Wim Hof is a Dutch adventurer who holds 26 Guinness World Records for seemingly unbelievable feats such as climbing Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro wearing only shorts, completing a full marathon in the Namibian Desert without drinking water or submerging himself in an ice bath for just under 2 hours. These various stunts began to draw the attention of the medical community and researchers who wondered how Hof was able to accomplish such death defying feats.
Doctors and researchers began testing Hof under the microscope of science. What they discovered was nothing short of remarkable. After claiming that he was able to control his autonomic nervous system and immune system, scientists put Hof to the test. In 2011, at the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, Hof participated in an experiment to prove his claims. While under medical surveillance, Hof was injected with a endotoxin that would normally produce flu-like symptoms such as; fever, chills, headaches, etc. By using his own techniques, he was able to successfully suppress his immune system and not suffer the typical symptoms. Naturally, researchers thought that Hof was an outlier. But, Hof claimed that he could teach his method to anyone in a matter of a few days.
A follow-up experiment was conducted after Hof trained a group of 12 men for a period of 10 days (4 days were spent working with Hof and the participants continued to practice the techniques on their own for an additional 6 days). The participants were able to achieve the same results as Hof, compared to a control group that suffered through the flu-like symptoms. The results astonished the researchers and the Wim Hof Method was born.
The method using three main pillars; breathing exercises, mindfulness or mindset technique and gradual exposure to the cold to teach anyone how they too can gain control over their nervous system response. The method is very similar to the principles outlined by nueropsychiatrist, Harvard professor and author Dr. John Ratey in his books, “Spark” and “Go Wild”. As humans, we have become more and more detached from our evolutionary roots. The consequences can be seen with the continuous rise of health issues despite having more medical advances and treatments available than at any other point in our history.
The effectiveness of the combined pillars can be scientifically proven and explained. Breathing is the only aspect of the autonomic or “automatic” nervous system. By radically changing your breathing pattern, you are sending a signal to your brain that you are taking if off of “auto-pilot” mode. This results in essentially hijacking your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which are responsible for your “fight or flight” or “rest and digest” body responses. The cold exposure is designed to re-create a “fight or flight” response in a controlled setting to use as a training tool. By gaining control of your breathing in an otherwise stressful situation, you are able to learn how to control your stress response in any other situation.
Chronic stress is the cause of a multitude of health related issues. The Wim Hof Method is the tool to combat those stressors. WHM workshops are designed to teach you how to relax the mind and body to become the happiest, healthiest and strongest version of yourself. The additional health benefits include: improving respiratory and cardiovascular health, improving cognitive function, reducing chronic pain and inflammation. You can also learn how to use the techniques to get into a “flow state” to improve performance at home, in the office, in the yoga studio or on the playing field.
Workshops can be public or private events that can be held at your workplace, gym, yoga studio, martial arts training center or home. Public events also offer a percentage of the profit to the hosting facility.
Advanced Wim Hof Method Workshops are also offered as a follow-up event to those who have completed the Fundamentals Workshop.
*Pricing is available upon request
Workshops are tailored to the specific audience: general, yoga, corporate or athlete
General : Workshops cover all of the benefits that anyone can enjoy.
Yoga: Workshops also add a focus on deepening your yoga pratice
Corporate: Workshops also emphasize practical applications to a work-life balance and ways to deal with the stresses of the corporate world.
Athlete: Workshops also emphasize how to use the WHM for various athletic performance and recovery benefits.
Combination: Workshops can be specifically tailored to combine any of these features.
