Breath and cold exposure meet at a simple point: the body learns through direct experience. When the breath steadies under pressure, the mind receives a different message. When cold becomes measured rather than chaotic, resilience becomes trainable.
Transcript grouped by minute marker. Each timestamp opens the source video at that moment.
Right, thank you all for coming. It's so lovely to see so many of you here, especially with exams starting. Um so it's my pleasure to introduce Wim Hof today. Um Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman, has come to push the boundaries of human resilience. His unique method has been developed over the years of personal experience, the Wim Hof method, which combines specialized breathing techniques, cold exposure, and resilience mindset. Through this, he has completed some superhuman feats, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in just shorts, running a full marathon in the desert without drinking any water, and withstanding extreme cold exposure. The mental and physical limits he has pushed with his method have peaked interest in the scientific community, and hopefully ongoing studies will reveal more about the benefits of the Wim Hof method. So it's an absolute joy, and I'm personally very excited to welcome Wim Hof to the Union. So Wim, you started exploring cold exposure at a very young age. Um can you share your personal journey from where it all began, and the experiences that led you to developing the Wim Hof method? That is about I was 12. 12 years, guys. Hi, guys. 12 years. Don't mess with a 12-year - old, you know? Don't underestimate a 12-year - old. Cuz I was talking to my friends, also 12 year, you know, that age. I uh think of girls. That is not
think of girls. That is not going to talk about sex, but 12 years. So, 12 years. I'm talking to my friends, and I say They think war, pollution, disease, depression, darkness uh is all normal, and I think it is sick. I'm going to do something about it. What I do not do. Hey, close the door. Yes. Good. So can you hear myself? But No. It was not you. It was the door. LOOK. Sixth sense, seventh sense, eighth sense. Did you ever heard about the eighth sense? No, eh? And the seventh? And the sixth sense, yes, eh? Sex sense, maybe also, but sixth sense, seventh sense, eighth sense. And they taught in science, neuroscience, and psychiatric science, they taught of that cannot be controlled willfully by humans. And I just showed how. But that's for later. I was 12 years old. And there Yeah. I think it is sick that the world still thinks and gets away with the mindset that is able to accept
with the mindset that is able to accept an order where where we as parents are not able to guarantee happiness, strength, and health to our children. Like 100% while we have all the tools and the mechanisms inside, the systems, the physiology to control our happiness, the endocrine system, the health, the immune system, and the strength, the energy systems in the cell. We I showed it all. I'm a dropout of school, guys, but I got my belief, and it started when I was 12. And there I said to myself, and I said to the guys, I don't know how to make this change, this cruelty, war, disease, depression, darkness, etc. All that they think it is normal. I think just that it is sick. I'm going to do something about it, and how and what I don't know. And then the philosophy came. Look at her, and the beer, too. Thank you. CHEERS, GUYS. BY THE WAY, I'M THE ICEMAN, so it's 0. It's also a little bit fresh. It's not really icy cold, but it's fresh. 0, eh?
fresh. 0, eh? Now another thing is 4 years ago I stopped alcohol. But just before that, I was in Poland, and there was a I did questions and answers. And And the guy was asking me, "Wim, but you are drinking a beer, and that intoxicates, and why do you do this?" He said, "I'm not a Puritan. And by the way, I call it yellow water. And so I take I got my control. And hey, breathe, [__] That That's cool. Power. Thing is I told him uh And he kept on with this intoxication and that it is morally Yeah. Why do you do this? He said, "I got my control. And you know what? I'm going to show it to you. Half hour later, in a half hour, I'm going to stand like this, barefoot, outside in the snow for 3 hours." And And he said, "Wow, yeah, are you going to do it?" Yes, but first you need to get me a beer. Yellow water. He did that, little hypocrite. But uh No, it's it's You know, I'm a little bit free with my words and things. But it was the 12-year - old. And he took on the journey. Imagine a 12-year - old
12-year - old tries to find out how to change the world, how to stop cruelty, pollution, abuse, DEPRESSION, DISEASE, WAR, all that. That is of course stupid and uh ridiculous, isn't it? The power of the spirit is amazing, and the door is also amazing. Keeps on banging, you know? Banging. That's another thing. So, when I was 17, I already had read psychology, Hinduism, into Buddhism, esoteric disciplines. I did a lot. I walk my talk. I got 26 world records outside because that's my nature. I challenged my body and my mind outside the nature where people say this is impossible. This is that irresponsible and all, and I still do it because I follow my feeling. And my feeling is saying there is more than meets the eye. There is more than what I can think. I can feel it. I followed that. And when I was 17, I walked in a Sunday morning outside in the park, and I just felt this gut like attraction to go into the icy water with a
the icy water with a very thin layer of ice and water. I looked around. There was nobody around. Sunday morning, everybody sleeping. I was pondering my mind, and there I followed my feeling, and I stripped myself of clothes, and I slipped into the water. Before I knew, I was playing with the ice, and I did not feel that concept that it is icy cold, and this is dangerous. No, it was just being there. And that brought a connection deeply within, unconditionally, that this is it. What I was looking for without words. So I took that, and the whole day from there was I had a rush. That's why I say nowadays, get high on your own supply. Don't need to be I I loved it, too, by the way. They said times that I drank beer, I smoked, I did it all. But I did it also with a 26 world record, so I did it all, man. All what was forbidden by God and the church and this and that, I did it. Not perverted, by the way. I think your life is just beautiful in all its ways, and we have organs everywhere in our pants, outside of our
everywhere in our pants, outside of our pants, and I use them all. But, that's besides that. I got six children. Love them all. My oldest is 40, my youngest is five. Still thinking about another one. Well, okay, that's I'm drifting away. So, I was 17. I started to feeling this feeling, this rush all day long. The other day I went back to see if this feeling was still there and going into the icy water, and it was. And that is 46 years ago. Since then, I'm doing it like every day. It's just part of my life. And it made me not sick. Well, everybody was saying, "Hey, this is uh this man is going into icy water." It when nobody was doing that [__] Nobody was doing this these these things like a little bit of yoga and you know, whatever. Nobody was into it. Nobody was into vegetarianism. I was. I wanted to see what was outside of the box of where we were put in to that paradigm. And I followed my feeling, and I felt so good. They can tell me I'm a donkey, stupid, and this and that doing what I'm doing, that I'm strange and all, but if I feel
that I'm strange and all, but if I feel so damn good, I just believe it and feel it and follow it. It made me a quite a stranger and a feeling alone, but I had my faith. Cuz I remembered always the 12-year - old saying, "I don't know how to do it. I just do it." Not thinking about it. Doing it. And that's exactly what the cold water opens up in us. In the deep brain where there is the doing. Past our comfort is real power. And it took me 25 years of practicing on my own, very secluded, away from everybody, till I found a person who was into the newspaper. He made it an article of people doing professions outside in wintertime. And then uh They came to me, and then they saw me doing every day going into the icy water and putting two legs there so flexible and completely contrary of what people thought that cold is doing or inflicting upon a person. And uh
And uh And then television came. And then Discovery Channel and National Geographic and blah blah the whole thing. But, 25 years since that 17-year discovery when I was 17 years, uh I did it on my own, very secluded, because I was a outcast kind of being alone. But, I felt so good, strong, never sick. So, all that preceded that moment where television came in. Then National Geographic came, Discovery Channel, and they If you think I'm crazy, television is crazy. They began to challenge me, and I could do it all. Yeah. I I could do it until a moment wherein I uh I thought they might can come up with some crazy other stunt like going in a tanga up Mount Everest backward on my hands, handstand. You know, I had done it all. I had swam big distances under the ice. I had run a full marathon without drinking in the Namib Desert, hanging by one finger in midwinter when the dexterity of the hands are loosening grip. I did it up there in the air between two hot air balloons. Crazy stuff.
Crazy stuff. Running marathons, yes, and staying in the ice for 2 hours. And every time they invited me, I would uh break the world record with 1 minute. I could do it here like for 1 hour more, but who is stupid? I get invited anywhere in the world to break the world record again. Then New York, Paris, here and London, and there uh yeah, well, uh Shanghai and Beijing, uh everywhere in the world. It was my free ticket out. I had no money, but in this way I was being treated by a like a VIP. I'm I'm maybe crazy, but I'm not an idiot, guys. I found myself on Mount Everest in the death zone in my shorts. And that was 3 months later when I had run a half marathon barefoot beyond the Polar Circle in mid-January. And he self-inflicted caused self-inflicted cold injury. I'm I'm sorry. What's You know, you just pushed me and I'm gone, you know. The The thing is there was a professor after I self-inflicted cold injury I had, and
self-inflicted cold injury I had, and they said this uh forefoot uh that it was dead. Like if you get into zero below zero degrees on your skin for say a half hour, three quarters of an hour, you can cause irreparable cell damage. Yes, it dies. And then you get necrosis and it dies because it's not alive. The cells are killed. Yes? And then it takes 3 to 4 months to become necrosis like that tissue. And then they have to cut it away. It's what the professor said, loud and clear. You see, this is a self-inflicted and here's the irreparable. You can't turn this back anymore. This dead. Come back. He gave me a box full of medicines and Band-Aids and all. He gave that to me, and I was there in the night shift, fully Band-Aided because something happened, yeah. That was real after 18 km beyond the Polar Circle with deep freezing temperatures and me running around. First 10 km was like I was joking and this and that. But, I said, "Well, hey, I I can't feel my feet anymore. What is this?" I kept on going. 18 km, hey man, where's my foot? Yeah?
But, I fulfilled the half marathon, but self-inflicted cold injury was there, and the professor said irreparable. And he gave me that box, and then that night began to walk through the way the room at 1: 00. And because I had already set out to go climb Mount Everest in my shorts. I had already risen like 250, 000 lbs or euros, around the same, a little bit more. But, THAT WAS A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY for me that time. It still is. But, now it's less, you know. Thing is, there you are with that dilemma. All the sponsors already gave in, and there I am with my irreparable damage being told by a professor, an authority in cold physiology, and how that all happens with the skin, dermatologist, and all that with the whole box. And then at at moment I got this epiphany like call it always ping. You think of something, and the solution comes. If you only dare to go out into the unknown.
Cuz there are answers who pertain to your spirit, to your soul. Not in straight lines, even if you are in front of exams. By the way, if you do exams, I'll get back to the cold injury, etc., and to the death zone where I was you know, on the Mount Everest with still my foot and and blah blah, yeah. But, if you do exams, guys, do this breathing. Because a month ago, I did a neuroscientific comparative study with 100 students with the University of Rotterdam, Erasmus, and the Penn State University, America, cooperation, and they do it with the blinking of eye, which is involuntarily. It's autonomous. So, when you they do task performance and then it comes a beep. I don't know I didn't even heard him, but it's a it's an a well-used experimental model. And and then he he sent me the result. When I did the breathing with these people, so a part did not do the breathing control group, you know, the group that get [__] up. The ones who do it a little and the ones who do it big time. And then you see the graphics that the ones who do it big time, they have no stress.
have no stress. And thus their cognitive ability goes way up. So, if you are into exams and I got the proof, it's already there. It's not yet published, but I tell you. There. You better believe me. Come on. Or you like your stress? By the way, I last time I was at the in a can film festival, they make a Hollywood film about my life. Imagine. Hey, I know it's happening. But the thing is after the dinner, which I by the way did not like somebody farted. Hey, it's okay. You know, it's human. I I had these people outside in front in Can and these little tables outside, people uh a la mani re fran aise avec le fourchette et le couteau. Nous Nous sommes ici ensemble et tout a. And I said, let's do an exercise. 11 of them or 10 or 11. And they said, go and then stand with the legs erect, go down, And then when you feel the stress, bless the stress, move your ass. Imagine that with all these people there sitting. What do you Oh la la. They said. It was nice, you know.
You think what a crazy guy, yeah. So, but then who is crazy? This professor and authority telling me that I had in self-inflicted cold injury causing the a death tissue to come in 3 to 4 months and had to use all the medicines, a big box like this, man. I never used it. I just brought it back to the pharmacy and I started with that ping that moment of epiphany. Hey, I'm going to instead of keeping it dry as the professor said, the dermatologist professor I'm going to put full grease cow balm over it. I'm going to heal myself. Took me a month, guys to heal it. To heal it beyond being irreparable and whatever the professor said it was gone. I just took care. I began self-healing. I don't believe it. Yeah. If the professor say your feet is gone, it's gone. You have to take off your shoes. We have to see it. I'M JUST JOKING, MAN. BIG ASS. 3 MONTHS LATER I was in the death zone on Mount Everest in my shorts cuz I had no money for clothes. But imagine.
But imagine. Imagine what you encounter when you are there, you do something that has never been done. I've been doing that so many times that I found a trust that more than meets the eye. And as long as there is disease and cruelty and wars, we have to explore what is outside our control cuz we have none or mediocre control inside. So, I was there on the in the death zone looking around. There was the top. It was alone with the eye pro. You also look here is the table of the world or the roof of the world. And you can see it all. But I feel that my inner workings of the veins the vascular system in in the foot is not working well. And when you go into the extremes, then there is much less oxygen in the air and your feet need oxygen uptake inside and they close and they open, but my feet were still from the inside not flexible enough. Now they are back on, but back then not. And once again, I'm crazy about life and my wife but
but but not an idiot. All the world was watching me doing the whole world of alpinism say eternal fame is going to hit you when you get to the top in your shorts. Wow, amazing. I said, [__] it. I go down and that's it. Not going to lose my foot because of some abstract fame thing. Hollywood. Now I know they make a film, a Hollywood film. From Hollywood, I'm going to make it Holywood because I used the film to show that we as humans are able to do the so-called impossible. Ooh. The impossible. The autonomous nervous system was considered to be impossibly to access voluntarily into. Now, does that make sense? Even over Dutch man, a little bit Dutchy English sometimes. But it doesn't matter. You get my drift. The autonomous nervous system was considered to be impenetrable. You could not go with your willful control into the autonomous nervous system. Neither into the innate immune system. Inflammation is the cause and effect of
Inflammation is the cause and effect of any disease. And now in 2014 that little seeker, that 12-year - old, that spirit had found a way what was considered to be impossible. That faith he pertain to, he kept on going because he felt so good with it. He felt connection inside. I'm so sorry. That faith had grown past existent paradigm where we are all caught up in and therefore we still have cancer, autoimmune diseases, depression, darkness, wars and we apparently cannot do anything about it. I healed so many people. Dropout. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a professor. I'm better. Yeah? I'm confident. I learned that by climbing without gear. I read the rock. I see my feel my subconscious. I see the rock which in a half hour is going to fall. My subconscious knows. They make those calculations past time and space. Learned that [__] all there. Outside. No fear. Little beer.
Little beer. Yellow water. Standing for 3 hours like a rock outside barefoot in the snow. So many challenges. So now we are showing that naturally we can beat disease. And recently I showed once again in brain scans that I'm able to activate what they thought of impossible inside the brain, the autonomous functioning of the brain. Autonomous means outside of our will. Now it's inside our will. This is what they say in science. Scientifically published. They say now we have the compelling evidence. Listen well. Now we have the compelling evidence of the key components of the autonomous processes in the brain related to mood regulation. That's emotion, guys. And emotion is the expression of our soul. And if we are able to rectify, to take away the darkness, the depression, the bad mood to and get confidence and trust and get empathy going strong then we are able to pass it on to our children. And we have those keys now found
And we have those keys now found because of that 12-year - old kid that held his spirit cool, strong innocent all along. Now here I am together we are sharing. Questions and answers will come. And I just run off the way and I'm so sorry again, but this is the way I am. You get what you see. But there is more than meets the eye. Okay, let that be an answer now. Thank you. I think we're all quite mesmerized and you've touched on a lot of what I was already going to ask you anyway. And I do want to a chance to make this interactive before we open up the floor to audience. So I was wondering if you could walk us all through a breathing exercise for us to try. Yes. Okay. HEY, BEING ANYTIME ANYTIME YOU something stressful will come into your life in a day DURING THE DAY LAST LAST YEAR I HAD the BBC series, 12 episodes and IT WAS ONLY ONE WEEK TO DO IT. We were a whole month, but stupid COVID Corona came in and it messed up the whole schedule and then only one week was over to do 12 episodes. There and that's a lot of stress because 200 people were focused on me doing the being the
focused on me doing the being the center, the Iceman, freeze the fear and I had to guide the people to get through their traumas and to the deepest blockages and fears and all. With 13 huge cameras upon me and then you have to perform as if nothing, you know, very intimate. So there I breathed like a [__] EVERY MORNING. And it went stupendo. As tompendous. Yes, as stupendo as stupendous. Yeah, all good. As as stupendium. It's a also a sort of a Latin name in the scientific world. Thing is, let's do this breathing. Don't forget ever. When you have stress and blast the stress, move your ass. Yeah? No, do this breathing. This showed in 2014 you guys to get into the autonomous nervous system. Do you want to go into the autonomous nervous system? NO? OKAY, COOL. WE ALL GOT TO GO 100 seconds after exhalation we retain from breathing. Don't breathe anymore. THE BIGGEST STRESSOR is not breathing. IT'S LIKE DYING.
IT'S LIKE DYING. But you don't die. Only the heart. That heart. To be focused. Go with your mind. Get to the breath. Let the breath speak. It goes deep. Deeper than your thoughts are able grasp. That's where we go. You have a belly. You have a chest. It's all connected to the lung muscles. So use your belly. Use your chest. FULLY IN. LET IT GO. Let your mind follow the breath. Fully in. LET IT GO. Come on, don't hold back. Fully in. Let it go. Hold it. Take a breath. HOLD IT. FULLY IN. LET IT GO. HOLD IT. YES. Don't mind. Just do. Hold it. Let it go. Let's go past the conditioned mind and body.
Let it go. Keep on going. Hold it. Let it go. Hold it. This is what we did in 2013. We showed the scientific medical world that bacteria and virus can be suppressed. Close. Just by using the life force called the breath. So by going past our conditioned mind and body. YES. HOLD THAT, GUYS. YES. Take on the stress and suddenly blast the stress, move your ass. It's a joke. Life is a joke. Amazing. Let the stress come. I am here. I breathe in. Let it go. One more. Fully in. Let it go. Hold it. Let it go. Fully in. Let it go. Hold it. Beautiful people. Hold it. We're taking the life force and we go on. Breathing deeper and deeper. Deeper than ever before thought possible
Deeper than ever before thought possible and science already has shown it. It's out. Science. Come in. Science. Hold it. Deep breathing. Fully in. Let it Fully in. Three. Fully in. Two. Fully in. One. Fully in. Last one. Let it go. Stop. Just witness. Just be. Bringing down carbon dioxide. All this acidity in the blood, we brought it very much down. So the breathing trigger is not there. Your body is very alkaline. It's been shown in science. Proof is in the blood. Right now with everybody. There is no agony. Hey, I'm not breathing. I have no air in my lungs and it's not happening. But you are the alchemist. You are the alchemist
You are the alchemist by which the body becomes alkaline and suddenly now with your mind you are able to go even to the level of the genetics. Do what you are here for. The purpose to release activated anxious traumatic spirits inside our genetical codes. The hereditary past, our ancestors. Our being here facing fear cuz we had no control. Yet now it is here. AND STILL 1 MINUTE 20. STILL MOST OF YOU are without breathing. Already proved my point. That the physiology is capable more than meets the eye. Two, ONE. FULLY IN. HOLD IT. SQUEEZE IT TO YOUR HEAD. THAT is cerebrospinal fluid going into the deep brain. Where we activate opioids, cannabinoids. Squeeze more. Three. Two. One. Let it go. Easy does it. If we do another round, we go for 2 minutes 15.
minutes 15. Another round for 2 mi - minutes 45, 3 minutes. Then I stop. Cuz then most of you are dead. I saw things happening. My oldest participant is 101 year old. She loves it. She told her sister, 99 years. It's all real. And so simple. It's like you're looking for your keys all the time. Where is it? Where Oh [__] There he is. Not in my pocket. But real is real. In 2014 we changed science fundamentally. By doing this. HOW SIMPLE. AND TAKE THE COLD shower every day. Keeps the doctor away. Even the doctor is doing it. Yeah, cardiovascular related diseases, killer number one in our society. You don't hear of it, but how to tackle it naturally, but the cold shower does it. And very soon here in Britain, 4 and 1 / 2 million people now go into natural bodies of water during the winter. You know what happens? They do not become sick no more. Why? Because their adrenal axis resets their body and
their adrenal axis resets their body and the immune system, which is composed by 1, 600 types of cells, are very alert. So, bacteria and virus are not able to get in, because their nature is innately primordially activated. They feel bloody great. Okay. Done with breathing. YES. THANK YOU, LADY. Thank you so much. Yeah, I I Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, I I think honestly, um I know the audience. There are a lot of people in here and I know everyone's going to be keen to ask questions. So, I'm I'm going to open it up to if anybody in the audience has any questions, please raise your hand. Um and we'll go around. There is one hand there. Oh, two. Three. Okay. Yeah, do you want to get a mic? Well, first of all, it's amazing to meet you, Wim. You've been a big inspiration for me. Five years of cold showers now. Um I haven't got sick. Uh maybe one time a little bit. I paid $ 1, 500 to say that. Not pounds. So, you didn't see it, you know. No, that's stupid. And my question for you is um a couple years ago I posted a video on YouTube explaining why people
video on YouTube explaining why people should have cold showers and it blew up. And as well, mostly it was a kind of a positive reception, but it also received what I would describe as like an onslaught of hate from people saying that they like, "Oh, you can't take my warm showers away from me." And like, "I'll do what I want and it feels nice." So, I'm wondering, what would you say to those people who struggle to um take the first step in delaying gratification and suffering in the short term for long term benefit? I tell them I love the heat. I hate the cold. But, the therapeutical power of the cold is just too amazing not to take on. So, if you don't take it on, it's okay. Cuz this is not a religion. This is not a dogma. This is a catma, not a dogma. You know? You don't make fun out of it. It's simply turn back to the facts, to the reality. In our society, hundreds and millions of people in the west, they suffer from low quality of life because their blood flow inside is being pushed by a heart, which needs to pump too hard to heart, you know? H a r d, not h e a no, e a r t. Yeah? Too hard. And that creates cortisol. And
Too hard. And that creates cortisol. And cortisol long term inside the body because the endothelium endothelium is the millions of little muscles in the 125, 000 kilometers blood vessels in our body. That is capillaries, arteries and veins. They are not activated because we love the heat so much, the the warm and and the coziness and the our clothes, etc. Hey, have sex when you have clothes on. It's not possible. Fight, flight, food, sex, [__] have and freeze. THESE ARE PRIMORDIAL POWERS. WE KNOW it when we uh make the love and all that. I don't say [__] I say but make the love. BUT, LOVE YOUR LIFE. LOVE THE POWER OF YOUR BLOOD VESSEL. HAVE A HEART for your heart. That heart needs to pump so much that it creates cortisol. A heart which is pumping more than it should is a signal to the sick s e c k signal instead of s i g. Uh to the liver to uh there is danger. When the heart pumps too fast, faster than what it actually should,
faster than what it actually should, then it's a signal to the liver and then it uh uh activates cortisol. And long term cortisol activates the sympathetic nervous system, which is action. And that's what we suffer in our society a lot and high blood pressure comes there from, which is the cause of so many diseases. Um And that uh that makes also the the action modus of the body constantly on. Well, sometimes it needs to get off so you get into the parasympathetic modus, which is the regeneration, rehabilitation, repair and healing. We don't know how to do that anymore. That's why go to doctors and blah blah and the the whole thing. The whole dependency. Well, we because we don't have control over that autonomous the over that level of the autonomous nervous system. That is action and peace. Action and rest like any other mammal outside. They don't go to hospitals and doctors and all. They resort inside, become tranquil and then the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, which is the healing. And now we found, according to Professor Muzik, Wim Hof has found the secret of placebo.
It's no longer a just a suggestive power of healing like the doctor saying to you, "Uh I gave you a pill. It's a sugar pill, but you heal anyway." You set something in motion. I do that consciously. I showed that. Fingers, have a heart for your heart. By taking a cold shower, and that's what I would say to these people because they have a deep ingrained hate or discomfort discomfort kind of a concept of what is the cold to the body. Uh they don't know that it actually is able to activate the healing properties within to bring down, to activate the endothelium, the millions of little muscles inside around the vascular system, 125, 000 kilometers long, millions of little muscles. And when they work through the cold shower, then the heart rate suddenly goes down. That is to have a heart for your heart because all these little muscles help with the blood flow and that that gets done a lot better transport it to all cells in the body and thus you get more energy. So, cold shower makes your heart rate go down 10, 15, 20 beats a minute 24 hours a day. Imagine the stress. It's gone. It's natural. We are being in our nature
being in our nature where there is no stress. This is I I trained big fighters in the world and they say, "If I do this breathing and then I say,' I never felt so peaceful before a match.'"Because they have control in natural connection with their parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system, which is the depth of ours, which we lost in too much comfort. Too much extension tools. Too much industrialization things that make us uh weakening. It's weakening. And it sneaked in. And we forgot about it and we don't know how to address it. Takes a 12-year - old with faith that something is wrong. You remember the emperor who has no clothes. He thinks he's got amazing clothes and tailor-made and all. And there's a little girl of 5 years or something. Um let's not go into pedophilia. Yeah. No, but the story, you know, the fairy tale. [__] that, man. He's crazy [__] everywhere in the world with their sex perverted kinds of They have no control over the mind. We are HERE TO BE DIVINE. TO PASS ON THE LOVE TO OUR CHILDREN.
TO PASS ON THE LOVE TO OUR CHILDREN. HAPPINESS, STRENGTH, AND HEALTH, and guarantee, AND STOP WAR. A HAPPY MAN DOESN'T GO TO WAR. HE'S NOT INTO POSSESSION. HE IS BY NATURE'S GRACE, POWERFUL, STRONG, SELF-SUFFICIENT. And we forgot it's deep in. And we don't know where is the keys. Now we have the compelling evidence of the key components of the autonomous processes in the brain related to mood regulation, emotion, the ex-pure expression of your soul. That one is now known. That one is known. But the establishment is still into the paradigm, "Hey, we can make money out of people of what should the most valuable thing is actually for free, and that is our health." But we got a healthy industry upon our sickness and the in dependency. Cuz we are helpless. Let me tell you, a 12-year - old is very able to solve it all if it only holds on to its faith. Naturally. It's time to wake up. Time to wake up to
Time to wake up to a divinity that goes past religious shapes of any kind and bring back the love guaranteed by science, backed up, that health, happiness, and strength are the real values to be transmitted. And they should teach it in primary schools, not only history, mathematics, and language, and how to fit into a society and system. No. To be happy, strong, healthy. When you get the sack later on, you're still happy, strong, healthy. So, [__] you, too. You know? Who gives a [__] Away, gone is the depression. Now we found Sorry. It's okay. Now we found 6 weeks ago it wasn't Sydney. I call it Shitney now. Good Shitney. Why I I was there with a good friend of mine, he's a professor, neurosurgeon, top the world, a lot of professorates everywhere. He looked me in the eye, he said, "Wim, I'm a professor in many universities, I get honorary professorates and laureates and this and that. He is a pioneer in neuroscience and neurosurgery on children in the deepest in the brain scan in the brainstem. And so he dares what others He is not a coward. He's still that human, he's not
coward. He's still that human, he's not just" I'm a surgeon, I'm a professor, [__] a little bit here, [__] a little bit there, and then make money and then well boring. No, he's pioneering. He is He's going for it. And he pulls it. And he says to me, "Wim, I been a professor everywhere in the world or many universities, but you know more." He looked me in the eye and said that saying that. What is that? That's the 12-year - old faith coming to the surface. Coming to the boundaries of what we conceptually think and believe is only possible. Not more. Where is the true investigative spirit? It's not in a university. It's in the universality. It's in a child's innocence. It's in you. That innocence is there that is able to go past fear, amygdala, hippocampus. So, let's go back into neuroscience, brain scans. You know, you have the cortical awareness, cortical as your will is able to say control 16% of your brain voluntarily. And we are not able to go into the
And we are not able to go into the so-called autonomous brain and the subconsciousness. It's kind of abstract, isn't it? We don't know what that is. The subconsciousness, in your dreams, this and that and uh what do you tell your children? How to realize your dreams? And tell them fairy tales? No, I want to really bring it. So, he feels he's going to be rising up to the stars and back. And he becomes strong. That child, that innocence, and stays innocent. So, what did I do? I showed that the cortical functioning of the brain, 16%, outside there is a subcortical higher functioning of the brain of abstract parcels like empathy. trust, confidence, creativity, fantasy, purpose, painkiller. It's another one, guys. The painkillers, the painkiller industry, the side effects, hundreds and thousands of people die. The pharmaceutical industry just pays them off with a couple of billion, and it's a license to kill. It's like James Bond, but then big. Nothing nice. I call it James [__] But yeah, that's another thing. The thing is, it is time we bring
The thing is, it is time we bring happiness, strength, and health to our families. Yes? And it's here. So, what did I showed? I take a brain scan and I show to be the same as the baseline of 9 1 / 2 other brain scans done, fully investigated. And the graphics all there, and they they compare it. And then then that moment I go into the unknown. I go into the 12 year again, into that spirit. Say, "I think it is sick, the world, and it needs change. I don't know how, I'm just going to do it." So, that spirit was there. And I just started to do what you guys were doing here now, you know, together, this breathing, for 1 1 / 2 minutes, but 1 / 2 hour long. And then I was deciding I want to make a change. Not thinking about it at all, just there. Connecting neuro signaling, my deep brain. And it was not like That was not that. That was easy. I went into the brain scan 1 / 2 hour later, and I showed a brain functioning they have never ever seen before. Now
they have never ever seen before. Now they are going to do a big study because I was activating more than robustly, like 60, 70, 80% more of the brain voluntarily. The autonomous brain completely activated. So, when darkness happens, guys, darkness, fear, despair, death, emotional despair, agony, divorces, child sick, this, that, we have no control to go to the bottom of that darkness and lift it up. But now it is there. The autonomous processes in the brain related to mood regulation, those key components, I handed over to you. It takes a moment of awareness to make it work. What would be your choice? Think about that. It's there. It's human. It's not I'm not special. Life is special. I think it is special, and I feel become special because of that.
special because of that. Amazing, huh? Depression? Goodbye. Darkness? No. Here is the control of the nervous system, which is light, electricity, neuro signaling, neurotransmitters. We got it all. I'm a dropout. I'm an authority in neuroscience. No, I'm a daddy, a child that had his belief and sticked to it. And now I'm talking here. Quite amazing, huh? So, what are my challenges? The new ones? I did so many already. Is to show that we can beat disease. Easy. Just easy. You know, have a laugh while doing it. Change your life a little to get to the bottom of yourself. Not only that one. The real bottom, spiritual. Cuz you are a spirit. A soul. Without that soul, you stink and one day we all do. I mean, it's time to live up to that soul and realize it completely so we can pass on that confidence, deep confidence, to our
confidence, deep confidence, to our children. Wouldn't that be a nice way to investigate and do research? You guys university, you know. Great. Maybe good families coming. Powerful. I give a signal to you. Come on, man. Prove me wrong. Cuz I know I'm right. A 12-year - old is right. The innocence is right within you and it is time that that innocence becomes really strong everywhere in the world. So we can uh have happy lives, a great future, a paradise. Right. I want to set you one of your hardest challenges yet. I want to be able to get through a couple more questions. Do you think FOR THE NEXT FEW QUESTIONS you can give really short answers so we get through as many people I want TO GET THROUGH AS MANY people as possible cuz I I feel like a lot Yes, I will be short and quick. Yes. Uh hello. You have like set a lot of world records, you've done a lot of incredible things.
incredible things. In the world of physical achievement, there are some people that are more genetically gifted than others. That we could train the same way and that one person will attain a greater level than others. Do you consider yourself in your own feats very genetically gifted or do you think that anybody with enough practice could get to your level, too? Yes. So, in 2013 actually in the end of 2012, in December I went with a group of people who never done what I had done. I told her professors and doctors, "Hey, man, we can control uh the autonomous nervous system and the immune system to a much deeper level than ever before has been shown. Give me a group.""Okay." They gave me a group." HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED TO DO you think you need to make these people to get A LITTLE BIT CLOSE TO your uh results you have shown in the blood when they gave you this bacteria injected because you overcame that and 16, 000 people didn't?" Yes? And then I said, "Bah." Oh, I I They said, "1 year, 1 and 1 / 2 year?" And I said, "Bah, I got 2 hands. 10 days." It became 4 days. I went with these guys to Poland into the mountains. I trained them for 4 days and we took a lot of yellow water.
lot of yellow water. Because we did the science and the doctors were there to make notes and all and to every to to make notes and all and to every morning at 8: 00 they were there and they started to do the breathing. Then we went into the cold practice and at day four we went up the mountain and we were so self-confident, man. And the heat was on and the music was on. We had 4 days of great parties going on. But every time we had to be there, we trained hard. Day four, we went to the mountain and it was minus 10 outside and inside we had it open up the heat to 30 ° and all and uh we were confident. It was a temperature shock at that moment when the door opened cuz we had to go up the whole mountain for hours in our shorts and we started at a temperature of minus 10. Let me tell you, 25 minutes later on the mountain, we were like sweating. It's all documented, eh? So, it's all filmed. So the proof is there. Not the pudding. It was snow. So, we went up the other ridge. I saw it, yeah? YOU HAVE THE RIDGE between Czechia and
YOU HAVE THE RIDGE between Czechia and Poland. And there came these military people dressed up like ninjas because it was so [__] cold there with their rifles and all and they came over the ridge from the Czech border over in the Poland and they see a group coming in their shorts. You're never going to win that war, man. That was us. We made selfies stupified but nice. Went up to the top, minus 27. We did the Harlem Shake. But there I knew these guys are ready to take on the endotoxin E. coli bacteria injected and we will show the world and medical science that we are able to tap into the autonomic nervous system and the innate immune system like a joke. And they all did. And this was after 16, 134 people who could not do that. Suddenly 12 people, 100% score. There we changed science. There we showed simply that everybody is able what I'm able to do. Only I dared to do it. And then I shared. Cool. You give me the challenge. Uh yeah, sure. I mean, you know Oh, yeah, I try to be short but the only short is
I try to be short but the only short is this one. Okay. Um if we can go to have a mic over this side of the room. Okay. Now Now go really short. Yeah. I um I was wondering what's the hardest or most most painful thing you've done. Have you ever thought, "Why the hell am I doing this?" Living with my woman. No, Stupid jokes, eh? I love my woman very much and my children, too. Family life is the cornerstone of the universe. Tell you. And if you're able to bring that th - this is the most hardest. The disbelief I've BEEN SUFFERING SO MUCH while believing that happiness, strength, and health is actually natural naturally there. It's inborn. Only we don't l - live it. It's not there. It's not realized. And then in 2013 uh we showed the world in scientific trials published in the best papers of the world magazines that that the autonomic nervous system and the innate immune system are able to get into deeply much more than ever before was thought possible. And then did it change? Did the discovery was on the front page or something?
the front page or something? No, Took years and years. So I'm always suffering from bloody ignorance. But I keep on because I believe in the good. Like Anne Frank. Despite everything, I believe in the goodness of people. You know how she ended up, eh? And you know how Jesus ended up, eh? And so many good people ended up. I'm going to change the world before I die and give people the ability to choose. You want to be happy, strong, and healthy cuz I love you. That's what I do. And I have no fear. Therefore. Love you, TOO. THANK YOU. THE BEATLES, MAN. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. YEAH. We've got time for a couple more questions. So, if we can go I'm sorry for yelling but I like it anyway. Um that one there and then we'll go go on the green. Yes. Hi, Wim. Hi. Do you perceive yourself to be the founder of your practice or its messenger? Was it there before or have you discovered it? Got you. Uh no, it
you discovered it? Got you. Uh no, it was my mother. I'm one of the twins. Identical. But my brother is not able to do what I do. But I am able to do that. So, it's trainable. You need another exogenous trigger to make your phenotype go in in a way that you change of your identical brother, twin brother. But they never knew at the time of birth that there was a twin. There was one baby delivered. My mother was being shoved away back to the recovery room and that was it, but there was still one in. That was me. I wasn't aware of that at that moment. But finally, because my mother began to yell, "There is really still no you had some children already. You must know this is a contractions after the delivery and all the postnatal this and that and blah blah." And no, she yelled out and then finally they found out there was another one. Near mother, I'm I'm the placenta, by the way. No. That's a stupid joke. They pushed my mother to the operation room and she was going to have a cesarean. A cutting for her, there was cutting.
A cutting for her, there was cutting. In those times it was, you know, cesarean, what is that? It's like say uh condolences when somebody is dying. What the [__] is a condolence? I want love. I want care. I want to be able to process the real emotions. I want to understand. My mother was naive. She did not smoke, drink, but she believed she had a pious belief in God. In whatever that was for her, it was there. And there, just before entering into the operation room, those rubber things, she prayed, "Oh God, let this child live. I will make him a missionary." Tada. But back then, it was the cold of the whole, almost suffocated little nothing that came out of there. With that invocation, that's the power of a mother. And that belief stuck into me and made that awakened in the 12-year - old. That is the way I got to my path. And my brother didn't do it and I did it. He's now doing it and he's healing a lot of people. And anybody who takes on this will be able to get a solve to a lot of despair and unnecessary suffering. Aren't you?
Aren't you? Cuz we are born to be holy. Yeah, I think we've got time for just one more question. So, if we go to the to go in front here with Thanks, it's so interesting. Um can I ask so when you take novices um and take them to do these incredible feats like did you take a group up Kilimanjaro in a you know and did it without all of the acclimatization and everything and all of these other feats with cold and and um length of time, what makes the biggest difference? What you do with those novices before the feat in training or what you do differently actually during those those feats? Got you. Yes, I do it every time. They just come in and say, "Fuck you. Going to bring the love, man. Here I am. NO INHIBITION. POWER. THAT'S WHO WE ARE. AMEN, the science is done. I showed the immune system can be controlled much deeper, the endocrine system much deeper. The physiology of lymphatic traumatized tolerance capacity and how to release it. Amen, I'm a dropout of school. I'm a real scientific authority. Have a little faith within yourself and break open cuz I'm showing this everywhere I come.
cuz I'm showing this everywhere I come. Every time again into the unknown. Whatever is bothering you, you have the ability to overcome that. And then we go into practice. Last summer, I had this woman. She had a cancer, a tumor as big as a big avocado. Not a little avocado, you know, you got little avocados and big avocados. This was a big tumor. But she wants to come to my retreat. It was kind of a dream or something. Yeah? So, she came. And uh day one, 10 minutes into the icy water. Day two, 15 minutes. She never had gone into icy water. It was so shockingly, but she was able to do it. She opened up within herself without being really aware, just" Hey, it is possible. You can do this." And it actually feels powerful. And then she after these five days, five days it were, she went back and her tumor was 10 times smaller. And I think, "Hey, wow." And I see so many miraculous healings when people only tap in through their faith in a deeper self wherein we have the innate capacity
wherein we have the innate capacity given by God or the divinity of mother nature to heal yourself. Isn't that logical? That we are born and made after millions of years to be able to tackle what is not good for us to make it undone. ISN'T THAT THE LOGIC? OR IS THE logic we need to hold this [__] going on in the world and we don't know how to do when a what the [__] There we are. So, anybody who comes is it 19 years old? Is it a By the way, I got these two children, five and seven years, and they both have brain tumors. And the mother she came to me and she said the doctors they cannot take them into chemo because their immune system is too low. It will kill them. I said to uh I heard it. And five and seven years, that's innocence, man. Can we not take care of our children no more? That that rage came up and like controlled. I said, "I'll be there until they are completely healed. I go 100%." And she felt for the first time that there was a human with hope. She could feel it.
She could feel it. She broke into tears. And I said to cry, it was good. But now we go to work. Playfully, two kids, five and seven. Get somebody on the phone here. Now they are dead. No, that was a stupid joke. The thing is Yeah. No, WHAT THE [__] GUYS? ONCOLOGY, WE HAVE SHOWN THAT WITHIN A WEEK, PLAYFULLY going into the cold, children cancer WHO COULD NOT BE TREATED, HUH? And all the doctors did not know what to do with these children. Within the one week, they were measured with the in the oncology and the values of the immune cells, the white cell count is the indication of the strength of the immune system and it multiplied. Just by going into the cold, mother nature, into breathing, mother nature, it multiplied 10 times. And then they saw that these children could take on double dosage of chemo. The child, a five-year - old who was able five-year - old is able to go 1 and 1 / 2
five-year - old is able to go 1 and 1 / 2 minute in icy water. She's helping me now with other mothers and fathers who have children with cancer by showing herself, "I am going in." And it's and a little sweet little she is healed now. After 1 year, it's over. And the other one, the seven-year - old, it's another little story with this guy who could only see 5% in the eye because the pressure of the tumor on the visual cortex was so that he he was blind here and here 5%. He had glasses like telescope. But he felt that we were there. And he wanted to become suddenly feeling so confident, the warmth, the care of a father, of a person, of a human. He wanted to become Superman. He want I have this rock in the backyard. 3 m 40 down. And that 2 March last year when the water is still freezing [__] cold. The child wanted to go up. Took off his glasses. Found his way together with his mother up the rocks and was standing there. And there was this little guy there standing. And he went
He went down. And he drowned. No. The thing is He WENT HOME AND 5 HOURS later I got a telephone call. Oh, where are the glasses? He forgot his glasses. HE HAD SO MUCH INNER POWER. HE COULD see he could FEEL HE WAS THERE. HE'S GOING SO GOOD NOW. Just two cases. So many more. The thing is the blasphemy is that the young oncology there the the doctors there they say this is we have never ever seen this before. Within 1 week 10 multiplied 10 times the white cells the indication of the immune system this could compete with the chemo easy by which they are the only two children showing to be children. Powerful, energetic, they don't feel the chemo. Why not take it on then for our children? Where is the innocence? Where's where we take care of our children? Who's going to wake up to that? What has happened to us? Let's wake up to the ability the innate capacity to be happy, strong and healthy.
and healthy. That's love. AND THANKS GUYS AND PASS it on. It's there. And it's only a matter of time because we are going to win. Remember yourself your 12-year - old, your spirit, your innocence. That will win the world. It's going to be a great future. Well, Wim, it's been so lovely having you and I think we can all agree this has been an incredible event. So if we could all join together and give another round of applause in to our presenter. Yeah, you take your phone. We're going to walk out and then everyone else will follow. Oh, thank you.
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Wim Hof | Cambridge Union offers a useful lens on how modern recovery is changing: less performance theatre, more deliberate practice. The details vary, but the principle is steady. The body adapts when the signal is clear and the dose is respectful.
83 minute conversation 3 core levers: breath, temperature, attention 1 repeatable practice: return to equilibrium
Breathing is automatic, but it is also accessible. That makes it a rare bridge between conscious attention and the nervous system. A slower, fuller breath can shift the body away from alarm and toward control.
Cold water reveals the stress response without disguise. The first reaction is often sharp: a gasp, a tightened chest, a quick urge to escape. The practice begins when awareness stays present inside that reaction.
The most useful protocols are repeatable. Short, deliberate exposure builds trust. The body learns that intensity can be met, held, and released.
Mental clarity is not only a thought exercise. It is often the result of physiology changing state. Breath, temperature, and attention give the mind a steadier foundation.
The pause is part of the performance. A measured stressor only serves you when recovery is built into the design.
Keep the first dose modest enough that your breath remains controlled.
Pair intensity with recovery. Heat, cold, and stillness all have a role.
Track how you feel afterward, not only what you endured during the session.
