P ROLOGUE
I n October 2011, I watched a video clip on the internet of a man taking off his clothes and stepping into a lake—a cold lake somewhere in Iceland. The landscape was covered with snow and I saw icebergs. The clip was from a documentary by the BBC. The narrator said, “The water here is just above freezing, enough to kill most people within a minute.”
But not this man.
He swam around calmly for fifteen minutes. “This guy is crazy,” I thought to myself. But he also intrigued me. Who was he?
His name is Wim Hof.
Although I didn’t immediately see the point in swimming around ice-floes, it aroused my curiosity. I watched another clip. This time, Hof swam beneath the ice. It got crazier, and I kept watching. Hof ran a marathon in the snow—bare-chested. He ran a half-marathon through the desert without drinking anything. He sat in a tank of ice for an hour and a quarter. He ran on Mount Everest in a pair of shorts.
After watching these clips for half an hour, I had one question: how was it possible?
Hof explained that 80% of what he does is related to breathing. Say, what? I’ve practiced breathing exercises for the past fifteen years and I’ve written a book about breathing, but there’s no way I could swim under the ice without freezing to death.
Now I was even more curious.
What was Hof doing with his breathing methods that allowed him to accomplish so much more than anyone else? I really wanted to ask him about it in person. So I sent him an email through www.innerfire.nl . No one replied. I sent another one. No reply. Then I sent a third email and mentioned Verademing , the book on breathing that I wrote with Bram Bakker. Still no reply. But after six attempts, I finally got an answer. Enahm Hof, Wim’s son explained, “It’s very busy and so many people want to talk to Wim. They are conducting research at the Radboud University Medical Centre, which is taking up a lot of time.”
Fortunately, I could drop by and talk to Wim.
We arranged to meet at an allotment in Amsterdam-West. Wim gave me a hearty greeting. He wore a T-shirt that said “No Rules Today”. It’s good to know that he not only defies the laws of physiology, but also rules in general.
The conversation was immediately pleasant and inspiring. During this first meeting, Wim explained a few breathing exercises and we did some right then and there. Surprisingly, it worked. I felt sharp and alert. He also explained that the cold training itself plays an important part in making you feel good. His extreme feats in the cold are not only a demonstration of what he can do with his body, the cold itself has a function. Hof is convinced that cold-training boosts health and has numerous rewards we can learn to take advantage of. He also told me how he discovered all this, and how he has helped people benefit substantially from his breathing exercises and the cold training.
Then I asked him why he performs all these extreme stunts.
His eyes widened as he said, “Our breathing is the link between the physical world and the soul. If we, as human beings, can find the way back to our souls, we will win the war.”
Wim saw the astounded expression on my face and roared with laughter, adding, “I mean the war against bacteria and viruses.”
His extreme feats are not an end in themselves. He wants to show what the human body is capable of—not just his body, but everyone’s, including yours and mine. Wim is never sick. For many people, his methods work much better than medicine. But until recently, it was not clear exactly how his methods work. Now, there is good news: the secret Wim has known for decades has recently been confirmed by science.
We can influence our body’s autonomic nervous system .
Wim’s method was studied at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. What does it mean for metabolic diseases like rheumatism and Crohn’s disease? What does it mean for healthy people? How much extra energy can it give you? Wim can run marathons in the snow, but what are we—mere mortals—capable of? Can we use that energy in our work? Can we use Wim’s methods to cure type II diabetes? It sounds almost too good to be true.
And yet, Wim wants his method to conquer the world. I am a willing guinea pig and have started with the breathing exercises. I take cold ice baths and practice to strengthen my commitment—and I’ve taken note of everything I’ve experienced. I’ve also spoken to a lot of people who have started using Wim’s method. This book is a reflection of all these experiences, and of course the technique, background, and the foundations of Wim’s method.
I write mainly using the word “we”, because this book has been written on the basis of both our inputs. Wim has mostly contributed the substantive knowledge. Every now and again, I will write in the first person singular, because I want to observe Wim from a distance. Now you know, “we” is Wim and Koen and “I” is me, Koen.
Enjoy reading this book—and good luck with the cold showers.
— Koen de Jong