PDF Summary:The Wim Hof Method, by Wim Hof

Most of us shudder at the thought of jumping into a cold shower, but what if doing so could make you healthier? In The Wim Hof Method, renowned motivational speaker Wim Hof (a.k.a. The Iceman) makes that exact claim. Hof, who gained fame and baffled scientists with his record-breaking ability to survive dangerously low temperatures, argues that by following the Wim Hof Method—a system based on cold exposure, conscious breathing, and mental dedication—you’ll transform your health, reduce your pain and stress, and maximize your mental energy.

In The Wim Hof Method, Hof shares how he developed the method, why it works, and how to do it. In this guide, you’ll learn about Hof’s life as well as about each component of his method and why practicing all three components together will help you reap maximum results. Along the way, you’ll also discover how Hof’s techniques compare to scientists’ recommendations and learn alternative practices to try.

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You’ve now learned why you should practice cold exposure, but don’t hop into an ice bath just yet! Although Hof gained fame by dunking himself in deathly cold water for prolonged periods, you shouldn’t start there. Rather, to avoid shocking your body and making yourself miserable, Hof recommends an incremental four-week program of taking cold showers.

In the first week, Hof suggests 30 seconds of cold exposure each day (at least five days per week): After taking your regular warm shower, turn down the temperature so that the water feels cold (around 60 degrees Fahrenheit), and stand there. This temperature will cause some discomfort but should be tolerable.

Thereafter, increase the time you spend in the cold water by 30 seconds each week. By the fourth week, you should be able to tolerate two minutes of cold water at the end of each shower.

That said, Hof emphasizes that you should listen to your body when undergoing this program. Don’t push yourself past what you can handle: If you can’t handle 30 seconds of cold water, you can start with 15 seconds—just as long as you eventually get to two minutes.

Examining Other Ways to Practice Cold Exposure

Do you have to hop into icy water to practice cold exposure effectively? Some researchers agree that gradually increasing the time you spend in cold showers is the fastest way to improve your cold tolerance, but the specifics of their recommendations differ: They suggest spending 15 seconds in the cold and increasing that time by 10 seconds each day, and they don’t specify that you should be in cold water at the end of your shower. Moreover, these researchers aren’t certain whether cold exposure improves your health and stress levels in the ways Hof espouses.

However, there are other ways to improve your cold tolerance—and they may improve your health in ways that Hof doesn’t elaborate on. Some researchers suggest that spending two hours a day shivering in a 65-degree room will both improve your cold tolerance and reduce your body weight—partly because shivering uses up calories.

Understanding Breathwork

The second component of the Wim Hof Method, according to Hof, is his breathing exercises—which we’ll call breathwork. In this section, we’ll explain why you should practice breathwork and how to do it.

Why You Should Practice Breathwork

We breathe all the time—so why bother learning how to practice Hof’s specific brand of breathing? Hof argues that his breathwork has three main benefits: It increases your energy, it reduces disease, and it reduces inflammation.

First, Hof explains that breathwork increases your energy by altering your biochemistry. By controlling your breathing as Hof suggests, you increase the amount of oxygen in your body, which in turn increases the number of energy molecules (called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP) in your cells. This leads to more energy.

(Shortform note: In addition to breathwork, there are several other methods for increasing your ATP—and consequently, your energy. For example, experts recommend consuming more fats and protein from meat and fish and increasing your water intake.)

Second, Hof argues that breathwork can reduce disease. This is partly due to the increase in energy described above: By increasing your stores of energy, your body has extra energy to fight off diseases. (Shortform note: Exercising may also increase your energy levels and boost your immune system; researchers recommend working out for an hour each day.)

Third, Hof explains that breathwork helps you regulate your immune response to reduce inflammation, which is thought to cause both disease and pain. (Shortform note: How does inflammation cause disease and pain? Researchers explain that when you’re injured or ill, your body sends “inflammatory cells” to the affected organs to help you recover. For example, if you cut your hand, your body sends it white blood cells to heal the cut and attack infection. But sometimes, your body mistakenly believes that you’re sick even when you’re not—and it sends white blood cells to attack nearby organs, causing disease and pain.)

Conventional science has long thought that your immune response is part of your autonomic nervous system, over which you have no conscious control: Your body perceives a threat and sends out inflammatory markers to fight it. But a study in the 2010s proved the opposite: Hof and 12 practitioners of his breathwork technique successfully suppressed their immune response after being injected with harmful bacteria. In this way, Hof implies that breathwork may allow you to control your autonomic nervous system, thereby controlling your immune response and reducing the inflammation that causes disease.

(Shortform note: Hof’s description of the study referenced above is slightly misleading. First, he writes that none of the practitioners of his method “became sick,” but the study authors specify that the practitioners “experienced fewer flu-like symptoms” (in other words, not zero). Second, Hof implies that you can control your immune response in a way that might benefit chronic conditions caused by inflammation. But the study authors emphasize that they only looked at the immediate, short-term inflammation caused by a specific bacteria and that their results may not be applicable to chronic conditions.)

How to Practice Breathwork

As Hof notes, his breathwork exercises are relatively difficult and may cause fainting. Prior to performing the exercise, sit or lie down, and don’t do the exercise anywhere near water (just in case you faint).

(Shortform note: Why might Hof’s breathing exercises make you faint? Experts suggest two possibilities: First, you may get lightheaded from too much oxygen as you repeatedly take in breaths. Second, you may not have enough oxygen when holding your breath—but since you also lack the carbon dioxide that triggers you to inhale, you won’t feel the need to inhale more oxygen and may instead faint.)

When you’re comfortable, take about 30 deep breaths. Once you start to feel tingly and lightheaded, take up to 10 more breaths—40 breaths total.

After breathing out the final time, hold your breath for as long as feels comfortable. The moment you feel you want more air, inhale deeply and hold for 10 to 15 seconds before exhaling again.

Repeat the process above (starting with the 30 deep breaths) up to three more times. With each repetition, you’ll likely be able to comfortably hold your breath for a few seconds longer.

Relax until you feel ready to face the rest of your day.

(Shortform note: Hof’s breathwork is similar to tummo breathing, a technique practiced by some Tibetan Buddhists that also involves repeatedly taking several deep breaths before holding your breath for a prolonged period. However, the tummo technique differs from Hof’s in a few key ways. Notably, tummo breathing involves a religious component, a fire visualization, and more specific instructions regarding the shape of your mouth as you breathe—none of which are present in Hof’s techniques. Tummo breathing also involves fewer deep breaths; practitioners recommend inhaling only five times—not 30—before holding your breath.)

Understanding Your Mind

The third and final component of the Wim Hof Method is your mindset, or attitude. In this section, we’ll first explore why your attitude is critical to reaping the full benefits of the Wim Hof Method. Then, we’ll describe how you can embody the right attitude every day.

(Shortform note: Hof’s description of the mindset component, which he also calls the “power of the mind,” encompasses both the attitude with which you approach the Wim Hof Method and the will you develop by practicing the method in its entirety. Since these happen at separate times, we’ve presented them as two separate entities: your attitude, which we’ll discuss in this section, and your will, which we’ll discuss in the next section.)

Why Your Attitude Matters

Hof argues that your attitude is critical to the Wim Hof Method because it ensures that the other two components (cold exposure and breathwork) work as effectively as possible.

Why is this so? Hof believes that we’re able to consciously influence our autonomic nervous system not just via our breathwork but also via our minds. As evidence, Hof points to a 2008 experiment that found that he was able to control his vagus nerve—a cranial nerve associated with unconscious processes like inflammation—more than previously thought possible.

(Shortform note: Other experts have also found that you can influence your vagus nerve via both breathwork and positive mantras but seemingly don’t see this as evidence that we can consciously influence our autonomic nervous system. That said, it’s impossible to compare their findings with the results of the 2008 experiment Hof cites, as that experiment was never published.)

However, Hof argues that this ability is dependent on your attitude: You must believe that it’s possible to control your physiological responses. In other words, unless you truly believe that cold exposure and breathwork can benefit you in some way, you won’t reap their full benefits.

(Shortform note: Research backs up Hof’s contention that your attitude is essential to the success of his methods: The authors of the study that found practitioners of Hof’s method could suppress their immune responses after being injected with bacteria published a follow-up study emphasizing that people who expected Hof’s methods to work were less likely to report flu-like symptoms.)

This doesn't mean you can’t be at all skeptical of Hof’s methods. Rather, Hof emphasizes the importance of trusting your body as you try these methods: In other words, focus fully on each technique as you do it, instead of listening to music or worrying about the time. As Hof points out, he takes on major public stunts (like jumping into ice baths) because he’s proven himself capable of doing so in his own practice. Similarly, the mere act of trying these methods suggests that you’re at least open to the possibility that they work—and by repeatedly trying them and experiencing their benefits, you’ll become increasingly convinced of their power, too.

How Hof’s Methods Compare to Spiritual and Practical Texts

Hof’s description of how to practice his methods despite potential skepticism is similar to how both spiritual and practical texts recommend approaching new skills. On the spiritual side, in The Secret, Rhonda Byrne also argues that trusting that a method will work helps make it work; she argues that your experience of the world is based on what your thoughts naturally attract—so if you think something will happen, it will happen.

On the practical side, The Confidence Code authors argue that if you master a skill, you’ll develop “confidence”—a belief in your own ability to do that skill that’s so strong, it drives you to actually perform the skill. Hof’s own confidence stems from his mastery of his method. Similarly, by focusing fully on each technique and trusting your body, you can master Hof’s method and develop confidence in your own ability to make it work as Hof describes.

How to Cultivate the Right Attitude

Hof recommends that you perform the following attitude practice each morning—ideally, at the end of your breathwork. (Shortform note: Hof doesn’t specify why you should do it after your breathwork, but other meditation experts also recommend meditating after breathwork because your mind is less stressed and more relaxed then.)

Starting in a relaxed state, think of a mantra or goal—such as, “I am relaxed and in control.” As you do so, notice your physical reaction to this thought. Do you feel comfortable or tense?

If it’s the latter, breathe until you relax and are comfortable with your mantra. Once you truly believe your mantra, breathe into that feeling and then go about your day.

(Shortform note: How does Hof’s attitude practice help you become more open to the benefits of cold exposure and breathwork? Experts suggest that when you meditate, you become more open to new experiences because you practice observing your thoughts without immediately reacting to them. Hof’s attitude practice may have a similar effect, since you breathe through any potential tension you feel regarding your mantra and wait for your body to adjust to the tension instead of trying to relieve it in some other way.)

Bringing the Components Together: The Benefits of Continual Practice

You’ve now learned the benefits of each component of the Wim Hof Method—but why do you need to practice all three together? According to Hof, continually practicing the Wim Hof Method has two major benefits: You gain greater control over unconscious physical processes, and you unlock enlightenment.

First, Hof argues that by continually practicing his method, you can access your “will”—your power over unconscious physical processes. Hof argues that by improving your understanding of your body, you improve your ability to impact it. By repeatedly exposing yourself to cold and practicing breathwork, you fine-tune your understanding of your physical body—notably, your interoception (your understanding of what’s happening within your body, such as whether you’re wired or tired). As a result, you improve your ability to manage the unconscious physical processes you can now sense—like your heartbeat.

Other Benefits of Improving Your Interoception

There is a lack of research on whether improving your understanding of your body can help you control your unconscious physical processes, but research does suggest that improving your interoception has some of the benefits Hof attributes to his method. Notably, experts suggest that if you have better interoception, you have better mental health because you’re good at understanding how you feel and responding appropriately.

So how can you improve your interoception? Researchers have found that exercise can help: By getting you accustomed to how your heart feels when it’s physically stressed (from exercise), exercise improves your ability to determine if your heart rate has risen due to physical or emotional stress—which in turn improves your ability to respond appropriately to the stressor.

Second, Hof argues that continually practicing his method will eventually lead to enlightenment. Hof failed to achieve greater spiritual understanding by reading ancient Indian scriptures. It was only when he stopped thinking and focused instead on merely feeling the cold and his breath that Hof found what he calls the “inner voice”—an innate understanding of what you truly need in any particular moment. Similarly, Hof argues that by continually practicing his method and focusing on the feelings in your body instead of stimuli in the outside world, you can find your own inner voice—which will lead you to a higher truth.

How Hof’s Techniques Compare to Other Paths to Enlightenment

Although Hof may be unique in connecting cold exposure to spiritual enlightenment, several traditions have connected breathwork and meditation to a higher sense of spirituality. Buddhists believe that meditating in several different ways can lead to enlightenment. Hof’s techniques appear most similar to the Buddhist meditation practice of shamatha, which involves paying attention to your body, as well as metta, which involves sending loving thoughts out into the world.

In contrast, holotropic breathwork practitioners believe that breathwork can improve your sense of spirituality. Like Hof, they believe that, through breathwork, you can access the innate understanding you have of what’s most important. Unlike Hof, after the breathwork, they process these insights externally either by drawing them or discussing them with another person.