Breath, Cold Therapy and Intention: wim Hof’s path to A new Life

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The limit is not the sky. The limit is the mind.

Wim Hof

Wim Hof is a Dutch extreme athlete. His nickname is the Iceman because he has broken many records for cold exposure. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in shorts, ran a half marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot, and stood in a container of ice cubes for more than 112 minutes. He came onto my radar when I was watching Goop on Netflix. The episode showed some of Gwyneth Paltrow’s staff spending a few days with Wim Hof learning his method. Ever since, I have wanted to take the time to learn more about it. I decided to take The Wim Hof Method Mini-class, which is available on his website https://www.wimhofmethod.com/. In the class, he explains the three principles of his method; breathing, cold therapy and the power of the mind.

Wim is a unique and amazing human being. He does these extreme challenges so he can show people that we underestimate the power of our minds. He believes he has found a way to dramatically change peoples lives, and I think he is definitely onto something profound.

Class 1 – Breathing

In order to learn the proper way to do the breathing technique please go to the website and do the class. https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ Each class is about ten minutes and they are all free to watch..

Why should you take the time to do it and what are the benefits? Wim explains that one of the reasons that stress affects us is because we breathe too shallowly. This shallow breathing is affecting our body chemistry and causing our minds and bodies to suffer. This class teaches you how to regulate your body chemistry and allow it to become more alkaline through the breathing exercises. The human body is constantly monitoring the PH of blood and other fluids. It is important that our PH not be too alkaline or too acidic, but there are many health benefits to being a bit more on the alkaline side:

  • reduces inflammation in the brain, gut, skin and muscles
  • deeper sleep
  • increased energy
  • reduction in weight
  • more mental alertness and improved memory
  • healthier tissue
  • healthier heart
  • reduces risk of heart disease
  • detoxes the body

I am still in the beginning stages and trying to perfect the breathing technique, but I have noticed that I do feel more energized and alert. I am very excited to continue doing it on a daily basis, so I can enjoy all the other benefits!

Class 2- The Power of Cold Therapy

Again, I am not going to explain how to do the cold therapy, please go to the website: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ and watch the class. Don’t worry the cold therapy is quite mild. You don’t have to jump into a lake or sit in a bath of ice cubes. It consists of adding cold therapy to the end of your shower. Wim repeats many times while he is teaching his methods that you always want to feel comfortable and never force yourself to feel uncomfortable. The cold therapy is a process, where you slowly build to the optimal amount of time.

Health Benefits of Cold Therapy:

  • speeds up metabolism
  • reduces inflammation, swelling and sore muscles
  • improved sleep
  • more focus
  • improved immunity
  • higher energy levels
  • relieves symptoms of depression

I am working my way up to the optimal amount of time of cold therapy. I have always been kind of a wimp when it comes to subjecting myself to cold water, so it is challenging for me. I am committed to learning his method because I really do believe that the principles Wim Hof has come up with are life changing.

Class 3 – The Power of the Mind

In this class, Wim discusses the brain over body concept. He believes that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to, if you do it with intention. He talks about our minds being our tool. He says that, “the mind is able to connect with the hormonal system and make the body do whatever we program it to do. That’s the power of intention.”

The ice bath or cold shower will show you if you are connected to your hormonal system. If you are able to to go into the cold shower and it doesn’t affect you, except in a positive way, almost to the point where it is enjoyable, then you are connected. The cold shower teaches us how to deal with environmental stress.

He goes on to explain in the class that stress is an impact, a power or force on the body and our being. The cold shower is an example of how we can learn to set our mind to deal with something that is uncomfortable or possibly even painful. The cold is just the teacher or the stressor. We tell our mind to go into the cold, that it will okay. That everything is okay, and it is.

If we can be okay with a freezing cold shower, then we can be okay with other stressors too. It could be another environmental stress, emotional stress, daily stress, worry stress, corporate stress or any of the other myriad of stressors that we come in contact with every day. If we are able to overcome the cold and be okay and happy with it, then we can deal with all the other stressors in our lives the same way we deal with the cold. We set an intention that we are okay with whatever stressor it is, and then we are okay. It’s mind over matter. Instead of letting our mind and body take on the stress and run with it, we use our mind as a tool and we tell it the intention we desire.

Wim says, ” that with these basic principles – the breathing (cardiovascular system), the cold and the power of the mind, plus commitment – you will be able to tackle anything.”

He explains that it is also important to write down your experiences with the method. You will be discovering new terrain about yourself and it will be helpful to keep a record of it.

I hope that you try out Wim Hof’s Method mini-class, and that you become as excited about it as I am. This method and way of thinking really resonated with me. I plan on continuing the techniques on a daily basis. I look forward to enjoying all of the health benefits and I am also looking forward to getting better at using the power of intent and my mind to overcome anything I choose to!

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