In this NDTV conversation, Wim Hof returns to India and speaks about the yogic roots that shaped his work. This article draws from NDTV and keeps the focus on what can be practiced with clarity, caution, and respect for the evidence.
Transcript sourced from the original YouTube captions. Timestamps link directly to the video.
Today with us is a very special man, known as the Iceman. Mr. Wim Hof is here with us. I He needs no introduction. A man who's of course broken multiple world records. He's somebody who does the impossible. When everyone seeks comfort, he does something that's uncomfortable. But all of this of course through the training of the mind. He's here in Bengaluru, he's here in India after 50 long years. Mr. Hof, thank you so much for speaking to NDTV. I would like to start off by asking you, what brings you to the country after 50 long years? You were here when you were 17 years old. You're back today. Tell us what brings you back to the country. Maybe I'm coming home. Maybe the tree has grown since 50 years when they put a seed in the soil. Of course, I was seeking spirituality. And then I went away. And that tree has been growing. And it has been growing so much that I took on so many challenges in life, so many world records. And then I took on the science. And there I saw that the yoga, the old yoga from Patanjali, now is ripe to be reintroduced into the modern life. And I do this in the apt ways, in the ways we understand it with our modern way of thinking. Stress. So I did the studies with the stress. And it shows uh that doing this a little bit of tapasia.
doing this a little bit of tapasia. Tapasia is the cold. It's fasting. Gandhiji did that too. Yeah, fasting. Very good for the yama and niyama. So I did the cold. And from the cold I learned a breathing technique that makes me able to go longer in the cold. exactly what I'm trying to get at. So for for a few people who may not know what exactly you do, you have the Wim Hof method that you've you know come up with. What exactly is this method? What does it do? Is it because India of course is not new to breathing techniques? There's a pranayama and there's so many other techniques including yogic techniques. But what makes that what's the Wim Hof method and how is it different from the techniques that India has known? Yes. So we live in a modern lifestyle. We live in behavior which is subjected to stress. Modern day stress, competition, money, the world goes on. There's nothing no time for meditation. There's no time for sacredness. We need to go for the money and the competition is there luring. That creates stress, conflict with our soul. It's stress. So that stress we don't know how to remove that in modern times. And I found the way how to do that. I brought it to science. And in the science through the breathing techniques which I learned in the cold. The cold is real. Ice water is real. It's merciless
real. Ice water is real. It's merciless but righteous. It makes you understand, hey, let it go and the deeper powers are able to evolve from within. And then breathing techniques are able to make that power stronger and stronger. So strong that I can stay for hours in cold water. And I am okay. Now that those breathing techniques I brought to the science. And then they injected me with E. coli bacteria which after 16, 000 times making people sick, suddenly I came in. I was not sick at all. And then I said, but what I can do you can do too. Just do this breathing. Go expose yourself a little bit to the cold Yeah. and you are able to bring down what E. coli bacteria inflammation Yeah. is causing. So, we are talking disease. And where does it originally all come from? Mhm. From yoga. From Patanjali. From 1, 000 years ago. And now it it needs an update. The old scriptures, the old ways need an update. That's why I'm here. But does to work with India. So so today, most of the people when they talk about ice baths, it's usually after they play sport. It's usually after they go to the gym. You know,
after they go to the gym. You know, people think that going in an ice bath relaxes your muscles, but you're talking beyond just relaxation of muscles. You're talking about relaxation of the mind and probably elevating it to a different extent. Tell us how does this combination really work? Is your meditation technique something that is in sync with the ice? Because you're known as the ice man. You're somebody who uses the ice for meditation as well. Is that necessary because we are in a warm country? You know, to get an ice bath here, you're going to have to freeze a lot of water and then probably put it because we don't have snow in the southern part of India in particular. So, tell us as far as your technique, can somebody practice it without actually utilizing ice or is that an integral part of your technique? Not really. If you got your mindset right, Mhm. then you have no conflict with your soul. Okay. It was all about the soul. I used the cold to train the cardiovascular system and the flow of the blood, the chemistry inside and to optimize it and then do breathing being able to elevate my brain consciousness very effective and showing this in neuroscience in brain scans. It really is there. So, that breathing comes from the cold. But, you do not need necessarily to go into to the cold, yet the cold is very good for your cardiovascular system. Okay. But, apart of that, the breathing exercises and the mindset are able to
exercises and the mindset are able to activate our deeper past conditioned mind powers within, which will be able to reconnect you with the core of who you are and what you are. And that's the soul. Uh Mr. Hof, I I'd also like to ask you here when you practice this technique, what really changes in your body? Because you're saying your technique is capable of curing diseases. You know, I've read that you've even spoken about even cancer probably can be fought using meditative techniques. But, science of course has its own ways of looking at these things. Your method has been put to test. There are different uh aspects to uh you know, your uh meditation which has been tested. And there are positive results where some of them agree that your meditation has benefits, but there are certain results that say, "Well, it is debatable." How do you really look at science always contradicting yogic meditative techniques? Yes, it's not of the interest of big companies, pharmaceutical industries, governments who are more into the control over us instead of us controlling ourselves. So, yoga is an is a power that learns you to have autonomy. Okay. To possess the power over your own brain, your own mind to do the good. Look at the world with all its technology and all its doctors, still the demons are
the demons are going about and creating wars, creating greed, creating difference. There is no difference when you have autonomy. A man who is happy doesn't go to war. Man who is able to regulate his own emotion is happy. He will choose happiness. And that is what we are not schooled in our schools. We are here to serve the system, but are we here also to serve God? Purusha the soul here and now. And I go for that. I challenge science all the time. Yeah. And that science is not picking up so much into natural methods is because there is no money to gain there. There's no power to gain there. If people are becoming independent in themselves like India with England. You wanted to become independent. What I say, become independent every person in the world of whatever is ruling over them. Yeah. Cuz we are all made by the grace of God to be beautiful, to be happy, strong, and healthy. This is what I want to pass on to my children. And I challenge science all the time. It's actually a shame of the scientific world that in 2014 I showed for the first time in medical science to be able to control or
medical science to be able to control or influence deeply into the autonomic nervous system and innate immune system, bringing inflammation down. That is the cause and effect of disease, but this is not in the interest of the existent power structures and pharmaceutical industries. But here I am. I bring something that is for free. breathing Mhm. And going back to Patanjali, he did all the pranayamas. Yes? The yama of the prana, the life force. He did that. But now we it calls for a different inclination, different angle. Yeah. And I found that angle. And I want to bring it here to India. Okay, I want to ask you this very quickly. You spoke about the physical benefits of you know, the breathing techniques, you know, being in ice and all of that. Now, India is a country that of course is ever evolving. I'm sure you've seen the difference already in the few days that you spent here compared to the 50 years ago that you came here. People are anxious. There are young working class who are tired. You just said a happy man doesn't go to war. But here people are not going to war, but they're going to office which feels like war. So people are tired, exhausted. Do you think mentally and especially depression is a big cause of concern in today's society, not just in India, world over? Does your technique also help improve the state of the mind? Does it strengthen the mind in many ways? Could you tell us how it does that as well? Yes, for that I did neuroscientific
Yes, for that I did neuroscientific studies. Yeah. And it shows that we found through me doing research in fMRIs and brain scans, Yeah. we found the key components, the key components of the autonomous processes in the brain, which was outside of our control, autonomous. Now we found the keys to mood regulation. Everybody wants to feel nice and poised and alive, isn't it? So, if you do breathing techniques the way I learned it in the cold, these are powerful breathing techniques. They are able to get to the department of your emotions in your brain and connect with your will. That is a neural connection. Make a neural connection. That is yoga. Yoga is connecting. And that insight makes you able to regulate your emotion, no matter the stress. Okay. Now, I I want to add another aspect here. The World Yoga Day was something that was very recently introduced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. You been here, you said 50 years ago. At that point in time, you did speak about the Patanjali yoga that you were introduced to. Do you How How important do you think is having a day for yoga being celebrated worldwide? How important do you think that is? You should do yoga every day. Yeah. Yoga means unification. Means comes from huge. It's a Sanskrit
Means comes from huge. It's a Sanskrit verb to unite. The world nowadays needs something that goes beyond the differences of ours, beyond religion and politics. Yeah. We It is time for the soul. And the great universal cosmic way to do that was already found thousand years more than thousand years ago by Patanjali. Right. And now it needs an update. That's why I'm here, and I tell you through the science, no speculation, it is here. So, last couple of questions that I have to you, Mr. Hoff. For people who want to practice the Wim Hof method, how difficult is it? Where can they go and learn this? Do Should they, you know, do you have videos that have been put out? This is for of course for the uninitiated. I'm I'm trying to just get the word out there. How do people learn? How long does it take for people to learn this? Uh in one day, or less than one day. It's all dependent on your timeless motivation. When you are ready, you take this on within a half hour, you will be able to go and learn to regulate your emotions, to go into the level of the autonomic nervous system, to go into the immune system, and many more other things, cuz we are doing the science. But let me not talk about the science, but about you. Just try it out once. If it doesn't work, blame me. But if it works, pass it on.
on. And and how how long should one practice this? Because once they learn the technique, because people here always talk about positive of time. They say we need to get to work, we need to do things with our family. So each day, what would you suggest any anybody, you know, practicing this? 10 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours? How long should they do this? With 15 to 20 minutes a day, your investment into that make sure the quality of your life, your your functionality of your life much better. By which you regain the time you spent the 20 minutes and many hours come back because your functionality becomes a lot better and clearer of mind. Well, this was a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Hof. Thank you so much for being here and I hope you have a pleasant stay in India and especially Bangalore. I love it. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.
"The method is modern in its measurements, but ancient in its questions." — Contrast Collective
In this NDTV conversation, Wim Hof returns to India and speaks about the yogic roots that shaped his work. The setting matters. His method is often discussed through records and extremes, but here the deeper thread is practice: breath, cold, attention, and the capacity to meet discomfort without losing steadiness.
Breathwork gives the nervous system a handle. It changes carbon dioxide tolerance, attention, and the felt relationship to stress. In plain language, the breath becomes a way to train the body not to panic at the first sign of intensity.
cold exposure is not punishment. Used carefully, it is a controlled stressor. The body learns circulation, focus, and composure. The value is not the spectacle. It is the calm that remains afterward.
Approach breathwork and cold exposure with respect, especially around water or medical conditions.
Use cold as a measured practice, not a test of identity.
Let the point of the ritual be regulation: clearer focus, steadier mood, and resilience.
The strongest message is restraint: use science to sharpen the practice, not to decorate a trend. The body adapts best when the signal is clear, repeated, and supported by recovery.
