The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential

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Health ―True stories and testimonials from people using the method to overcome disease and chronic illness The benefits of cold water exposure are undeniable, as are the benefits of breathing exercises and meditation. Beyond that the book is a mix of biography and increasingly fantastical mystical claims.

It’s a relatively short book that can be read in a few days. You can start reaping the benefits even faster than that. Once you understand how to practice the Wim Hof Method, you can try it yourself and feel the jolt of wakefulness and energy immediately. After reading this book, I have added the practice to my morning routine and can’t imagine a morning without it now. 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. If you are looking to start or add more meditation and mindfulness into your life, the Wim Hof Method can help you with that. The breathwork and cold exposure both have the effect of raising awareness and stillness. In the book, Wim also guides you on practices for meditation and mindset.

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Additionally, referencing science and data is awesome, but it'd be great if an actual list of sources was added. I gave this 4 stars because I have this rule where if the book changes me, and changes the way I think, especially immediately, than it must have been significant enough to rate it fairly as a great book. If I was going to rate this though based on "how interesting it was", or "how well it was written", than I would give it a 3. But fortunately for Wim, and myself.. I get to keep it a 4. Here is why.

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? We only go through this life once, and we might as well enjoy ourselves while we do. Those who would deprive themselves of simple pleasures like an occasional beer may benefit from it in terms of their short-term performance, but they aren’t nourishing the soul. The Wim Hof Method: Own Your Mind, Master Your Biology, and Activate Your Full Human Potential is, perhaps not suprisingly, repetitive and peppered with all kinds of mysticism and pseudo-science. A stressful exposure can have harmful effects at high doses, but at low doses, it can actually create changes in our bodies that make us healthier and stronger. This is called “hormetic stress.” Acute short-term stress can lead to powerful positive changes in our cells. His critics say he’s bold with his claims and he overstates what his methods can do. Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt of Maastricht University has said Hof’s scientific vocabulary is “galimatias”, or nonsense. “With conviction, he mixes, in a nonsensical way, scientific terms as irrefutable evidence.”

On a completely separate note, while I do understand this is Wim's book and Wim's way of thinking, I can imagine quite a lot of people getting at least slightly annoyed at how he sometimes describes women and mothers - loads of stereotypes there. Nothing too terrible, but still. Let this be a small trigger warning for readers who keep feminist matters as close to their heart as I do.

The only definitive book authored by Wim Hof on his powerful method for realizing our physical and spiritual potential So off we go again: 40 full breaths, exhale, then hold it, this time for a minute and a half. Hof says my blood chemistry is changing. I feel a bit tingly, hear a slight ringing noise, but I can do it, a minute and a half, he times it on his phone. I’ve never held my breath for that long. Breath ―Wim’s unique practices to change your body chemistry, infuse yourself with energy, and focus your mind Practice is the key. As is learning. And this book doesn’t quite pin down precisely what is needed. It’s like he’s trying to convince us that his method is real, and that it works, but he doesn’t quite show us what his method is. He gives us data and a lot of biography. He tells us how he came to his method and why he felt it was necessary. And it’s very convincing. I believe in what he says. I think he has found something, and he understands a crucial fact of human existence: none of us ever really discover our true potential. 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.”

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He discussed his methods, albeit, with some repetition. He mentioned various studies, but unfortunately, no deep dives into the science. I'd prefer a book based more around the science, but this was not Hof's intention. I have no doubt his method has helped many people but do not accept all he claims for it. That said, he is a passionate, inspiring and interesting individual who has achieved many remarkable feats. He certainly walks the walk. Mind – You could also call this pillar the power of the mind. It includes the idea of will and the power to imagine, to meditate, to visualize — the power to send your attention to any part of your body, to observe any bodily process.