The Wim Hof Method. For some, it’s easy to point out its flaws. For others, it’s hard to deny its power. But one thing is certain: it’s confusing as hell for just about everyone.
Below, I share 20 one-sentence thoughts about the WHM. You might still be confused, but at least we can be confused together : )
1. The Wim Hof PNAS paper is breathing’s equivalent of a "4-minute mile," proving scientifically that the impossible is possible.
2. You feel supercharged after three rounds, but you are not super-oxygenated.
3. By offloading carbon dioxide, you discover that you can hold your breath much longer than you ever imagined.
4. The most powerful aspect of the WHM is the mindset it gives you for the rest of your life.
5. Counterintuitively, the heavy breathing reduces oxygen delivery to the brain.
6. If Wim does yoga, then I do yoga too.
7. It’s embarrassing, yet empowering, to hold horse stance for 10 minutes in your room while swinging your arms around like an inflatable air dancer at a used car dealership.
8. The intense physiological stress of the method leads to an equally powerful relaxation response afterward.
9. The showers aren’t even that cold here.
10. The lights you see on the third round aren’t mystical, they’re electrical.
11. Three rounds of the WHM comes out to an average of about 8 breaths/min; thus, from a statistical perspective, the WHM is actually slow breathing.
12. Wait, how does it work again?
13. The hole doesn’t matter, unless you become a chronic mouth breather.
14. Your belief that Wim Hof breathing helps with the cold is what helps most with the cold.
15. You can control your cytokines, immune response, and autonomic nervous system, all with the breath
16. After years of doing it, you realize the WHM has little to do with the breath, and everything to do with the mind.
17. Immersion in cold water is the ultimate test of breath control.
18. Wim insists he’s not a guru, but the world insists on treating him otherwise.
19. Wim’s charisma is an unaccounted-for placebo effect.
20. The Wim Hof Method is a gateway drug into the Oxygen Advantage.
Please do not try the WHM without supervision from a WHM instructor who can assess contraindications, pre-existing conditions, and so on. It can be dangerous, so be smart.
The Breathing 411
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P.S. This “one-sentence” idea was inspired by Josh Spector’s excellent post on communication. I highly recommend his For The Interested newsletter.