The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Potential, Transcend Your Limits

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Before reading this book, I listened to Wim Hof's first podcast with Joe Rogan and watched the Vice documentary. So I anticipated a concise overview of the method, practical applications, science (where applicable, obviously) and some broader topics for discussion. What I got instead is a poorly edited river of thoughts spilling out of its boundaries. Plus a good bit of repetitive rambling. And one more time, two and a half minutes without breathing. He talks as I hold it, and says my body is bringing down inflammation. I told him I had some osteoarthritis in my hand; this will help, he says, optimistically. I also told him I’d had depression. He says this helps depression as well. “You’re dealing with the chemical residue that causes the anxiety, you are cleansing the shit. And, yes, it improves the virility as well.” I don’t think I said I had any issues with my virility, did I? My hope is to inspire you to retake control of your body and life by unleashing the immense power of the mind. On reflection, "the mission" Wim is on, is to bring spirituality (and it's associated wellbeing) into a form that everyday people can access easily and benefit from. I've heard about Wim in the past, I've also practiced his breathing method a bit, and reading this book was a great way for me to find more about him and his method.

Hof met his first wife, Olaya, from the Basque country in Spain, while living in a squat in Amsterdam. Enahm was born, they became a family and got by on very little money. They had three more children and spent time living in a Basque village. But it was the death of Olaya, the mother of his four eldest children (he has six in total), who took her own life in 1995, that had a profound effect on him. Hof, in emotional agony, as well as facing bringing up four children himself with very little money, found some comfort in cold water, in the canyons around Pamplona. “I found that going into cold water stops whatever is going on in your mind, you’ve got to survive in cold water, it is merciless, but righteous.” It helped him heal, and he began to think it could help others heal, too. And the seeds of the Wim Hof Method were born. This book certainly made me think. Unfortunately, Hoff is not the most talented of writers. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he is a very accomplished individual. However, I don’t think this book captures the essence of his ideas particularly well. He is a much better speaker, and it’s a shame he didn’t do the recording for the audiobook version of this. It may have helped clear things up a bit and to carry forward more of his personality. His social media videos are much more powerful and convincing. They make me want to try his method more.

Mindset ―Build your willpower, inner clarity, sensory awareness, and innate joyfulness in the miracle of living There is a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear and confusion at the moment, which is stressful for both body and mind,’ remarks Wim.

But he also can't resist preaching his theology--which is a mash up of Hindu, Buddhism and New Age spirituality. He says he's not trying to be a guru, but then spends two chapters preaching. So, it ended awkwardly. The Wim Hof Method" also emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and mindset in personal growth. It encourages readers to embrace discomfort, expand their comfort zones, and discover their inner strength. The transformational stories shared by individuals who have adopted the method further demonstrate its wide-reaching benefits. He describes his method as a combination of cold exposure, breathing practices and mindset trainings, and claims that those can change our biochemistry in a matter of days. Practices like those aren't new. It's been known for thousands of years in certain eastern traditions. But Wim Hof is one of the first persons that voluntarily started to merge those practices into modern science and western society, which is very valuable for us because eastern teachings tend to be a bit mystical and not attractive for western folks. But with the help of people like Wim, we're being given techniques that can improve and even save many lives around the world. Over the years, scientists have subjected Wim Hof (and even some of his students) to various experiments, with the goal of unraveling the secret behind his method.This method is very simple, very accessible, and endorsed by science. Anybody can do it, and there is no dogma, only acceptance. Only freedom.” ― Wim Hof Wim Hof is a legend. It's hard to read books that are about people larger than life, because at least for myself I constantly doubt that what he was able to do applies to common mortals such as myself. As you probably would imagine, he spends a significant part of the book reminding the reader that they could in fact do these things as well... but isn't that the pattern?

Of the doubters, Hof says: “They can doubt, but let them try this once before they end up in the dead end of their own prejudice.” If you already know who Wim Hof is, you may know much of his story already too. If you don't, and are curious about this remarkable man, this is as good an introduction as you're likely to find.

It is not nice, but I felt great doing what I was doing so I kept doing it. Now millions of people are doing it, I am no longer “crazy”, I’m very respected, but I can tell you I am the same as always,’ says Wim, 61. Hof goes on long monologues, extolling the benefits of the WHM and generally bigging up WH. He can control his core body temperature, prevent it falling to dangerous levels of hypothermia when exposed to the cold. He says he can manage the part of his nervous system that is responsible for breathing and heart rate, as well his adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin. And that we have control over our immune systems and our anxieties, and the power to prevent illness, depression and inflammation. The benefits of his method, now practiced by millions, have been validated by eight university research studies. He has been featured on the BBC, VICE Media, Discovery Channel, and The Joe Rogan Experience, The Tim Ferriss Show, and The School of Greatness podcasts.