Wim Hof, the ice man, holds 20 Guinness World Records awards for extreme temperatures. He has climbed Everest and Kilimanjaro only in shorts and shoes, stayed comfortably in ice baths for hours, and has run a marathon in the desert without water.
Wim Hof, the ice man
In 2005 Wim ran half a barefoot marathon in the cool stages of Finland; he is the first to attempt this type of feats in the Arctic Circle. Three months later, he climbed the slopes of Mount Everest wearing only shorts at an impressive altitude of nearly 6,900 meters. He recently imposed a new world-wide record for being immobile in the cold, And in direct contact with ice for an hour and 12 minutes.
These amazing abilities were not developed overnight; This man has put in years of training and has developed what he calls ‘The Wim Hof Method’, a breathing technique that allows him to control the autonomous systems of his body.
Not everything he has tried has been a success, on one occasion in Finland he tried to swim 15 meters under the Arctic ice; The water temperature was at 0 °, enough for anyone to suffer a thermal shock. In the middle of this stretch his eyes froze, and when he could not see the opening of the exit, Wim was forced to hold his breath for several minutes; He was only seconds away from dying, when a diver pulled him by the leg to safety. Let’s be clear, the failure in that attempt was due to frozen eyes, and not because his body was unable to resist the low temperatures. On that occasion, his ability to hold his breath for long periods of time, saved his life.
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Wim Hof and his method
However the most significant effect of the Wim Hof method is the ability to consciously control the immune system to combat any disease. By being more attuned to the body, Wim says you can get rid of even the most destructive diseases, such as AIDS, multiple sclerosis and cancer.
Wim is working with a group of researchers from different universities to prove that anyone can do the extraordinary things he does. It is taking 12 participants without previous training, instructing them in a period of one week. At the end of the training week with the Wim Hof Method each participant is injected with a bacterium that normally produces violent nausea, vomiting and fever for several days. However, with the use of the Wim Hof method, the participants did not have any of the effects.
Wim recently came to a workshop with the ‘Valhalla Movement’ team and explained that he wants as many people to know about this as possible. His vision is a world without diseases.
The method
Wim Hof Method is similar to meditation TUMMO (internal heat, practiced by Tibetan monks) and Pranayama (yogic breathing). However, it is something completely different. While Wim has studied yoga and meditation for many years, this technique comes primarily from what he calls “cold hard nature.” By submitting himself to the conditions of nature, he learned to resist the extreme forces of cold, heat, and fear.
The first part is a breathing exercise that can be compared to controlled hyperventilation. Hyperventilation is something that happens involuntarily. However, imagine controlling your breathing in such a way that you control this process without the need for some factor, such as stress, which is a natural cause for hyperventilation. The rapid breathing that makes you invigorate, causes your body to have a high amount of oxygen. One mechanism that develops from this practice is the complete oxygenation of blood and cells.
1. Get comfortable and close your eyes
Feel in a meditation posture, whichever is more comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction. It is recommended to do this immediately after waking, as your stomach is still empty.
2. Warming up
Inhale deeply. Imagine how the breath comes in mentally until you feel a slight pressure from the inside of your chest in your solar plexus. Hold your breath for a moment and then exhale completely. Expel the air as much as possible. Hold this for a moment. Repeat this round of warm-up exercise 15 times.
3. 30 powerful breaths
Imagine you are inflating a balloon. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth in short but powerful bursts. The belly contracts when you are expelling the air and expands when you are breathing in. Keep a steady rhythm and use your abdomen. Close your eyes and do this about 30 times or until you feel your body is saturated with oxygen. Symptoms can be dizziness, tingling sensation in the body, energy surges.
4. Your body
During the 30 powerful breaths, be aware of your body as much as possible. Scan your body up and down and use your intuition, look for parts that lack energy and which parts have excess energy. Analyze and look for any power clogging. Try to send energy / heat to those locks. Then eliminate them more and more deeply. Tremors, traumas, and emotional releases may arise. Feel how the whole body is filled with warmth and love. Feel how negativity burns and is eliminated.
Often, some people report colored swirls and other visual images during this exercise. If that happens, enter them, embrace them, merge with the eddies. Know your inner world and how it relates to the feeling of tension or blockages in the body.
5. Stamina
After the 30 breath cycles, draw your breath once more and fill your lungs to full capacity without using too much force. Then remove all the air and stay as long as you can. Relax and open all the energy channels of the body. Observe how oxygen is spreading to your entire body. Hold your breath until you feel a reflex at the top of your chest.
6. Breathing Recovery
Inhale to full capacity. Feel the expanding chest. Release any tension in the solar plexus. When you are at full capacity, hold your breath one more time. Drop your chin on your chest and hold your breath for about 15 seconds. Notice that you can direct the energy with your consciousness. Take advantage of this time to explore the body and see where there is no color, tension or blockage. If you see a blockage, move the energy to the black hole. The dark places are filled with light. Relax the body more deeply as you move further inward, letting everything go. Your body tastes better than you do. After 15 seconds he completed the first round.
* Start this practice with one or two rounds. Try to do it daily and add two more rounds in a few days. After you feel more comfortable with the breathing exercise you can begin to add exercises and stretches. Work up to a minimum of 15 minutes or 6 rounds with exercises. You can do this practice for as long as you want.
If you feel dizzy or painful, get out of position and lie on your back. Breathe gently and end this practice session.
Wim Hof Reveals His Amazing Iceman Breathing Technique
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