The Wedge: Getting past discomfort on the way to health
This an excellent book about how we can change our own physiology and health. I’ve used many of the strategies outlined in this book with great results. I’ve also seen remarkable changes in my patient’s health using many of these strategies, including breath work, hot and cold exposure, fasting, exercise and more. Scott Carney trained extensively with Wim Hof, “The Iceman”, one of my personal heroes. He describes his personal experiences with all the strategies he discusses. He also gives excellent insight as to the physiology and neurology behind these “biohacks”.
The main idea behind “The Wedge” is something I’ve discussed in other articles; that we’ve gotten so used to comfort that we no longer challenge our bodies in ways that can be extremely beneficial. We evolved over hundreds of thousand years living in extremely challenging conditions. Temperature controlled dwellings, automobiles, and supermarkets didn’t exist until very recently. Yet all the adaptations our bodies have made for the long span of our evolutionary history are still encoded in our DNA, and we ignore these to the detriment of our health.
Because we have grown so used to being comfortable, we often avoid doing things that are potentially beneficial for us because we fear being uncomfortable. This moment of initial discomfort, according to Carney, is our opportunity to create a “wedge” between the uncomfortable sensation and our reaction to it, allowing us to push through discomfort and therefore overcome our reaction to it. I’ve experienced this doing cold plunges. I still get a twinge of apprehension when I’m about to jump into 50 degree water, and my first reaction is still to get out. I’ve learned that if I can relax and just breathe rather than panic, it actually starts to feel good. That’s the wedge in action.
There is a lot of great knowledge to be gleaned from “The Wedge”. I can attest to the fact that applying many of these in my own life has made huge changes in my health and well being. I hope you will take the opportunity to learn and apply them in your life as well.
