Cold exposure benefits begin with breath, respect, and repeatable practice. Learn where Wim Hof’s ritual builds resilience, and where evidence asks for restraint.
Video·7 News Spotlight·10 min read·April 15, 2019
A grounded look at Wim Hof’s cold exposure ritual, the breathwork behind it, and the early science testing whether voluntary practice can influence immune function.
Entering The Cold
The cold announces itself before the water does. In a forest in western Poland, with snow underfoot and the air sitting near minus 4 degrees, reporter Steve Jacobs follows Wim Hof toward a plunge he does not want to take. The scene has the shape of an ordeal, but Hof presents it as a protocol. Enter deliberately. Breathe. Stay present. Let the body learn.
Hof has built his public life around that lesson. Known as The Iceman, he argues that exposure to extreme cold does more than test tolerance. He says it can build strength in the body, sharpen the mind, and help people face illness with greater resilience. His claims reach far, including depression, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. The promise is powerful; the evidence requires care.
What the camera captures first is not proof. It is contrast. Followers step into icy water and emerge describing warmth, clarity, and energy. One woman says only her toes and fingers feel cold, while her core feels good. Another calls the experience strange and energizing. They are not saying the cold feels gentle. They are saying the afterstate changes them.
That distinction matters. Cold exposure remains a real physical stress. The body generates heat through shivering and shaking, and blood flow around the organs increases. Taken too far, the cold can lead to hypothermia and death. A ritual becomes intelligent only when respect stays inside the practice. Resilience is built at the edge, not beyond it.
Hof’s students gather around him in swimsuits, snow, and breath. They chant, move, laugh, and then walk into conditions most people spend winter avoiding. The atmosphere carries spectacle, but the underlying message is simple. You can train your response to discomfort. You can meet intensity without surrendering your attention.
For a brand built around recovery and adaptation, that is the central thread. The cold is not valuable because it is harsh. It is valuable when it becomes a precise encounter with stress, followed by a return to equilibrium. The ritual asks for humility first. Then it asks for presence.
[Music] wim HOF The Iceman is taking me deep wim HOF The Iceman is taking me deep into his world and I'm about to do into his world and I'm about to do something I really don't want to do the something I really don't want to do the cold is cold cold is cold no doubt about that you got to be no doubt about that you got to be kidding me now kidding me now now it's slowing yeah that's no it's - now it's slowing yeah that's no it's - fall - reporter Claus has to take it fall - reporter Claus has to take it already I'm freezing but women wants me already I'm freezing but women wants me to get a whole lot colder I'm not sure I'm up for this because if there's one thing I can't stand its there's one thing I can't stand its being cold this is what we are ready go being cold this is what we are ready go away go in you want me to go in there away go in you want me to go in there yeah bear you're gonna love it before I
yeah bear you're gonna love it before I take a plunge you should know why I'm take a plunge you should know why I'm doing it wimba leaves exposure to doing it wimba leaves exposure to extreme cold is not only good for your extreme cold is not only good for your body body it also triggers changes that can it also triggers changes that can overcome some of our most devastating overcome some of our most devastating diseases like depression and arthritis diseases like depression and arthritis the Crohn's disease I named it I even the Crohn's disease I named it I even want to fight the battle of for cancer want to fight the battle of for cancer sounds crazy sounds crazy well maybe not wins big chill therapy well maybe not wins big chill therapy has caught the attention of scientists has caught the attention of scientists who believe he could be onto something who believe he could be onto something by doing this behavior you can influence by doing this behavior you can influence your immune system that's really really your immune system that's really really new and then there's his growing Legion new and then there's his growing Legion of followers who swear they're shivering of followers who swear they're shivering their way to good help I just saw you their way to good help I just saw you get in the water get in the water yeah that freaked me out was cold yeah that freaked me out was cold watching you you're not cold not really
watching you you're not cold not really no I'm not really only my toes my no I'm not really only my toes my fingers but my core temperature feels fingers but my core temperature feels good yeah good yeah energizing it looks bloody cold it feels energizing it looks bloody cold it feels so good so good you gotta care minds and just feels good you gotta care minds and just feels good on your buddy on your buddy feel warm actually really yes it's a bit feel warm actually really yes it's a bit strange but it's minus 4 degrees really strange but it's minus 4 degrees really nice nice [Music] [Music] do you think I should do it you should do you think I should do it you should you should I'm daring you do it do we you should I'm daring you do it do we know exposure to cold causes the body to know exposure to cold causes the body to generate heat by shivering and shaking generate heat by shivering and shaking blood flow around organs increases but blood flow around organs increases but it can also lead to hypothermia even it can also lead to hypothermia even death these students are learning wim death these students are learning wim Hof's method to withstand the cold a Hof's method to withstand the cold a technique technique he's been perfecting for decades I began
he's been perfecting for decades I began actually when I was 17 with the cold actually when I was 17 with the cold water the cold make my brain made my water the cold make my brain made my mind shut up and just feel weak all this mind shut up and just feel weak all this merciless but righteous from there I merciless but righteous from there I knew from inside this is what I'm knew from inside this is what I'm looking for this is a great feeling and looking for this is a great feeling and afterwards I felt like a rush bill afterwards I felt like a rush bill through me all this and the fears their through me all this and the fears their serotonin dose hormones go serotonin dose hormones go that's like natural drugs in the 40 that's like natural drugs in the 40 years since then Wims experimented with years since then Wims experimented with his own body in ways and places that his own body in ways and places that defy belief climbing Kilimanjaro in just defy belief climbing Kilimanjaro in just a pair of shorts running a marathon a pair of shorts running a marathon across an African desert without across an African desert without drinking water he's broken 26 world drinking water he's broken 26 world records including an incredible 1 hour records including an incredible 1 hour and 52 minutes in an ice bath we are
and 52 minutes in an ice bath we are able to do so much more able to do so much more everybody was like oh like 20 25 years I everybody was like oh like 20 25 years I was doing in a completely army oh that was doing in a completely army oh that crazy manis are going into ice water crazy manis are going into ice water these must be crazy these must be crazy so by dressing like this am I making so by dressing like this am I making myself weaker I met women in the forests myself weaker I met women in the forests of West Poland where the weather of West Poland where the weather is just how he likes it why why am I is just how he likes it why why am I feeling the cold and why aren't you feeling the cold and why aren't you because simple I trade I trained my that because simple I trade I trained my that all the little muscles and reflexes all the little muscles and reflexes inside my blood circulated system that inside my blood circulated system that is the blood flow you know the veins and is the blood flow you know the veins and the arteries and capillaries they are the arteries and capillaries they are trained by going into the cold you train trained by going into the cold you train these little muscles and these reflexes these little muscles and these reflexes and they will help the blood flow go and they will help the blood flow go through the body so what's happening to through the body so what's happening to your body right now right now I just your body right now right now I just feel yeah it's it's not really cold but
feel yeah it's it's not really cold but I'm able to go if I want just focus I'm able to go if I want just focus being here right now right four hours in being here right now right four hours in this this is one of the ways win gets this this is one of the ways win gets himself and his students all fired up himself and his students all fired up the chanting seems to take their mind of the chanting seems to take their mind of how cold it really is the training how cold it really is the training session ends with a snow fight in session ends with a snow fight in swimsuits [Applause] whim says he can get me more comfortable with the cold and the key is in the with the cold and the key is in the breathing take a man and let him go breathing take a man and let him go luleå as if you've been under the water luleå as if you've been under the water you get out of the water finally you get
you get out of the water finally you get some air some air yeah and how it goes by when gets me to yeah and how it goes by when gets me to inhale deeply and hold my breath now inhale deeply and hold my breath now Puglia Julio Julio and hold alt one Puglia Julio Julio and hold alt one minute has passed without breathing I'm minute has passed without breathing I'm surprising myself with how long I'm able surprising myself with how long I'm able to go without air to go without air 2:34 you had this time ok Steve now you 2:34 you had this time ok Steve now you got the hang of it just make it stronger got the hang of it just make it stronger when I'm able to hold my breath for when I'm able to hold my breath for nearly three minutes wim says I'm ready nearly three minutes wim says I'm ready to take the plunge to take the plunge okay there we are man that by step so okay there we are man that by step so here I go besides the water breather hands on your thighs go down keep at hands on your thighs go down keep at your breath we're good well see me I
your breath we're good well see me I breathe like I'm told to it makes no breathe like I'm told to it makes no difference difference the cold is brutal I last for less than the cold is brutal I last for less than a minute a minute stand up hands-on underwater music go out go back well my hands are numb know what I'm well my hands are numb know what I'm feeling it here right now feeling it here right now yeah I'm okay my feet are cold but I'm yeah I'm okay my feet are cold but I'm doing okay yeah yeah maybe up again yeah doing okay yeah yeah maybe up again yeah yeah yeah we will do it again I will a yeah yeah we will do it again I will a liar teacher well to go five minutes liar teacher well to go five minutes wimps passionate because he's convinced wimps passionate because he's convinced there's a lot more to this than just there's a lot more to this than just being able to handle the cold so see you being able to handle the cold so see you safe can control depression ms safe can control depression ms rheumatism and arthritis yes I mean that rheumatism and arthritis yes I mean that sounds yes it sounds a revolutionary and
sounds yes it sounds a revolutionary and so on I was gonna say revolution was so on I was gonna say revolution was gonna say crazy yeah yeah yeah it's once gonna say crazy yeah yeah yeah it's once again crazy is you know every pioneer again crazy is you know every pioneer looks like crazy but these crazy ideas are being taken seriously by scientists at a hospital seriously by scientists at a hospital near Amsterdam Wims theories were put to near Amsterdam Wims theories were put to the test and feel was the first guinea the test and feel was the first guinea pig a twins insistence they injected him pig a twins insistence they injected him with a toxin that should have given him with a toxin that should have given him a fever he told them his unique approach a fever he told them his unique approach to health meant he could control his to health meant he could control his immune system which up until then they immune system which up until then they believed to be physically impossible believed to be physically impossible we took the samples I did exactly the we took the samples I did exactly the same as we always did and we compared same as we always did and we compared his response to over 100 healthy his response to over 100 healthy volunteers that participated in previous volunteers that participated in previous trials and what we found then was in trials and what we found then was in remarkable resources Pro inflammation
remarkable resources Pro inflammation was much less so it seemed that he was was much less so it seemed that he was able by this technique to suppress his able by this technique to suppress his immune system the test was repeated with immune system the test was repeated with volunteers and those who used winds volunteers and those who used winds techniques had much milder symptoms well techniques had much milder symptoms well it's exciting that we were able to show it's exciting that we were able to show for the first time in a very scientific for the first time in a very scientific rub used way that it is possible to rub used way that it is possible to influence your immune system willingly influence your immune system willingly this by doing this behavior you can this by doing this behavior you can influence your immune system that's influence your immune system that's really really new what was your response really really new what was your response I cried because finally I had a I cried because finally I had a recognition of all those people telling recognition of all those people telling always you are an idiot you are crazy always you are an idiot you are crazy you are giving false hope you are saying you are giving false hope you are saying things they are scientifically proven things they are scientifically proven not to be happening not a human not to not to be happening not a human not to be able to and now you say this there be able to and now you say this there are you an idiot I am are you an idiot I am what what are you are you criminal
what what are you are you criminal giving people false hope and now it was giving people false hope and now it was scientifically proven so all that energy scientifically proven so all that energy all that's frustrated energy that all that's frustrated energy that blocked energy recognition came and I blocked energy recognition came and I just told him something good has just told him something good has happened and you cried and I cried happened and you cried and I cried since then Wims been taking his message since then Wims been taking his message to the world we need Aaron I think to do some promotion and mountboard by his side is promotion and mountboard by his side is Australian Erin white Australian Erin white who last year went to Poland to meet him who last year went to Poland to meet him and decided to stay he really is very and decided to stay he really is very authentic really is there but he is a authentic really is there but he is a character definite character is your character definite character is your fraud no god no fraud no god no the proof is there like you make what the proof is there like you make what you will from it you know and this is you will from it you know and this is the whole point you common sense the the whole point you common sense the facts are there now whim is able now to
facts are there now whim is able now to take a back foot it speaks for itself Wims converts to the cold aren't waiting for more scientific proof they say it for more scientific proof they say it already works for them none of these already works for them none of these people I've spoken to say it gets any people I've spoken to say it gets any easier but it's how they feel afterwards easier but it's how they feel afterwards that makes them just keep on doing it that makes them just keep on doing it [Music] [Music] [Applause] for Hank London bag it's more than a feeling he says it's cured his crippling feeling he says it's cured his crippling rheumatoid arthritis how bad wasn't it rheumatoid arthritis how bad wasn't it was that better that hardly could move was that better that hardly could move my hands my knees my shoulders my elbow my hands my knees my shoulders my elbow my wrists doctors told Hank his my wrists doctors told Hank his condition was untreatable he reluctantly condition was untreatable he reluctantly went to see women in beginning I was went to see women in beginning I was sceptical of course I was kept in the sceptical of course I was kept in the beginning because there was nobody else beginning because there was nobody else who did it by then the only win was
who did it by then the only win was saying you can do it how did it change saying you can do it how did it change your body my body yeah I got my power your body my body yeah I got my power back back menthol within the physical I'm begging menthol within the physical I'm begging shape and your hands I got my Hank back shape and your hands I got my Hank back I got my health back Hank now uses his I got my health back Hank now uses his hands every day in his job as a hands every day in his job as a blacksmith blacksmith a job he'd almost given up on a job he'd almost given up on [Music] before I say goodbye wim insists we take one last page come on Steve time to get one last page come on Steve time to get angry if I'm breathing keep on breathing angry if I'm breathing keep on breathing hands on your thighs and then after hands on your thighs and then after being in for just over a minute it being in for just over a minute it happened to my amazement I stopped happened to my amazement I stopped shivering and suddenly I didn't feel shivering and suddenly I didn't feel cold anymore cold anymore he reprimand will I wouldn't have done he reprimand will I wouldn't have done this normally a good joke yeah this normally a good joke yeah well doc it's a fire almost five minutes
well doc it's a fire almost five minutes it's enough you have done it after 30 it's enough you have done it after 30 years of being named like being a fraud years of being named like being a fraud and a crazy man and this and an idiot and a crazy man and this and an idiot now having recognition through sides I now having recognition through sides I keep on with my mission to prove keep on with my mission to prove scientifically non-speculative Lee that scientifically non-speculative Lee that we are able to heal and to prevent from we are able to heal and to prevent from disease become strong happy and healthy disease become strong happy and healthy everybody [Music] well you
Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.
The Method Behind The Myth
Hof traces the beginning of his practice to age 17, when he entered cold water and found an unexpected quiet. He describes the cold as merciless but righteous, a force that made his mind shut up and brought him into feeling. Fear softened. Noise dropped away. In the shock of cold water, he found stillness.
That first encounter became decades of self-experimentation. Hof climbed Kilimanjaro in shorts, ran a marathon across an African desert without drinking water, and broke 26 world records. One of those feats lasted 1 hour and 52 minutes in an ice bath. These are extraordinary displays of adaptation, but feats are not medical proof. They show capacity, not cure.
His own explanation returns to training. Hof says he has trained the small muscles and reflexes inside the blood circulation system, naming the veins, arteries, and capillaries as part of that process. In plain terms, he believes repeated cold exposure teaches the body to manage blood flow under pressure. The felt outcome is composure: less panic, more control, clearer attention.
this is what I'm looking for this is a great feeling
When the reporter asks why he feels the cold while Hof does not, Hof answers without ornament. He trains. He focuses. He stays where he is. The method is not presented as escape from sensation, but as mastery within sensation. The cold remains cold; the relationship to it changes.
This is where myth and method start to separate. The myth centers on the man who sits in ice and walks through snow as if winter has lost its authority. The method centers on repetition, breath, attention, and the disciplined recovery of calm. One creates fascination. The other can be practiced.
The training also carries a communal rhythm. Hof’s group moves through chanting, exposure, and even a snow fight in swimsuits. From outside, it looks theatrical. From inside the protocol, it appears to redirect attention away from fear and into shared momentum. The body still registers the cold, but the mind has a task.
We approach that kind of practice with respect. A sanctuary for recovery is not defined by comfort alone. It is defined by intention, supervision, and the ability to return the body to balance. Cold becomes meaningful when it is held inside a deliberate frame.
Breath Before Ice
Before the plunge, Hof begins with breathing. He asks the reporter to inhale deeply, as if surfacing after time underwater, then hold. The breath becomes the gateway into the cold. It gives the mind something precise to follow before the body meets intensity.
At first, the exercise surprises the reporter. One minute passes without breathing. Then more. At 2 minutes and 34 seconds, Hof tells him he has the hang of it and asks him to make it stronger. The preparation builds confidence, but it does not make the water gentle.
When he finally steps in, the cold is brutal. He breathes as instructed, places his hands on his thighs, and lowers himself into the water. It makes no immediate difference. The body speaks louder than the protocol, and he lasts less than a minute.
just focus being here right now
That first plunge is honest. It shows the gap between knowing a method and inhabiting it under stress. His hands go numb. His feet burn with cold. Hof stays close, directing him back to breath and posture, keeping the moment structured rather than chaotic.
The second attempt changes the story. After just over a minute, the reporter stops shivering. Suddenly, he says, he does not feel cold anymore. The shift is not dramatic from the outside, but it is decisive from within. Brutality gives way to stillness, and stillness gives him time.
He remains in the water for almost five minutes. That number matters less than the adaptation it represents. The same body that recoiled now holds its place. The same cold that overwhelmed him now becomes something he can meet. Control arrives through practice, not force.
This is the cleanest lesson in the footage. Breath does not erase discomfort. It organizes your response to it. In the cold, that organization can become the difference between panic and presence. Recovery begins when the nervous moment finds a rhythm it can trust.
Where Science Enters
The claims around Hof move from spectacle to science in a Dutch hospital near Amsterdam. At Hof’s insistence, researchers inject him with a toxin that should produce fever and inflammatory symptoms. He tells them his approach allows him to influence his immune system, a capacity they had considered beyond voluntary control. The test gives the method a serious setting.
Researchers compare Hof’s response with data from more than 100 healthy volunteers in previous trials. They observe a much lower inflammatory response than expected. In practical terms, his body reacts with less of the sickness response the toxin would normally provoke. The finding does not prove every claim. It does open a door.
The next step matters more than the first. A single exceptional person can inspire curiosity, but science needs repetition beyond the individual. The hospital repeats the test with volunteers trained in Hof’s techniques. Those who use the method experience milder symptoms than expected.
The researchers describe the result as new: through this behavior, people can influence the immune system willingly. That is a careful statement, and it deserves to stay careful. The study supports voluntary influence over immune response in a controlled toxin challenge. It does not establish broad cures for complex diseases.
This is where premium wellness must keep its discipline. Evidence becomes useful when it is neither inflated nor dismissed. The immune system is not a switch. Inflammation is not an enemy in every context. The insight is more refined: trained breathing and cold exposure appeared to shape the body’s response under specific conditions.
For the practitioner, the outcome remains human. Less reactivity can mean more steadiness. More steadiness can support clearer choices under stress. The science does not need to promise everything to matter. A measured finding can still elevate the way we think about recovery.
Hof’s emotional response to the recognition is raw. After years of being called reckless, fraudulent, or unrealistic, he cries. The moment carries relief as much as validation. Yet recognition is not completion. It is the beginning of a more precise conversation.
Claims, Converts, And Caution
Hof’s language often runs ahead of the evidence. He links the method to depression, multiple sclerosis, rheumatism, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and even the fight against cancer. The ambition is unmistakable. So is the risk. Hope becomes responsible only when it travels with evidence, context, and care.
His followers are not waiting for every study to arrive. They enter the water because the ritual changes how they feel afterward. They describe warmth, clarity, vitality, and a stronger relationship with discomfort. None of them say it becomes easy. They keep returning because the recovery state feels worth the cold.
Hank’s story gives that devotion a human face. He says rheumatoid arthritis once left him barely able to move his hands, knees, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Doctors told him his condition was untreatable. He approached Hof with skepticism, then stayed with the practice because he says it gave him his power back.
I got my power back. I got my health back
The footage shows Hank working as a blacksmith, using the hands he feared he might lose. His testimony is moving because it is specific and lived. It is also personal testimony, not a controlled trial. Both truths can stand together. A story can be powerful without becoming universal proof.
This balance is essential. Cold exposure and breathwork can be meaningful tools for resilience, focus, and self-regulation. Early research supports the possibility of voluntary influence over immune response in controlled conditions. The broader disease claims need deeper study, longer timelines, and measured evidence. Precision protects the promise.
The final plunge brings the article back to the body. The reporter enters again, breathes, shivers, then finds a quiet he did not expect. Almost five minutes pass. The cold has not changed. His relationship to it has.
That is the most grounded way to read the Iceman’s method. Not as a miracle, and not as theater alone. It is a ritual of deliberate stress and practiced return. Enter the cold with respect, and you meet a clear question: how much steadiness can you build, one breath at a time.
