or flight state during our day."
Plumber-turned-content creator Logan Dodds is regularly rewarded with advantages from using the Wim Hof method daily.
He uses his smart watch to monitor stress levels before and after he enters the ice.
The Samsung Galaxy watch also offers breathing exercises in times of stress which help to mitigate the stress, Mr Beach explains.
"It gives control back to the user of the watch."
Holding the power to influence our daily mental state, Mr Beach encourages others to try out the Wim Hof method.
He recommends beginnners trial ice immersion by turning the shower from hot to cold in the mornings.
"You might be starting with that. At the end of your warm shower, turn it to cold - that will develop this resiliency within us and will have a positive outcome on our mental health, as well as our physical health," Mr Beach said.
Watch the video for the full story.
Newshub.
