Under the guidance of Benoit Demeulemeester, workshop participants take the plunge for a second time. Becoming accustomed to the shock of the cold and focusing on breathing techniques, some can spend five minutes in their icy oasis.
Benoit Demeulemeester, founder of CooloutBreathIn takes workshop participants through breathing exercises in Al Manara, Dubai, before they attempt ice bath therapy. All photographs Antonie Robertson / The National
At temperatures climb into the 40s, Benoit Demeulemeester fills tubs with 20-kilogram bags of ice, as workshop members watch on with trepidation.
Submerged up to his shoulders, Benoit Demeulemeester demonstrates the breathing exercises that accompany a plunge into the icy water.
A workshop participant settles in his icy bath – with plenty of ice at hand to replenish supplies. Employing techniques popularised by
'The Ice Man' Wim Hof, Benoit Demeulemeester says an icy dip combined with breathing exercises 'keeps one's body in optimal condition'.
Once participants are accustomed to being up to their shoulders in ice, they can progress to fully immersing themselves in the freezing water.
A thermometer shows that while the temperature may be rising past 40°C outside, in the tub it remains stubbornly below zero.
Benoit Demeulemeester dunks a bucket of ice over a regular participant at the end of his four-and-a-half minute second session in the ice bath.
Benoit Demeulemeester times a workshop member during his ice bath. The therapy is based on traditional breathing exercises practised by Tibetan Buddhist monks. Demeulemeester admits the icy element is 'the more crazy aspect of the system'.
Having completed his first plunge – and having managed to stay in the tub for three and a half minutes – a workshop participant re-emerges into the hot Dubai morning air.
Under the guidance of Benoit Demeulemeester, workshop participants take the plunge for a second time. Becoming accustomed to the shock of the cold and focusing on breathing techniques, some can spend five minutes in their icy oasis.
Benoit Demeulemeester, founder of CooloutBreathIn takes workshop participants through breathing exercises in Al Manara, Dubai, before they attempt ice bath therapy. All photographs Antonie Robertson / The National
At temperatures climb into the 40s, Benoit Demeulemeester fills tubs with 20-kilogram bags of ice, as workshop members watch on with trepidation.
Submerged up to his shoulders, Benoit Demeulemeester demonstrates the breathing exercises that accompany a plunge into the icy water.
A workshop participant settles in his icy bath – with plenty of ice at hand to replenish supplies. Employing techniques popularised by
'The Ice Man' Wim Hof, Benoit Demeulemeester says an icy dip combined with breathing exercises 'keeps one's body in optimal condition'.
Once participants are accustomed to being up to their shoulders in ice, they can progress to fully immersing themselves in the freezing water.
A thermometer shows that while the temperature may be rising past 40°C outside, in the tub it remains stubbornly below zero.
Benoit Demeulemeester dunks a bucket of ice over a regular participant at the end of his four-and-a-half minute second session in the ice bath.
Benoit Demeulemeester times a workshop member during his ice bath. The therapy is based on traditional breathing exercises practised by Tibetan Buddhist monks. Demeulemeester admits the icy element is 'the more crazy aspect of the system'.
Having completed his first plunge – and having managed to stay in the tub for three and a half minutes – a workshop participant re-emerges into the hot Dubai morning air.
Under the guidance of Benoit Demeulemeester, workshop participants take the plunge for a second time. Becoming accustomed to the shock of the cold and focusing on breathing techniques, some can spend five minutes in their icy oasis.
