Hi everyone.
Did anyone tried Wim Hof Method? I found it powerful but I would not recommend it to sensitive meditators. Me being ultra under sensitive and using anything to spike my practice which utilizes EVERYTHING under AYP roof, I am always looking for a booster technique.
Any thoughts?
Thanks 
Hi Nirguna
I have briefly tried So Hum meditation a few years ago. I think it is the same as Wim Hof, just different onomatopoeia to describe the sound of breath.
I have found it unexpectedly powerful and abandoned it very quickly, for that reason. I am sensitive to practices, so my experience confirms your conclusion.
Enjoy your practice and godspeed 
There are many paths, many interesting, but exploring them appears to be more of a distraction from the main path. Maintaining discrimination in regard to our practices is essential to make any progress. This being said, Wim Hof is inspiring by pushing the accepted limits of human abilities.
Hi BlueRaincoat, are you sure it is the same practice? For me So Hum is a meditation, not a Pranayama, with absolutely no control over the breath, just normal breathing saying mentally So during inhalation and Hum during exhalation.
However I guess Nirguna was talking about the “balloon breaths” of the Wim Hof Method, which is a very strong Pranayama followed by a big Kumbhaka (one can read the instructions on HighExistence website). Specially if you use Mula Bhanda and if you focus during Bahya Kumbhaka (held out breath) on Swadisthana, a couple of inches in front of the spine, and in Ajna during Antara Kumbhaka (or directly practise Yoni Mudra) of the recovery breath.
I think it can be used using the AYP scheme as an alternative of Bhastrika between spinal breathing and Deep Meditation, or prior to Spinal Breathing. However it is a very strong practice that needs to be self-paced.
Regarding cold showers, I think it is very feasible to take at least one minute of cold shower after a warm one (although Wim goes much further), starting with 15 seconds and adding 15 every week).
If you are extremely under-sensitive, Mula Bhanda is your friend
Best wishes [OM]
Use it with caution.
Josh Waitzkin, the Jujitsu champion and a former chess prodigy nearly drowned in a pool attempting the method.
No, I’m not sure, I think you are right and I wrongly associated Wim Hof with a breath meditation I heard of some time ago.
Thank you for correcting me.
I love AYP system and I wish there is Hard Core version for UNDERSENSITIVE!!!
What makes you say you are undersensitive, Nirguna?
How long have you been practising yoga and when did you start AYP?
Hi, BlueRaincoat.
I have been practicing asanas for many years sporadically, and then more seriously in the last 10 years. First serious meditation I have learned was Vipassana but I had trouble sticking with 1 hour morning and 1 hour evening daily practice. Mostly because of not feeling any progress. I have been doing AYP for 5 years now. My current daily routine is about 75 minutes in the morning and again same in the evening. Sometimes I do 3 sessions daily and 4 session on retreat mode. This is not including light asana set in the morning and sometimes 45 minutes afternoon set.
My sitting routine is:
20 min Spinal Breathing Pranayama
5 min Chin Pump
5 min Spinal Bhastrika
20 min Deep Meditation
10 min Samyama
10 min Self Enquiry
3-5 Rounds of Yoni Mudra Khumbaka
All in Siddhasana, Kechari (stage 2), Mulabandha & Sambhavi (first half, 30 min), backing it up with Brahmacharya, adding Navi Kriya, there is more if I think about it…
So, most of the people would burst with so much. For me this is normal.
Do I qualify as undersensitive to you?
Thank you.
You are definitely under sensitive. You can also try exercises given in lessons in 220 and 319.
To cheer you up, here is an answer that Michael gave another spiritual seeker in our forum:Jeff–Hey old buddy! Ah, the folly of youth! We seek instant gratification, but this path is life-long, or, if you prefer, MANY lives long. It begins where we are now (as in, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”) and never ends until we become one with the Ultimate. You are looking for “stillness in action, divine love, ecstatic conductivity, 24/7 bliss and kundalini energy” after only 2 years of practice–and, as you said in another post, a practice during which you have cut corners and not always gotten the full effect because of those cut corners. SO–this is a long, gradual and difficult path. It holds both tortuous uphill challenges as well as occasional setbacks and defeats. It makes demands on our time, energy, dedication and patience. Now the contrast–and we’ve had long talks about this. I’ve been doing my practices, fairly steadily, for 40 years. That would be 20 times longer than you. I spent 2 full years in ashram, doing practice hours and hours each day, not to mention many hours of darshan. I am still looking forward to all those things you desire. I’m looking at them from a different perspective, however. They do not just “pop up” suddenly and then stay as permanent features. They begin like mists after five, 10, 15, 20, 25 years. As your practices become the routine of your life, your life takes on deeper meaning–less of the “soul-crushing” you describe and more of dharmic harmony and balance. None of this is instant or easy. But the one thing we CAN be certain of is that we ARE, from the very beginning, developing a deeper and more intimate contact with our inner silence. As we begin, in 2 or 4 or 8 years, to stabilize this inner silence a little bit, we can begin to "use " it, as it were. We use it to better tune in to our intuition. We use it to make better decisions. We use it to help guide us to having better relationships. And this “using inner silence” is not even something we “do”, it is not about doing, but about Being. The more time we spend in inner silence over the years, the more it becomes saturated throughout our entire life and the more the benefits of it percolate into our outer actions. Look less for answers or results and look more for your Self, just that. Where are You, Who are You? In silence exists your Self. From silence comes your Life. Stop looking and analyzing, questioning and wondering when it will all happen. It will happen when you least expect it. Stop being so oriented toward progress and results–that is an attachment, a yardstick which never helps. Relax and accept–which does not mean let your life go to hell. God DOES help those who help themselves, so action is always necessary. But the most successful action arises from silence. My regular experience of witnessing began in 1999, over 25 years into my practice, and my kundalini awakening took place in 2004, over 30 years after I began regular meditation practices. I believe that this is probably not unusual for householders in 21st century America holding jobs, paying mortgages and raising children. I look forward to 25 more years of similar awakening and growth, evolution and understanding. It’s what we have to do in life, after all, just this, take care of our spiritual growth. It IS our life–we needn’t finish it all in 2 years!
Namaste,
Michael
What I would say is that you are clearly not oversensitive.
How do you feel in daily life? Are you noticing increased silence?
You are probably in a very lucky position, with a lot of purification happening while you remain stable.
Thank you for taking time reading and answering my questions.
Beautiful post from Michael. Thank you jusmail for trying to cheer me up. There is no need for that. Maybe I came across as DESPERADO but that is not the case. I am just SUPER KEEN for more.
Thank you for asking questions BlueRaincoat. I started noticing conductivity 2 years ago. It is still stabilizing and it is getting increasingly ecstatic. Maybe because of my recent experiments with Amaroli, Yuck!!! I feel AMAZING in my daily life. I am noticing silence, but only just. Moments turned into seconds in Samyama and somehow that brings Ecstatic Conductivity up as well.
I do feel I am in a lucky position. I get to enjoy hours of practice every day and I am not pushing this. It was all carefully and incrementally increased taking care of the delay effects. Never had to self pace, yet. I enjoy it so much I wish there is more toys in AYP box. That is all.
Thank you again.
N
Also I am amazed with how Wim Hof Method is spreading like a wild fire. So many people are raving on Youtube how they benefited from the technique. AYP is even more detailed and powerful in my opinion but it is not spreading that fast. Down under in Australia there is only 3 of us that I know. It is prevalent in US and sporadic worldwide. AYP has no face as well. It would be interesting if we share our AYP experiences on Youtube. That would be my favorite channel. This forum is good but it would be nice to see you and hear your voice as well. Maybe one day my wishful thinking comes true.
If you search Cody+Ayp in YouTube, you’ll find out, that the teachings are starting to spread out there also!
Dogboy has shared his story there allready, i’m hoping that many more will do the same…
My first post here, so hello everyone! I’ve been under your guidance for years allready,and i’m quite badly in love with you all 
Hope to share little more in future 
Hello Arunachala Bhakta, welcome to the AYP forum!
Yes, Cody has been doing a great job of spreading the word about AYP.
I look forward to reading your posts.
Yes, welcome to the forum
Welcome Arunchala Bhakta! I second Blue, Cody is great in spreading the AYP word! Hope to read your AYP history here soon.
Hi Nirguna,
Sounds like you are doing well!
In terms of AYP practice, your next step would be to increase Samyama from 10 minutes to 20 minutes. That means 4 repetitions of each sutra with 10 minutes at the end on a sutra of your choice.
After that, would be adding Cosmic Samyama at the end of your practice. It is surprisingly powerful.
As usual, they would be added at separate times, at least several weeks apart, noticing how the body responds before adding the second one. They could be added the other way round, adding Cosmic Samyama first.
That will mean adding around 1o minutes to your practice routine. Cosmic Samyama can form the first part of the rest period at the end of practices, so does not necessarily actually add any time to the whole routine.
In terms of sharing AYP practice experiences via video, there is the AYP group Facebook page. Videos about AYP practices and experiences can be shared there and anything else about AYP such as events that are taking place. It currently has almost 2900 members.
Christi
Hi Nirguna
Yes amaroli is an acquired taste 
for some; once I got past the initial thought of the act, there is no hesitation now. In fact I often feel “enhanced” immediately after, and believe (for me) it stabilizes my system. Christi’s samyama & cosmic samyama suggestions should step things up a bit. I too rarely overload, due to ongoing grounding within my everyday living; keep in mind, with EC present and active the possibility to overload is always present, and be ready to scale back your extensive practice a bit. Keep us updated