Wim Hof interview

8/18/2019 Wim Hof interview

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I C E

THE

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M A NCOMETH

W o r d s⁄ M a n d i K e i g h r a n

Wim Hof is able to withstand deadly sub-zerotemperatures by controlling his body’s core

temperature. It could have importantimplications for you and your health


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“The cold ismerciless butrighteous”


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“The cold is merciless but righteous,”

says Wim Hof. Although, looking at

photos of the self-proclaimed Iceman

practising yoga and meditation in

sub-zero temperatures, relaxing in

vats of ice, or conquering mountains in nothing but

shorts and sandals, it is diffi cult to imagine the cold

is anything but Hof’s friend.

The Dutchman’s fascination with the cold began

at an early age, but his superhuman abilities weren’t

immediately apparent. At seven, he recalls, he tried

to build an igloo but instead fell asleep in the snow

and ended up in hospital suffering hypothermia.

Fast forward to the mid-1970s, however, when Hof

was 17, and the story was entirely different.

“I had been discovering my mind and body

already through esoteric disciplines – karate, yoga,

and philosophy,” he says. “When I was 17, I came

across some freezing cold water with a thin layer

of ice and it attracted me. I undressed and got in.

There was this feeling of igniting something within

my physiology at a deep level. It felt so good, I came

back again and again.”

For the next 20 years, Hof built himself into the

Iceman – swimming in icy waters, running barefoot

through the snow, and generally doing what would

leave most of us in a state of severe hypothermia.

It was only a matter of time before the media

became interested in the Dutch daredevil, and

Guinness World Records soon followed. To date, »

Previous pages⁄Wim Hof goes ice

diving at Botshol,

a nature reserve inthe neighbourhood

of Vinkeveen nearAmsterdam

Above⁄ Practising yoga at

Breiðamerkurjökull

lake near theVatnajökull glacier

in Iceland duringa BBC television

recording


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Welcome to Camp Tamok, based in the Northern Lights heartland.


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54-year-old Hof has broken 21 world records.

Among these, he holds the record for the longest

time spent in direct, full-body contact with ice (1

hour 52 minutes 42 seconds); has run the fastest

barefoot half marathon on ice (2 hours 16 minutes

34 seconds); has run a full marathon wearing

only shorts above the polar circle in Finland intemperatures of -20°C; has organised the largest

barefoot race on ice (361 participants); and reached

the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro clad only in shorts

and sandals in just two days. And, to prove it’s not

just the cold he can

endure, in 2011, he

ran a full marathon

in the Namib Desert

without water.

The question

is: how? Hof

says it’s a simple

matter of mind

over matter. “I’m

able to control my

body through the

power of my mind.

We have perfect

mechanisms in

our bodies, but we

intervened with

nature when we

started wearing

clothes. We need

to reawaken those

mechanisms.”

While most of us

would shiver at

even the thought of

attempting an ice

bath, Hof claims

that with training

anyone can become

an iceman or

woman.

He attributes

much of his seemingly superhuman endurance to a

special breathing technique he has developed based

on Buddhist tummo meditation and yoga. The goal

of tummo – the Tibetan word for “inner fire” – is to

gain complete control over the body’s processes, and

it has been proven that practitioners, like Hof, can

significantly increase the temperature of their core

and extremities (one experiment in 1982 showed

three monks could increase the temperature of their

fingers by more than 8°C during meditation).

In 2007, following an impressive run of record

breaking, which led to performances around the

world, a series of experiments was carried out in New

York. Hof claims these proved he had control over his

vagus nerve, a part of the automatic nervous system

that, among other things, regulates the heart, controls

muscle movement, and keeps the digestive tract and

stomach in order. It is generally acknowledged that

we can’t consciously control the vagus nerve.

If Hof could, as he claims, teach these abilitiesto others, the implications for healthcare would be

significant, he says, given the automatic nervous

system’s role in the immune system. There were

plans to conduct further research to see if he could

indeed teach

his methods to

others, yet this

never happened

– Hof blames

pharmaceutical

companies with a

vested interest in

suppressing the

results.

Nevertheless,

in 2010, following

a performance in

Amsterdam, he

was asked to take

part in a research

experiment at the

Radboud University

Nijmegen in the

Netherlands, run by

medical professor

Dr Maria Hopman.

Hopman set up

an experiment in

which Hof was

exposed to extreme

temperatures in an

ice bath for 1 hour

and 44 minutes. In

a normal subject,

this kind of extreme

exposure would

cause the body’s core temperature of 37 °C to drop

significantly causing hypothermia, which kicks

in at 35 °C (death occurs at 27 °C). Hof’s core body

temperature, monitored by a small pill-shaped

thermometer he swallowed, dropped from 37.7°C

to just 37.4°C.

“It is absolutely not important,” says Hopman

of the 0.3°C difference in temperature. “His skin

temperatures dropped by 5oC to 10oC, which is

very cold, whereas his core stays warm. That is

very exceptional.”

In addition, Hof’s heart rate and blood pressure

showed little change (a normal person’s would »

Above⁄

Wim Hof meditates

in the snow in

Amsterdam,

Netherlands


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How to

become an

Iceman

Getting thereThe Iceman offers one-

day workshops, held

around the world, and

one-week winter trips

in Krkonoše, Poland.

Norwegian regularly flies

to Prague in the Czech

Republic, which is about

a three-hour drive from

the Inner Fire centre.

WorkshopsAt the one-day workshop

you will learn to

master Hof’s breathing

and concentration

techniques to create a

better connection with

the nervous and immune

systems. There will be ice

baths involved. Checkthe website below for

upcoming workshops.

Wintry weekIf one day with the

Iceman isn’t enough,

you can sign up for a

week-long winter trip

in Krkonoše. During the

week, Hof will teach

the group his yoga,

meditation and exercise

techniques. You can then

practise while running

barefoot in the snow,

or going swimming in icywaters. The next trips are

planned for February.

icemanwimhof.com

Find more online

innerfire.nl hofoutdoor.nl

guinnessworld-records.com

@mandikeighran

increase dramatically), and he sped up his

metabolism to double the normal rate, using the

energy to produce extra heat. Unsurprisingly, the

results of these experiments posed more questions

than they answered.

Hopman has three theories to explain why

Hof can withstand freezing temperatures – theeffects of tummo meditation, a gradual building of

resistance over many years of training, or simply

some kind of inherent genetic advantage – but

still no answers. “We call this a mystery,” she says.

“We need to do more research to see how Wim can

control processes in his body we thought you were

unable to control voluntarily.”

After suffering years of mockery and cynicism,

further research is exactly what Hof wants.

Ultimately, he wants his techniques to be widely

adopted around the world and used to boost the

immune system and treat disease. “My mission,”

says Hof, “is to show that everybody can reach more

depth in themselves. We all have healing powers

– an inner doctor – but we have forgotten about

this. By opening our minds, we can free that inner

healing power and prevent disease.”

So, since 2010, Hof and his son have run Inner

Fire workshops around the world, convincing

regular, albeit adventurous, people to run barefoot

through the snow and swim in freezing water –

all in the name of boosting the immune system

and treating diseases from rheumatism and

cardiovascular problems to obesity.

He currently has a centre in Krkonoše, Poland,

where he runs regular winter workshops, and

there are plans to open a second centre in Spain

in the coming years. As might be expected from

the irrepressible Hof, he won’t stop at these two

centres. For the past two years he has been training

several students to become teachers of his method,

with the intention of setting up a global network of

Inner Fire centres. He’s even considering installing

a cryochamber that reaches temperatures of

-120°C (made famous by Welsh rugby player Sam

Warburton, who used one in 2011 while training for

the Rugby World Cup and dubbed it an “evil sauna”).

“I know how to be happy without money,” says

Hof. “But, I do want to earn billions to create these

centres because they are good for all humankind.”

It’s impossible not to be infected by the Iceman’s

enthusiasm, and all of a sudden a barefoot run

through the snow or a dip in icy waters doesn’t seem

like such a bad idea.

Krkonoše is three hours’ drive from Prague; Norwegian

flies to Prague from Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm

and Helsinki. Book flights, a hotel and a rental car at

norwegian.com

What makesan Iceman?

In experiments

conducted onhim, Hof stood in

a cylinder filledwith 700kg of ice.His core body

temperature

remained at 37°C

Hof can suppress

his immuneresponse by 50

per cent, meaninghe showed hardly

any flu-like

symptoms duringexperiments

Hof is able to raise

his cortisol levelsand suppress

cytokines(flammatorybodies) using

his meditation

techniques

In 2010, Hof

visited the NorthPole, where he

held his breathfor 6 minutes and

20 seconds below

the surface ofthe ice

In 2007, Hof

attempted toclimb Mt Everest

wearing onlyshorts and noshoes. He failed

the attempt due

to a foot injury

Hof once

demonstratedhis free climbing

skills by hangingbetween two hot

air balloons by his

middle finger at analtitude of 1,500m

Visit www.norwegian.com/magazine/iceman

to win an Iceman experience

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Wim Hof interview

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