The Story
Wim Hof discovered stillness within the chilly. Whereas battling grief within the wake of his beloved spouse’s suicide, he felt drawn to icy water. Immersing in it introduced a rush of adrenaline, a spike after which deep subsiding of coronary heart price and, finally, readability.
Spectacular Feats
Hof now seeks to champion the outstanding therapeutic properties of deep respiration and chilly water immersion. What’s much more spectacular? Wim isn’t kidding round. His feats show simply how severe he’s about his philanthropic mission, as a result of not solely has chilly water and respiration helped his psychological well being, it has additionally allowed him to coach his physique to face up to unbelievable extremes. He ran a half marathon within the Arctic, barefoot, carrying solely shorts. He swam beneath stable arctic ice for over 66 meters. He climbed Kilimanjaro in shorts. He’s withstood full immersion in a container whereas buried in ice cubes for hours.
The Proof
Wim doesn’t wish to be seen as a charlatan, preaching a faux artwork for monetary achieve. He goes out of his option to invite science into his practices. He additionally lives by his motto, ‘what I’m able to, all people can study,’ by working a faculty the place college students can study his methods.
In 2014, a scientific examine at Radboud College within the Netherlands was carried out on Wim Hof practitioners and Hof himself. The aim was to see if Wim’s claims in regards to the teachability of his strategies have been true: may anyone do what Wim does? Researchers injected 12 of his college students with an endotoxin. Like Wim Claimed, the outcomes confirmed that each one 12 have been capable of management their sympathetic nervous system and immune response to the toxin. Anti-inflammatory mediators have been 200% increased, whereas pro-inflammatory mediators have been 50% decrease than the management group. Researchers concluded that the Wim Hof methodology had vital implications for “circumstances related to extreme or persistent irritation, particularly autoimmune ailments.” (Knox et. al. 2014).
In 2018, one other examine was carried out on simply Wim himself, aiming to uncover which mind operate permits him to face up to such chilly temperatures. Outcomes confirmed that areas of his mind related to ache suppression, self-reflection and well-being have been all activated.
Wim is a real wellness warrior, not simply in championing the strategies that helped him recuperate from a tragic life occasion, but in addition in dwelling to serve and provides the identical present to others. His social media pages radiate positivity as he implores his followers to affix him and discover themselves within the chilly.
