Cold Exposure at Home: Wim Hof on Breath and Focus | Vitruvian

Video·Aubrey Marcus·9 min read·January 2, 2019

Wim Hof frames breath, cold, and focused attention as a practical protocol for reclaiming energy, emotional steadiness, and a more direct relationship with the body.

Happiness As Practice

Vitality begins as something shared. Hof opens from that simple place: energy narrows when we guard it, and it expands when we let it move through us. The point is not performance theater. It is a more generous state of being, where the body feels open, the mind feels available, and the room around you changes because you are present inside it.

In his frame, happiness is not a prize that arrives after life becomes orderly. It is a capacity you train. That distinction matters because it returns agency to the person inside the experience. You do not wait for ideal conditions; you practice the conditions within yourself that make steadiness more accessible.

This is where the conversation moves from mood to mastery. To own the mind is to stop treating attention as a loose instrument. It becomes something deliberate, something you can place, hold, and refine. From that foundation, energy stops being random and becomes part of a protocol for resilience.

Hof describes happiness as a choice, but not in a shallow sense. Choice does not mean pretending pain is absent or forcing brightness over difficulty. It means recognizing that the brain and body have trainable levers, and that belief can open the first door to using them. A practice begins when you accept that your state can be influenced from within.

Belief, in this context, is not wishful thinking. It is the permission structure for self-regulation. If you believe the mind has no access to the body, the practice ends before it begins. If you believe access can be trained, breath and cold become precise ways to test that belief against sensation, pressure, and fear.

The invitation is direct. Build a relationship with the mind before the mind builds the day for you. Practice happiness as a discipline of attention, not a passive emotional weather pattern. This is not about chasing pleasure; it is about becoming less dependent on outer conditions for inner equilibrium.

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wim hof my brother yes it's good to see you again you again thanks for having me man yeah always man thanks for having me man yeah always man I love you too every time I see you like I love you too every time I see you like all right so your practice is about the all right so your practice is about the breath in the cold this thing that's breath in the cold this thing that's invigorating this thing that fills you invigorating this thing that fills you with energy fills you with this sense of with energy fills you with this sense of vitality man just hanging out with you vitality man just hanging out with you gives me that sense of vitality and gives me that sense of vitality and energy you express it that's the way we energy you express it that's the way we should be a building you know people should be a building you know people emanating energy instead of egotistic emanating energy instead of egotistic inside narrows consciousness and having inside narrows consciousness and having it all for yourself no you should it all for yourself no you should emanate and be open and that now is like emanate and be open and that now is like scientifically proven that it exists scientifically proven that it exists yeah an open mind in mind which is able yeah an open mind in mind which is able to be accessed at will anywhere in the to be accessed at will anywhere in the inside of the brain and then have this inside of the brain and then have this control over the energy which makes you control over the energy which makes you happy what else would you want then a happy what else would you want then a happiness right and a big thing that you happiness right and a big thing that you talk about is owning your mind we just

talk about is owning your mind we just were talking about that with the book were talking about that with the book but own your mind and take control of but own your mind and take control of your happiness like don't surrender the your happiness like don't surrender the idea that happiness is not your choice idea that happiness is not your choice like happiness can be a choice it like happiness can be a choice it requires steps but you know that's a big requires steps but you know that's a big fundamental thing you believe is that fundamental thing you believe is that happiness is a choice yeah say they talk happiness is a choice yeah say they talk about consciousness and elevating about consciousness and elevating consciousness leave that there is simply consciousness leave that there is simply the innate capacity within our brain we the innate capacity within our brain we are born with it to be able to control are born with it to be able to control any part of our brain at will that is any part of our brain at will that is the new paradigm we are showing this in the new paradigm we are showing this in studies in brain scans being able to tap studies in brain scans being able to tap into the deepest part of the brain with into the deepest part of the brain with the deepest comes the rest hmm I mean if the deepest comes the rest hmm I mean if you are able to go into the deepest you are able to go into the deepest where else okay you go it's anywhere where else okay you go it's anywhere it's like the core of the operating it's like the core of the operating system but how do they how do they do system but how do they how do they do that how have you started to show this that how have you started to show this and what is the science showing about and what is the science showing about our ability to tap into that core part our ability to tap into that core part of the brain so a thought of was in size

of the brain so a thought of was in size that the periaqueductal gray atmosphere that the periaqueductal gray atmosphere the most primitive part of our brain the most primitive part of our brain stem which is the crocodile that the stem which is the crocodile that the crocodile brain the most primitive crocodile brain the most primitive out autonomous that means outside of our out autonomous that means outside of our will the place where all the good will the place where all the good hormones good feel hormones and opioids hormones good feel hormones and opioids the cannabinoids and opioids are built the cannabinoids and opioids are built are being activated that part was seemed are being activated that part was seemed by scientists inaccessible and now it is by scientists inaccessible and now it is going to be absolutely accessible going to be absolutely accessible robustly and is that is that part of the robustly and is that is that part of the same thing that you know everybody knows same thing that you know everybody knows about the placebo effect right was when about the placebo effect right was when you get tricked usually when you get you get tricked usually when you get tricked into believing something tricked into believing something positive then those positive changes positive then those positive changes will happen in a clinical trial you get will happen in a clinical trial you get a fake drug and then you think it's a fake drug and then you think it's gonna make you well and then it makes gonna make you well and then it makes you well it must be belief that's you well it must be belief that's accessing that part of the brain and I

accessing that part of the brain and I think some of the work that dr. de think some of the work that dr. de spends is doing some of the work that spends is doing some of the work that you're talking about is not just letting you're talking about is not just letting it happen by accident but actually it happen by accident but actually intentionally going into that part of intentionally going into that part of the brain and starting to harness the the brain and starting to harness the power of that part of the brain I would power of that part of the brain I would even go a step beyond that that we are even go a step beyond that that we are actually not bill to have just a a actually not bill to have just a a subconscious for the rest of our lives subconscious for the rest of our lives we are built like a little baby first we are built like a little baby first who learn to walk and neurologically who learn to walk and neurologically connect within the brain and then connect within the brain and then learned speech and then learn about learned speech and then learn about time-space and then learn about time-space and then learn about timelessness and spirituality everything timelessness and spirituality everything and learn that the subconscious is just and learn that the subconscious is just a phase of our lives neurologically to a phase of our lives neurologically to get in to get ahold and with that the get in to get ahold and with that the autonomous brain the functioning of body autonomous brain the functioning of body and mind spirituality and our soul [ __ ] and mind spirituality and our soul [ __ ] that is the crazy thought like I mean

that is the crazy thought like I mean the idea that the subconscious is the idea that the subconscious is actually a temporary state that we can actually a temporary state that we can learn to transcend and then integrate learn to transcend and then integrate and unify the entirety of our being from and unify the entirety of our being from spirit to body through the brain spirit to body through the brain sac and unify all of that and be in sac and unify all of that and be in control I mean that's like science control I mean that's like science fiction movie you know like that's yes fiction movie you know like that's yes but now it's starting to look like oh but now it's starting to look like oh whoa like that might that might just be whoa like that might that might just be possibly are now at the threshold possibly are now at the threshold of the accessibility and effectivity are of the accessibility and effectivity are all proven by science to be able to tap all proven by science to be able to tap into any part of our autonomous a brain into any part of our autonomous a brain part which normally work outside of our part which normally work outside of our will but we are showing now to robustly will but we are showing now to robustly go into that and with that comes a go into that and with that comes a technique which doesn't need 20 years of technique which doesn't need 20 years of cave training like yogi 20 years later

cave training like yogi 20 years later you can do stuff you know you know it is you can do stuff you know you know it is accessible and effective scientifically accessible and effective scientifically proven that through your belief system proven that through your belief system why where do you believe in do you why where do you believe in do you believe in in the power owning the power believe in in the power owning the power of your own mind yes or no do you of your own mind yes or no do you believe in hopelessness or do you believe in hopelessness or do you believe in Hope past the placebo effect believe in Hope past the placebo effect this is the power of the mind and we are this is the power of the mind and we are equipped with this tool beautiful mind equipped with this tool beautiful mind and to own it and to make us not only and to own it and to make us not only happy but to understand the purpose of happy but to understand the purpose of life the soul yeah what are this so okay life the soul yeah what are this so okay so what are the site what's the so what are the site what's the scientific research and then I want to scientific research and then I want to go into the techniques that you can we go into the techniques that you can we can coach people on how to do that but can coach people on how to do that but what's the research that you've been what's the research that you've been able to show I know there was some time able to show I know there was some time ago you you learn to tap into the ago you you learn to tap into the autonomic nervous system science and autonomic nervous system science and that's well documented but what's what's that's well documented but what's what's the latest research that's getting you

the latest research that's getting you there is the outcome to show the gravity there is the outcome to show the gravity the outcome of this study made the the outcome of this study made the professor say this is a transformational professor say this is a transformational technique that will change mental technique that will change mental healthcare whereas seasoned healthcare whereas seasoned practitioners in sa mindfulness are not practitioners in sa mindfulness are not able to tap in is into the pay AG the able to tap in is into the pay AG the periaqueductal gray hemisphere the periaqueductal gray hemisphere the deepest of the brain they are not able deepest of the brain they are not able to do that but now they found that this to do that but now they found that this technique is able to go so deep deeper technique is able to go so deep deeper in the brain is not possible because in the brain is not possible because there is no deeper place yeah and we are there is no deeper place yeah and we are able at will able at will to tap into that and with that we are to tap into that and with that we are now able to tackle say I call it the now able to tackle say I call it the terrorists of humanity depression terrorists of humanity depression bipolar anxiety fear trauma PTSD because bipolar anxiety fear trauma PTSD because those are all mental disorders created those are all mental disorders created by hormonal imbalance and we are not

by hormonal imbalance and we are not able to cortisol inflammation cortisol a able to cortisol inflammation cortisol a neurotransmitter imbalance or these neurotransmitter imbalance or these serotonin dopamine out-of-control caused serotonin dopamine out-of-control caused by inflammation we are not our only able by inflammation we are not our only able now to control at will consciously how now to control at will consciously how to bring the inflammation down but also to bring the inflammation down but also to rebalance the serotonin dopamine to rebalance the serotonin dopamine within the hormonal existence and make within the hormonal existence and make the dopamine at work the dopamine at work that means you become happy at will or that means you become happy at will or in short get high on your own supply so in short get high on your own supply so what but what was the design of the what but what was the design of the study so what were that what was the study so what were that what was the outcomes they were measuring how did outcomes they were measuring how did they prove this you know insights are at they prove this you know insights are at least indicate this in the research what least indicate this in the research what will they annually studying hmm will they annually studying hmm it has been published in a neural image it has been published in a neural image a scientific paper it's called brain a scientific paper it's called brain over body for the first time they saw over body for the first time they saw the primacy of the brain within

the primacy of the brain within mechanisms of the body thought of mechanisms of the body thought of inaccessible at will by a human and now inaccessible at will by a human and now it is the other way around first they it is the other way around first they had 74 people being exposed to cold had 74 people being exposed to cold water on the skin and looking in a brain water on the skin and looking in a brain scanning so they were in a brain scan in scanning so they were in a brain scan in a suit full of tubes cold water coming a suit full of tubes cold water coming in and making the skin temperature going in and making the skin temperature going down and you with your mind because only down and you with your mind because only the only thing you can do there is not the only thing you can do there is not deep breathing it's no contraction of deep breathing it's no contraction of muscles because you cannot you have to muscles because you cannot you have to be motionless the only thing you can do be motionless the only thing you can do is exercise what your thinking power is exercise what your thinking power your consciousness your awareness that's your consciousness your awareness that's the only thing you can do otherwise you the only thing you can do otherwise you get a blurred vision on the monitor get a blurred vision on the monitor that doesn't work so they tell you don't that doesn't work so they tell you don't do anything the only thing you can do is

do anything the only thing you can do is thinking your consciousness so they had thinking your consciousness so they had 74 people being exposed to cold water 74 people being exposed to cold water coming in into the tubes and they were coming in into the tubes and they were not able to interfere with the skin not able to interfere with the skin temperature going down due to the cold temperature going down due to the cold water coming in and then when it was water coming in and then when it was warming up again because they want a warming up again because they want a warmth it up externally then the skin warmth it up externally then the skin temperature would go up again and that temperature would go up again and that with their mind we're not able to do with their mind we're not able to do anything then the number 75 anything then the number 75 I was so 74 went and they weren't able I was so 74 went and they weren't able to do it all skin temperature down this to do it all skin temperature down this is what you saw yeah a cold warm cold is what you saw yeah a cold warm cold warm cold warm cold wall so no warm cold warm cold wall so no modulation of the brain they weren't modulation of the brain they weren't able to tap in tap into that deepest able to tap in tap into that deepest part of the brain that could actually part of the brain that could actually it's all autonomous yeah yeah it's it's all autonomous yeah yeah it's autonomous okay and outside of the world autonomous okay and outside of the world so that's also the the paradigm of so that's also the the paradigm of science people are not able to get into

science people are not able to get into the autonomous part of the brain being the autonomous part of the brain being able to control a external stressor on able to control a external stressor on the body right by just thinking yeah the body right by just thinking yeah it's not possible that is the general it's not possible that is the general paradigm of science so by the way I'm paradigm of science so by the way I'm very happy to do this yeah it's because very happy to do this yeah it's because we bring out something some cool stuff we bring out something some cool stuff yeah literally cool stuff what yeah literally cool stuff what warm-hearted thank you for that of warm-hearted thank you for that of course yeah now when I did nothing with course yeah now when I did nothing with my mind I went down with them after my mind I went down with them after exposure to cold water like anybody else exposure to cold water like anybody else my main bang bang bang bang cold warm my main bang bang bang bang cold warm cold one cold won't go you can rap on cold one cold won't go you can rap on that but the day three they told me now that but the day three they told me now you do what iseman is doing cuz we won a you do what iseman is doing cuz we won a half year we have been preparing and we half year we have been preparing and we expect you to do something I didn't know expect you to do something I didn't know what to do but then I thought back hey

what to do but then I thought back hey what did you do on Mount Everest in your what did you do on Mount Everest in your shorts shorts what did you do under the ice on the what did you do under the ice on the North Pole what did you do in the desert North Pole what did you do in the desert without drink without drink what did you do hanging by one finger up what did you do hanging by one finger up in a 1-mile and you lose dexterity when in a 1-mile and you lose dexterity when it's cold and I did it with this finger disbelief yeah we have no control of our mind I tell you why because on day three mind I tell you why because on day three I remembered exactly all those things I remembered exactly all those things all those challenges going into the all those challenges going into the unknown and coming not only out alive unknown and coming not only out alive but with great teachings of Mother but with great teachings of Mother Nature and it brought me to this Nature and it brought me to this conviction and it and there I got the conviction and it and there I got the confidence I went to the universe confidence I went to the universe University into the brain scan they University into the brain scan they exposed me to cold water and air and exposed me to cold water and air and then warm cold warm cold warm for two

then warm cold warm cold warm for two hours and my skin temperature remained hours and my skin temperature remained one degree above it all so even more one degree above it all so even more than the normal skin temperature my mind than the normal skin temperature my mind was in control of my temperature was in control of my temperature regulation of the whole body and showing regulation of the whole body and showing while cold was coming in warm cold walk while cold was coming in warm cold walk I stayed over there all the time then I stayed over there all the time then they looked inside the brain what was they looked inside the brain what was happening and they saw where normally happening and they saw where normally the stress makes the activation of the the stress makes the activation of the prefrontal cortex ear and insula is is prefrontal cortex ear and insula is is very activated when deep meditation deep very activated when deep meditation deep a forea is going on mine a prefrontal a forea is going on mine a prefrontal cortex was completely cold so there was cortex was completely cold so there was no stress and the insula was very very no stress and the insula was very very highly activated ability and they saw me highly activated ability and they saw me and that was a new mechanism at work for and that was a new mechanism at work for the first time in science showed in the first time in science showed in brain schemes through the brain scans in

brain schemes through the brain scans in imaging brain imaging they saw the peri imaging brain imaging they saw the peri aqueduct of the deepest of the brain aqueduct of the deepest of the brain thought of inaccessible by humans very thought of inaccessible by humans very robustly activated all the time and the robustly activated all the time and the professor he had a great hard time to professor he had a great hard time to fill up Deb the basket with the pump fill up Deb the basket with the pump yeah to cool the water down with eyes yeah to cool the water down with eyes because I was warming up in the water because I was warming up in the water through the tubes just by the power of through the tubes just by the power of my mind and that's what everybody asks I my mind and that's what everybody asks I tell ya and that's different because tell ya and that's different because that's what we are that's it you've used that's what we are that's it you've used it before but you've used the breath and it before but you've used the breath and I think a lot of people think well okay I think a lot of people think well okay they understand the paradigm of the they understand the paradigm of the breath creates the inner fire creates breath creates the inner fire creates the warmth and you can all experience the warmth and you can all experience that and it's a good place to start but that and it's a good place to start but this new paradigm shift that's got you this new paradigm shift that's got you so fired I've got me fired up listening so fired I've got me fired up listening to you is that the breath is a tool to to you is that the breath is a tool to help teach you for sure help teach you for sure yes but the possibility is to learn that

yes but the possibility is to learn that without actually even needing the breath without actually even needing the breath as just using the mind it's like you do as just using the mind it's like you do a psychedelic and it gives you that a psychedelic and it gives you that sense of oneness it gives you that sense of oneness it gives you that connection to divinity exact events Ike connection to divinity exact events Ike exactly and can just access that on your exactly and can just access that on your own these techniques older psychedelics own these techniques older psychedelics they are like crutches mm-hm they are like crutches mm-hm the certain moment you don't need two the certain moment you don't need two crutches anymore you're walking you're crutches anymore you're walking you're free you are in control of your own mind free you are in control of your own mind you know your soul you have no fear you know your soul you have no fear anymore because you know your destiny anymore because you know your destiny the purpose of life to flower and to the purpose of life to flower and to have no narrowed consciousness to have a have no narrowed consciousness to have a fool expanded consciousness in the power fool expanded consciousness in the power of your will in your command and what do of your will in your command and what do we want with that just to be happy we want with that just to be happy freedom is happiness freedom is freedom is happiness freedom is happiness because we are naturally happy happiness because we are naturally happy we're all naturally filled with love and we're all naturally filled with love and surrounded by love and well yeah there's surrounded by love and well yeah there's hard places and hard times I understand hard places and hard times I understand but like the fundamental human being if but like the fundamental human being if left on a tack Tan Dun you know molested

left on a tack Tan Dun you know molested by the world and the challenges that by the world and the challenges that were fundamentally you know a loving were fundamentally you know a loving happy creature yes that's why we we happy creature yes that's why we we needed as humanity - it's like they in needed as humanity - it's like they in the hippie time in the flower power and the hippie time in the flower power and it began to smoke and ease and no no it began to smoke and ease and no no it's so beautiful no there's still exist it's so beautiful no there's still exist into quite a heavy paradigm of the past into quite a heavy paradigm of the past and it's still a war so still their and it's still a war so still their disease is still there both mental and disease is still there both mental and physical tensions and stress and all physical tensions and stress and all that I that I tell you we found a natural way to tap tell you we found a natural way to tap into the fullest of your brain in the into the fullest of your brain in the into the deepest and with that the the into the deepest and with that the the threshold to be to go into the full threshold to be to go into the full power of your own brain owning your own power of your own brain owning your own mind and with that understanding the mind and with that understanding the purpose of life itself past our thinking purpose of life itself past our thinking feeling the purpose of life in the

feeling the purpose of life in the deepest of the brain which is the soul deepest of the brain which is the soul that's why we are here and the soul has that's why we are here and the soul has just love love love love love love tell just love love love love love love tell somebody for those people who are somebody for those people who are listening who are just prisoners to listening who are just prisoners to their own mind prisoners to stress their own mind prisoners to stress prisoners to their own anxiety prisoners prisoners to their own anxiety prisoners to the depression that comes like this to the depression that comes like this is what you're talking about is like the is what you're talking about is like the end of the line where what is possible end of the line where what is possible but what are the steps in between I mean but what are the steps in between I mean in using you know it's it seems to me in using you know it's it seems to me that using those temporary crutches if that using those temporary crutches if you want to call them of breathing of you want to call them of breathing of the cold of psychedelics of whatever to the cold of psychedelics of whatever to help you start to learn like what's your help you start to learn like what's your recommendation for people who are just recommendation for people who are just starting on the path to learn to control starting on the path to learn to control their mind amazing good questions no their mind amazing good questions no good to answer okay okay there we are breathing makes you able to be in command of your biochemistry we have

command of your biochemistry we have proven this in science it's still going proven this in science it's still going to be published we got eight new studies to be published we got eight new studies car into publishing right now we are car into publishing right now we are going to change the paradigm going to change the paradigm anyways change your belief system the anyways change your belief system the data to begin with you are built to be data to begin with you are built to be able it to be in command of both your able it to be in command of both your mind and your body mind and your body we are not schooled in that so we always we are not schooled in that so we always invest it in something wrong we always invest it in something wrong we always went the wrong way and it takes such a went the wrong way and it takes such a long way and we are tired we are like long way and we are tired we are like compromised no this is the shortcut compromised no this is the shortcut inside the command the way nature manner inside the command the way nature manner to be and that is the to be and that is the power of your mind is there now it takes power of your mind is there now it takes a couple of steps to get there but first a couple of steps to get there but first understand that beyond any speculation understand that beyond any speculation we have shown that we are in command we have shown that we are in command that we are able to tap in to the

that we are able to tap in to the deepest and with that any other place of deepest and with that any other place of the brain do understand simple that is the brain do understand simple that is nature is not me it is the nature of our nature is not me it is the nature of our spirit of our soul that we are able to spirit of our soul that we are able to occur learn to have at will that's why occur learn to have at will that's why we are here and in this world we come we are here and in this world we come into this world where and we learn to into this world where and we learn to have a will and with that will to have a will and with that will to consciously bring this soul and the consciously bring this soul and the understanding to the two together nests understanding to the two together nests and there we feel the freedom through and there we feel the freedom through the full expansion in our neurological the full expansion in our neurological entity called the brain being able to entity called the brain being able to access in any place at will is access in any place at will is understanding what their soul is all understanding what their soul is all about first note that there is science about first note that there is science back in it yeah so it is not a back in it yeah so it is not a philosophy flower power and nice and philosophy flower power and nice and love everybody its neurology yeah and

love everybody its neurology yeah and just like what I talk about in my book just like what I talk about in my book there's a Japanese study that shows that there's a Japanese study that shows that six deep breaths just 600 is enough to six deep breaths just 600 is enough to change your blood pressure not to drop change your blood pressure not to drop your blood pressure it's enough to start your blood pressure it's enough to start to shift your neural chemistry everybody to shift your neural chemistry everybody says Oh take a deep breath says Oh take a deep breath well one may not do anything very much well one may not do anything very much but six has already been shown in but six has already been shown in clinical research to have an amazing and clinical research to have an amazing and then what you teaches that step even then what you teaches that step even beyond that yeah you know we just taking beyond that yeah you know we just taking control over so we're taking control of control over so we're taking control of this thing this thing that we're doing all the time anyways that we're doing all the time anyways our mind is working a lot more so our our mind is working a lot more so our breath is all happening all the time but breath is all happening all the time but consciously taking control of it I mean consciously taking control of it I mean when we were in the house in Venice we when we were in the house in Venice we breathing for it for 18 minutes at 12 breathing for it for 18 minutes at 12 minutes I was probably as high as I've minutes I was probably as high as I've ever been high every my life and I was ever been high every my life and I was seeing I was watching this movie as seeing I was watching this movie as watching movie Papillon which has the watching movie Papillon which has the guy who played King Arthur I forget his guy who played King Arthur I forget his name Charlie annum and he was in name Charlie annum and he was in solitary confinement and I was thinking solitary confinement and I was thinking man what would I do if I was in prison man what would I do if I was in prison and I was in solitary fine was like well

and I was in solitary fine was like well least I could breathe because I know least I could breathe because I know that in 12 minutes I got so high that that in 12 minutes I got so high that the whole world evaporated and I felt the whole world evaporated and I felt this flood of energy and and life force this flood of energy and and life force coming into my body so at least you can coming into my body so at least you can breathe nobody's gonna be able to take breathe nobody's gonna be able to take that away from you yes you know so that away from you yes you know so that's exactly that's one modicum of that's exactly that's one modicum of control that we all have available that control that we all have available that nobody's talking about I just came from nobody's talking about I just came from Miami two days ago and before that I was Miami two days ago and before that I was in Denver to write a book with sounds in Denver to write a book with sounds true but there was also a lecture of a true but there was also a lecture of a guy who was 18 years not being killed he guy who was 18 years not being killed he a DNA proved it he was not guilty of the a DNA proved it he was not guilty of the murder charged but he attinger nine murder charged but he attinger nine years of solitary confinement and he years of solitary confinement and he learned this entire receptive focus I'm learned this entire receptive focus I'm talking about because it's just cement talking about because it's just cement where he was in with a little window and where he was in with a little window and he learned to go with his mind within to

he learned to go with his mind within to change the biochemistry which normally change the biochemistry which normally is caused by the Samantha and the is caused by the Samantha and the solitude we are social animals saw nine solitude we are social animals saw nine years of solitary confinement alert to years of solitary confinement alert to control his mind and with that he was control his mind and with that he was able to feel free why because if you able to feel free why because if you learned with the entire receptive learned with the entire receptive focuses it's called is what I have been focuses it's called is what I have been shown now in science that everybody is shown now in science that everybody is able to do that but nobody is investing able to do that but nobody is investing there so you feel dependent on your there so you feel dependent on your exterior right actually we should be exterior right actually we should be able to have a complete control over all able to have a complete control over all the parts of your brain that gives you the parts of your brain that gives you the freedom then you are no longer the freedom then you are no longer confined you're less confined and the confined you're less confined and the guards outside who are frustrated and guards outside who are frustrated and trying to beat you up because you are in trying to beat you up because you are in solitary confinement because he got solitary confinement because he got beaten up also yeah so therefore things

beaten up also yeah so therefore things he never did but he had to endure so he he never did but he had to endure so he had to go and he had to learn that that had to go and he had to learn that that is the the first thing to know to to is the the first thing to know to to send yourself to freedom and to learn to send yourself to freedom and to learn to sense sense it is usually innate capacity you have it is usually innate capacity you have you have a as we I'm from the you have a as we I'm from the Netherlands and in there in the Netherlands and in there in the Netherlands they have a saying that it's Netherlands they have a saying that it's a stick behind the door a stick behind the door they stick behind the door is that you they stick behind the door is that you know you can always take the stick and know you can always take the stick and beat the crap of wherever it's coming in beat the crap of wherever it's coming in you don't need it first you but you know you don't need it first you but you know you got the stick but you don't need to you got the stick but you don't need to use it yeah but I tell you if you feel use it yeah but I tell you if you feel bad you have innate capacity to turn it bad you have innate capacity to turn it around just go interior and with the around just go interior and with the same believe this neurology you are able same believe this neurology you are able to change the hormonal system and make

to change the hormonal system and make yourself feel good because nature yourself feel good because nature equipped us with that yeah but you got a equipped us with that yeah but you got a train that you know like it's it's it's train that you know like it's it's it's I absolutely agree with you and I I absolutely agree with you and I absolutely understand but I think one of absolutely understand but I think one of the reasons why you are able to do it is the reasons why you are able to do it is probably all the training that because probably all the training that because there's a resistance when you when you there's a resistance when you when you start to breathe everybody starts to start to breathe everybody starts to breathe and then you get to a few breathe and then you get to a few rezneck yeah [ __ ] it that's hard work rezneck yeah [ __ ] it that's hard work you know what I mean it's like I'll do you know what I mean it's like I'll do it another time cuz that resistance it another time cuz that resistance comes up for summary and it's the same comes up for summary and it's the same when you're in the cold right you like when you're in the cold right you like turn the shower and Oz a cold for a turn the shower and Oz a cold for a minute you're like ah [ __ ] it I'll do it minute you're like ah [ __ ] it I'll do it another day right but yeah the power another day right but yeah the power comes from pushing past that dying and comes from pushing past that dying and with the mind you gotta push past your with the mind you gotta push past your own worry Andrew here and out so it's own worry Andrew here and out so it's like training yourself resistance like training yourself resistance training by the mile of the carpets training by the mile of the carpets color is Right beautiful red is it okay color is Right beautiful red is it okay great makes you isn't that like isn't great makes you isn't that like isn't orange one of your national colors

politics but everybody is a royal we all got a corona here just become the king got a corona here just become the king become the Queen that's who we are and become the Queen that's who we are and Dave Asprey of the bulletproof a yeah Dave Asprey of the bulletproof a yeah asked me asked me wim what is enlightenment I never asked wim what is enlightenment I never asked that but I that but I you are in the science at this and you you are in the science at this and you got it so deep role in the Sanskrit and got it so deep role in the Sanskrit and all these scriptures and traditions you all these scriptures and traditions you know and I said and put it in one know and I said and put it in one sentence all Bibles and quran's are sentence all Bibles and quran's are written on that [ __ ] and I gotta say it written on that [ __ ] and I gotta say it in one sentence okay hey you got it in one sentence okay hey you got it be happy strong and healthy and the rest be happy strong and healthy and the rest is [ __ ] that is yeah it's [ __ ] is [ __ ] that is yeah it's [ __ ] it's something we have acquired which is it's something we have acquired which is not ours and that's why it takes not ours and that's why it takes deconditioning of our mind to get into deconditioning of our mind to get into our short cut into the ability to

our short cut into the ability to control our and Happiness strength in control our and Happiness strength in health it's all there health it's all there okay if it is not there because of all okay if it is not there because of all the conditioning the neurological the conditioning the neurological conditioning and begin with 30 seconds conditioning and begin with 30 seconds cold shower after hard work to train cold shower after hard work to train your vascular system three times the your vascular system three times the world capillaries veins and arteries world capillaries veins and arteries inside millions of muscles little inside millions of muscles little muscles millions so well once they muscles millions so well once they become stimulated they make the heart become stimulated they make the heart rate go down with 2025 beats a minute rate go down with 2025 beats a minute that means stress out of our day out of that means stress out of our day out of your body cortisol out of there and the your body cortisol out of there and the functioning of your body begins becomes functioning of your body begins becomes alkaline that means their brain is able alkaline that means their brain is able to enter into the biochemistry with this to enter into the biochemistry with this subtle wavelengths and you were come in

subtle wavelengths and you were come in not only you command more you learn to not only you command more you learn to control your vascular system but also or control your vascular system but also or do you say you get a lot more energy do you say you get a lot more energy because when the transportation system because when the transportation system is better the blood flow gets better it is better the blood flow gets better it too reaches out all to all the cells but too reaches out all to all the cells but the nutrients minerals and oxygen get the nutrients minerals and oxygen get there it's great mitochondrial love it there it's great mitochondrial love it and more ATP is created because of and more ATP is created because of aerobic dissimulation whatever the names aerobic dissimulation whatever the names just 30 seconds gold shower don't think just 30 seconds gold shower don't think about it just do it and and that's all about it just do it and and that's all that all the things you mentioned that's that all the things you mentioned that's all the physio all the physio response yes but then once again you get response yes but then once again you get to train your mind to do the thing to train your mind to do the thing that's hard to do the thing that's not that's hard to do the thing that's not comfortable comfortable yeah and that's important too yes if you yeah and that's important too yes if you learn to go consciously and gradually learn to go consciously and gradually into the uncomfortable like iced water into the uncomfortable like iced water is really there's no doubt to always

is really there's no doubt to always [ __ ] you up but there it is [ __ ] you up but there it is it is merciless but it is righteous and it is merciless but it is righteous and there you are able to train your mind there you are able to train your mind because your mind is able to activate because your mind is able to activate the cannabinoid system and the opioids the cannabinoid system and the opioids and that is in the deepest part of the and that is in the deepest part of the brain so the cold is no longer a a brain so the cold is no longer a a stressor just no it is a teacher if you stressor just no it is a teacher if you if you are able to control your brain if you are able to control your brain and that's what you want or to control and that's what you want or to control your mind to go consciously before you your mind to go consciously before you go in into they can endocannabinoid go in into they can endocannabinoid system the PA G then you've got control system the PA G then you've got control over the mind for the rest of the year over the mind for the rest of the year day a rest of your life for any day a rest of your life for any stressful situation because you are in stressful situation because you are in control at will before you go into the control at will before you go into the cold so the cold is only a mirror to see cold so the cold is only a mirror to see if you are in control of the deepest of

if you are in control of the deepest of your brain so it's all a mind exercise your brain so it's all a mind exercise and that's why I say a cold shower a day and that's why I say a cold shower a day keeps the doctor away both mentally and keeps the doctor away both mentally and physically yeah now right so I'm gonna physically yeah now right so I'm gonna get with a technical question here get with a technical question here because I notice something that happens because I notice something that happens that's different physiologically that's different physiologically mentally when I get my head in the cold mentally when I get my head in the cold either either the shower can be like either either the shower can be like right on my eyes and particularly or if right on my eyes and particularly or if I submerge my head into the cold and I I submerge my head into the cold and I think they call it the mammalian dive think they call it the mammalian dive reflex right like what is happening reflex right like what is happening about the head because it's one thing to about the head because it's one thing to get your body in cryo and it's another get your body in cryo and it's another thing to get your body in the ice bath thing to get your body in the ice bath but I know you have to be careful of but I know you have to be careful of shallow water block there's a lot of shallow water block there's a lot of things you have to be mindful of and things you have to be mindful of and hopefully have a buddy there and do it hopefully have a buddy there and do it responsibly but what are the responsibly but what are the physiological adaptations that happen physiological adaptations that happen with this mammalian dive reflex with with this mammalian dive reflex with when you get your head in as when you get your head in as I trade the seals last year ah and it I trade the seals last year ah and it was great but we are no seal target is was great but we are no seal target is not even the seals are seals otherwise

not even the seals are seals otherwise oh you know that's beautiful and you oh you know that's beautiful and you know with your balloon circus go to the know with your balloon circus go to the circus no yeah we are now we are mammals circus no yeah we are now we are mammals and when we are in water we have learned and when we are in water we have learned say by moving how to stay alive but it say by moving how to stay alive but it is not a situation we of our choice is not a situation we of our choice normally in nature it is not is it just normally in nature it is not is it just to survive because if we and I go under to survive because if we and I go under the water what happens you get a your the water what happens you get a your heart rate slows down everything slows heart rate slows down everything slows down because it's not a situation where down because it's not a situation where you would like to go in with all the you would like to go in with all the energy because you have no oxygen so energy because you have no oxygen so you're conserving oxygen yeah slowing you're conserving oxygen yeah slowing everything on serving and you try to go everything on serving and you try to go to get out but now we have our to get out but now we have our consciousness and with our consciousness consciousness and with our consciousness we are able to get say in cold water

we are able to get say in cold water especially in cold water survival think especially in cold water survival think it wouldn't be good to stay a long time it wouldn't be good to stay a long time in cold water especially with at under in cold water especially with at under we lose complete control and I know that we lose complete control and I know that I'm being under the water and the I'm being under the water and the control I took by consciously deep control I took by consciously deep breathing before and then going into breathing before and then going into under the eyes and losing the way breath under the eyes and losing the way breath hold ensures and seeing nothing be a hold ensures and seeing nothing be a blur because we are no seals yeah is blur because we are no seals yeah is there because I control my breath so there because I control my breath so much I had it changed the biochemistry much I had it changed the biochemistry of my body I was fully alkaline and of my body I was fully alkaline and never had this sense of no you might never had this sense of no you might have drowned if you had that response have drowned if you had that response yes right yes because that would have

yes right yes because that would have used more air though to you I was going used more air though to you I was going into a sleep yeah now deaf people been into a sleep yeah now deaf people been found say an hour found say an hour under the water cold water ice water and under the water cold water ice water and a retrieved upon warmed up and they a retrieved upon warmed up and they survived warmed up and their because survived warmed up and their because every is everything stays intact mmm every is everything stays intact mmm like mammoths their stomach contact like mammoths their stomach contact still there and you smell a little bit still there and you smell a little bit chilly because of acid also you smell chilly because of acid also you smell the leaves of 30,000 years ago it's the leaves of 30,000 years ago it's amazing what the cold is able to do but amazing what the cold is able to do but we are no seals so what what I say with we are no seals so what what I say with this the control of our biochemistry this the control of our biochemistry goes along with the breath goes along with the breath yes that's what and with that we get in yes that's what and with that we get in any situation where we go we are able to any situation where we go we are able to get out because the mind get out because the mind duck sick sends intuition past

duck sick sends intuition past time-space is able to get out of time-space is able to get out of anything and I've been in so many anything and I've been in so many horrible situations where people think horrible situations where people think you're gonna die this and that that in you're gonna die this and that that in and out in and out because I want to and out in and out because I want to know about the soul and I follow this know about the soul and I follow this soul I follow this intrinsic feeling soul I follow this intrinsic feeling that I'm in command and Mother Nature is that I'm in command and Mother Nature is with me and with that I'm learned how to with me and with that I'm learned how to control the brain and now with the control the brain and now with the contemporary big problems being able to contemporary big problems being able to shoot people to the moon but not being shoot people to the moon but not being able to guarantee happiness strengthen able to guarantee happiness strengthen health health we got a stand up like man and find past we got a stand up like man and find past our fears their soul back on is there a our fears their soul back on is there a way that you talk about intuition way that you talk about intuition intuition is what got you through the intuition is what got you through the blizzard in the Death Zone it's what blizzard in the Death Zone it's what helped you find the hole when you're in helped you find the hole when you're in the ice and you overshot the hole and the ice and you overshot the hole and you talk about intuition in these kind

you talk about intuition in these kind of life-saving instances but intuition of life-saving instances but intuition is something that we can use to guide us is something that we can use to guide us so many places in ways in relationship so many places in ways in relationship and in everyday life and in everyday life is there an intentional practice that is there an intentional practice that you have for tapping into your intuition you have for tapping into your intuition is there like something that you really is there like something that you really intentionally think about to train your intentionally think about to train your intuition or to train you to actually intuition or to train you to actually release into your intuition release into your intuition there is anything that comes up out of there is anything that comes up out of your subconscious is always paired with your subconscious is always paired with intuition you have to ask yourself what intuition you have to ask yourself what do you want of life you are equipped do you want of life you are equipped with intuition intuition is never gone with intuition intuition is never gone only when you block it only when you go only when you block it only when you go against your own nature well the people against your own nature well the people in Finland there was a scientific study in Finland there was a scientific study in Finland they live remotely from each in Finland they live remotely from each other like in Alaska like in Canada up other like in Alaska like in Canada up there and they learn they learn there and they learn they learn naturally to feel if the neighbor is

naturally to feel if the neighbor is coming yes or no they already prepare coming yes or no they already prepare things without a telephone etc then the things without a telephone etc then the telephone came in then these these telephone came in then these these telepathic powers these activations were telepathic powers these activations were gone because they were relying on gone because they were relying on another crutch except the crutch of the another crutch except the crutch of the phone for communication rather than phone for communication rather than exactly ability to tap into the exactly ability to tap into the collective where that information was collective where that information was available and it's always there but we available and it's always there but we use so many external things it's like use so many external things it's like yeah if you don't use a muscle it's yeah if you don't use a muscle it's gonna deteriorate rafi yes so so is the gonna deteriorate rafi yes so so is the vascular system with this little muscles vascular system with this little muscles millions if you don't stimulate them millions if you don't stimulate them they don't optimize they don't help to they don't optimize they don't help to heart and the heart has to compensate heart and the heart has to compensate you know what happens with that because you know what happens with that because we don't do we do Fitness outside but we don't do we do Fitness outside but Fitness inside you vascular training Fitness inside you vascular training vascular fitness I call it we lack in vascular fitness I call it we lack in that and a greatest killer in the West

that and a greatest killer in the West is cardiovascular related diseases kills is cardiovascular related diseases kills more than any war and it's happening more than any war and it's happening right now right here millions of people right now right here millions of people this year gonna die in the US alone just this year gonna die in the US alone just because of their vascular condition a because of their vascular condition a cold shower a day keeps the doctor away cold shower a day keeps the doctor away that's it that is simple but nobody that's it that is simple but nobody wants to know well it's not only well wants to know well it's not only well it's not only the vascular disease but it's not only the vascular disease but it's the inflammation that you can start it's the inflammation that you can start to control like exact inflammation was to control like exact inflammation was the root called there's so many doctors the root called there's so many doctors yeah doctors say in yeah doctors say in Automation is the root cause of every Automation is the root cause of every single disease we are able to bring the single disease we are able to bring the inflammation down within 15 minutes of inflammation down within 15 minutes of deep breathing with that entering in a deep breathing with that entering in a pasty lymphatic not into the lymphatic pasty lymphatic not into the lymphatic system and clean the carbage out of system and clean the carbage out of acidic chemistry and thus and that acidic chemistry and thus and that actually if it stays there a long time actually if it stays there a long time thought off by science you cannot go

thought off by science you cannot go past the lymphatic nuts and now I say past the lymphatic nuts and now I say yeah we can and we have shown aerobic yeah we can and we have shown aerobic dissimulation is called and making from dissimulation is called and making from acidic state into alkaline ph wonderful acidic state into alkaline ph wonderful if that is not done a long time then the if that is not done a long time then the garbage gets back into the system garbage gets back into the system creating all the auto immune diseases creating all the auto immune diseases through deregulation it's all logic through deregulation it's all logic Nature equipped us to be breathing why Nature equipped us to be breathing why why it's not happening because we are why it's not happening because we are always at with clothes we D stimulated always at with clothes we D stimulated in our vascular system and that is in our vascular system and that is related to oxygen brought into the related to oxygen brought into the deepest of tissues no we learn to deepest of tissues no we learn to shallow breathing it's logical because shallow breathing it's logical because there is no external stimuli there is no there is no external stimuli there is no waves there's no cold enough difference waves there's no cold enough difference there's no shocking thing that the there's no shocking thing that the survival brain is not activated the survival brain is not activated the deepest part of the brain it's all not

deepest part of the brain it's all not working why because we are civilized to working why because we are civilized to death according to Ryan he made some death according to Ryan he made some great great beautiful so the thing is great great beautiful so the thing is now we have found ways to get into the now we have found ways to get into the deepest of the brain thought of deepest of the brain thought of inaccessible into the deepest of the DNA inaccessible into the deepest of the DNA thought of not possible into the deepest thought of not possible into the deepest of the lymphatic system thought of of the lymphatic system thought of impossible to access by umut and into impossible to access by umut and into the bone marrow and we are our own the bone marrow and we are our own doctor inside we have our healing powers doctor inside we have our healing powers and we have all the powers to get into and we have all the powers to get into expanding our consciousness and to have expanding our consciousness and to have a control not 20% at a control not 20% at we'll of our brain but hundred isn't and we'll of our brain but hundred isn't and with that comes intuition telepathy with that comes intuition telepathy clairvoyance anything yeah so much more clairvoyance anything yeah so much more as possible than we think is possible as possible than we think is possible you know when we actually tap into that

you know when we actually tap into that I have a tech another technical question I have a tech another technical question though I remember when you were out in though I remember when you were out in Austin you were talking about different Austin you were talking about different places different ways that you can do a places different ways that you can do a breath hold and the advantage of doing a breath hold and the advantage of doing a breath hold with a full breath versus breath hold with a full breath versus the advantage of doing a breath hold the advantage of doing a breath hold with an empty breath after a round of with an empty breath after a round of your breathing when synthetic and your breathing when synthetic and parasympathetic nervous system okay so parasympathetic nervous system okay so which ones which what do you do if you which ones which what do you do if you do if your ox energize your body your ph do if your ox energize your body your ph level becomes nice because the carbon level becomes nice because the carbon dioxide is blown off then if you take dioxide is blown off then if you take them fully in then all the systems are them fully in then all the systems are going into action pure 100% action going into action pure 100% action physical physical law with that physical physical law with that sympathetic response if you're holding sympathetic response if you're holding your breath full yes okay up to the your breath full yes okay up to the level of the autonomic nervous system level of the autonomic nervous system sympathetic boom and that actually is sympathetic boom and that actually is the depth where in our will is able to the depth where in our will is able to reconnect because it is created at that

reconnect because it is created at that moment you see the the body is fully moment you see the the body is fully alert at that moment and then because we alert at that moment and then because we never do that never do that only in circuses and we're in a car it's only in circuses and we're in a car it's us or a bull is coming to us or a tiger us or a bull is coming to us or a tiger it happens to me every day by the way it happens to me every day by the way it's my woman and she proud man yeah it's my woman and she proud man yeah that's the way that's the way you want that's the way that's the way you want it so all that is happening at that it so all that is happening at that moment and that means that suddenly all moment and that means that suddenly all those systems are being activated those systems are being activated consciously we do it consciously so our consciously we do it consciously so our will is in play and our will reconnect will is in play and our will reconnect with all these natural mechanisms with all these natural mechanisms completely activated it's amazing completely activated it's amazing sympathetic that is the action our sympathetic that is the action our represent action 100% action is also represent action 100% action is also 100% peace it's like a turning of a

100% peace it's like a turning of a wheel wheel if you you don't see the spokes anymore if you you don't see the spokes anymore hmm hmm if you turn on your body fully you feel if you turn on your body fully you feel actually great yeah cuz I cuz I did uh I actually great yeah cuz I cuz I did uh I did have full breath when I that breath did have full breath when I that breath hold when I got really high in in Venice hold when I got really high in in Venice I did a breath hold with the full lungs I did a breath hold with the full lungs and and it just just ramped everything and and it just just ramped everything up and just escalate everything to the up and just escalate everything to the point where I got the full flush and at point where I got the full flush and at the full flush was the deepest piece you the full flush was the deepest piece you know and it was exactly what that's know and it was exactly what that's physics the Einstein would say yes physics the Einstein would say yes Einstein slash time but I've got the Einstein slash time but I've got the whole tempo okay dad if you do it after whole tempo okay dad if you do it after the exhalation when the body has become the exhalation when the body has become very alkaline you are able to stay for very alkaline you are able to stay for two three minutes and that anybody can two three minutes and that anybody can do that that is an innate capacity of us do that that is an innate capacity of us to activate to the deepest of the rest to activate to the deepest of the rest know this of our parasympathetic nervous

know this of our parasympathetic nervous system but once again in a connection system but once again in a connection with because we are doing this with because we are doing this consciously with our will does it occur consciously with our will does it occur reconnect with those parts of the brain reconnect with those parts of the brain the autonomous part of the brain are the autonomous part of the brain are suddenly connected with our suddenly connected with our consciousness being activated and the consciousness being activated and the way we do the exercising and with that way we do the exercising and with that comes that we become in control over the comes that we become in control over the command center 100% they saw in Germany command center 100% they saw in Germany studying this they saw the brain scans studying this they saw the brain scans there through the breathing 100% of the there through the breathing 100% of the brain is activated and it's only the brain is activated and it's only the start the threshold of the owning the start the threshold of the owning the power of our own mind as you say power of our own mind as you say own your own life own your life and this own your own life own your life and this is what why we are together and to is what why we are together and to demystify it because life is mystical as

demystify it because life is mystical as it is but even more mystical if we own it is but even more mystical if we own our own mind and with that become happy our own mind and with that become happy and and strong and healthy and bring it and and strong and healthy and bring it on for everybody and making it on for everybody and making it accessible past any inhibition accessible past any inhibition for you I think one thing that I think for you I think one thing that I think prevents people is I think if you prevents people is I think if you realize how much control you have and realize how much control you have and how much autonomy and how much how much autonomy and how much sovereignty and how much power and Nate sovereignty and how much power and Nate Lee we have inside of us then you have Lee we have inside of us then you have to look back at your past and forgive to look back at your past and forgive yourself for all the times that you yourself for all the times that you indulged your weakness and indulged your indulged your weakness and indulged your unhappiness and indulged your stress and unhappiness and indulged your stress and did all these things and that's a funny did all these things and that's a funny part about humans it's almost like you part about humans it's almost like you learn a new piece of information and you learn a new piece of information and you think oh I should have already known think oh I should have already known that I should have been doing this that I should have been doing this before and so you won't even look at it before and so you won't even look at it because you're ashamed of yourself even because you're ashamed of yourself even though you shouldn't be ashamed of though you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself and so I think everybody yourself and so I think everybody listening like let your past be your listening like let your past be your pasts like don't worry about defending

pasts like don't worry about defending that or supporting that or or that or supporting that or or reinforcing your personal history all of reinforcing your personal history all of these things that made out here and these things that made out here and we're how about like right now this we're how about like right now this breath here you can say okay I've breath here you can say okay I've learned new things I have new learned new things I have new capabilities that I can start to capabilities that I can start to practice yes start to master start to practice yes start to master start to play with start to explore and I don't play with start to explore and I don't have to worry about a justification of have to worry about a justification of everything that came before like I can everything that came before like I can experientially step into this new life experientially step into this new life in this new paradigm where maybe I can in this new paradigm where maybe I can be happy healthy strong in all the man's be happy healthy strong in all the man's right on it the shame and the blame and right on it the shame and the blame and the past it's all neurological it's the the past it's all neurological it's the thinking brain through frustration this thinking brain through frustration this and that and you couldn't you hide and that and you couldn't you hide yourself in the controlled areas and you yourself in the controlled areas and you narrow your consciousness down let me narrow your consciousness down let me tell you what happens is that 25% of

tell you what happens is that 25% of your blood flow is more in those regions your blood flow is more in those regions and a reinforcing there but the rare at and a reinforcing there but the rare at 25% less blood flow in the rest of your 25% less blood flow in the rest of your brain which is then surviving and in the brain which is then surviving and in the 25% less blood flow in the rest of the 25% less blood flow in the rest of the brain is there is where the child is brain is there is where the child is where this Fontana T where the joyful where this Fontana T where the joyful and this and the survival and the and this and the survival and the purpose are it's all inside of our brain purpose are it's all inside of our brain now we can learn to let go to have a now we can learn to let go to have a control of the blood flow going in control of the blood flow going in deeper parts of our brain and this does deeper parts of our brain and this does it and don't inhibit just go with the it and don't inhibit just go with the flow and it goes everywhere and thus you flow and it goes everywhere and thus you become the master over your own mind the become the master over your own mind the power of the mind is ours happiness to power of the mind is ours happiness to everybody what do you think that it everybody what do you think that it seems like we've almost forgotten also

seems like we've almost forgotten also the humaneness of the body that like the humaneness of the body that like that we are breathers that were sexual that we are breathers that were sexual beings that were physical beings that beings that were physical beings that were meant to move and were meant to were meant to move and were meant to play were meant to have sex and we're play were meant to have sex and we're meant to like be a physical expression meant to like be a physical expression for exemple yes sex is so so beautiful for exemple yes sex is so so beautiful because did you ever see a child a because did you ever see a child a little baby how beautiful that is little baby how beautiful that is what it opens up when I had this little what it opens up when I had this little baby mat I walked through a hallway and baby mat I walked through a hallway and I knew so old a birth and then suddenly I knew so old a birth and then suddenly it engulfed me I want to project this it engulfed me I want to project this but this love this caring and it's but this love this caring and it's little baby the innocence that innocence little baby the innocence that innocence is still within us that's who we are is still within us that's who we are but we forgot and it is so beautiful but we forgot and it is so beautiful it's feeling that innocence is is so it's feeling that innocence is is so vulnerable but now because of them I vulnerable but now because of them I will control over our power of the mind

will control over our power of the mind we know how to engulf it with all the we know how to engulf it with all the love our beautiful right well let's do love our beautiful right well let's do it let's all do it let's keep doing it it let's all do it let's keep doing it and I think one of the things that is so and I think one of the things that is so [ __ ] beautiful about what you're [ __ ] beautiful about what you're doing what's the invitation is for doing what's the invitation is for everybody else is you can teach people everybody else is you can teach people that's great but and that's good and you that's great but and that's good and you should but even more powerful the reason should but even more powerful the reason why you just had a thousand people show why you just had a thousand people show up and go to your seminar is not because up and go to your seminar is not because of exactly the words that you're using of exactly the words that you're using to teach it's because you're embodying to teach it's because you're embodying it it's because when you came to that it it's because when you came to that house in Austin and I was playing music house in Austin and I was playing music at 9:30 in the morning on a cool at 9:30 in the morning on a cool overcast day and you dropped into the overcast day and you dropped into the splits and started splits and started dancing and you're living what you're dancing and you're living what you're talking about you're expressing that joy talking about you're expressing that joy and vitality and life force and yes and vitality and life force and yes you're doing it in the clinical lab and you're doing it in the clinical lab and proving what you're saying but you're proving what you're saying but you're expressing it in every single person who expressing it in every single person who can be that and can express that and can can be that and can express that and can be happy and tap into their soul and use

be happy and tap into their soul and use intuition intuition it gives permission for every other it gives permission for every other person to do the same thing it lets them person to do the same thing it lets them know that it's [ __ ] possible and that know that it's [ __ ] possible and that everybody is able to do this you're here everybody is able to do this you're here Marcus you're me we are just testifying Marcus you're me we are just testifying of something that is already there that of something that is already there that you open up to your power to be the you open up to your power to be the child to be in control of your feeling child to be in control of your feeling without inhibition you want to be happy without inhibition you want to be happy it's there it's powerful together with it's there it's powerful together with the power of the brain we are showing the power of the brain we are showing that they everybody is able to access that they everybody is able to access now scientists backing up is sorry but now scientists backing up is sorry but there is no room for speculation anymore there is no room for speculation anymore it's there it's the way be happy be a it's there it's the way be happy be a child while go into it fly do whatever child while go into it fly do whatever you want it's inside in the end we want you want it's inside in the end we want to be happy to be happy and with the rest if you are and with the rest if you are unconditional in love and and happy what unconditional in love and and happy what do you know what else do you need bring

do you know what else do you need bring other people with you everybody follow other people with you everybody follow follow wim HOF check him out in seminars follow wim HOF check him out in seminars go look at his course online check out go look at his course online check out what I wrote about him in my book on the what I wrote about him in my book on the day on your life check him out day on your life check him out everywhere you're the man thank you everywhere you're the man thank you brother at the end brother at the end thank you everybody much stuff

Transcript auto-generated by YouTube. Verbatim — duplicates intentionally preserved.

The Brain Beyond Habit

The larger claim is that the brain reaches deeper than habit. Hof points to regions often treated as automatic and argues that intention can learn to enter those rooms. The language is bold, but the practical question stays grounded: what changes when attention becomes strong enough to influence systems we usually experience as outside our command.

He centers the periaqueductal gray, a deep brain region he describes as connected with pain, stress, and the body’s feel-good chemistry. The value of that claim is not the name itself. The value is the possibility that a trained mind can change the way discomfort is processed, helping you meet intensity with more calm, focus, and emotional range.

The conversation uses the placebo effect as a familiar doorway. When belief contributes to a measurable shift in the body, it reveals something powerful about the relationship between expectation and physiology. Hof is interested in moving that effect from accident to intention. The mind does not need to be tricked into participation; it can be trained to participate.

Do you believe in the power of your own mind, yes or no

This does not make the subconscious an enemy. It makes it a phase of learning, a set of patterns that can become more integrated through attention. We learn to walk, speak, orient in time, and relate to the body through repeated neurological connection. Hof extends that idea inward: what once operated below awareness can become part of conscious practice.

That is an empowering proposition when held with discipline. The point is not to claim total control over every condition or erase the complexity of mental health. The point is to take seriously the capacities we leave undeveloped. Breath, focus, and exposure give attention a place to train, and training changes the quality of presence.

Hof also speaks about dopamine, serotonin, cortisol, and inflammation as part of the body’s internal balance. These are not abstractions in daily life. When those systems move in healthier patterns, people care about what they can feel: clearer mood, steadier energy, less reactivity, and a stronger capacity to return to center. The science matters because the lived outcome matters.

The deeper message is restrained and useful. Your mind is not only a narrator of experience. It can become an instrument of regulation, trained through simple practices and tested under pressure. That shift changes the relationship between thought and body from passive observation to deliberate participation.

Cold, Scans, And Control

The study Hof describes gives the claim a sharper edge. Participants lay in a brain scanner wearing a suit threaded with tubes. Cold water moved across the skin, then warmth returned, creating repeated changes in temperature. Because movement would blur the scan, they could not rely on muscular effort or dramatic breathing. They had only thought, awareness, and stillness.

Seventy-four participants went through that cold and warm exposure without controlling the drop in skin temperature. Their skin cooled when cold water entered the suit and warmed when external heat returned. In Hof’s telling, this reflected the prevailing view: temperature regulation under that kind of stress belonged to automatic systems, outside ordinary will.

Then he entered as participant 75. On the first exposure, he reports that his body responded like the others when he did nothing with his mind. On the third day, he remembered extreme cold, altitude, desert, and endurance experiences that had trained his conviction. He brought those memories into the scan as a deliberate command.

During repeated cold and warm exposure, he says his skin temperature remained about one degree above normal rather than falling with the cold. He describes maintaining that state for two hours while the water shifted around him. Whether one approaches the story with fascination or caution, its central lesson is clear: training had changed his relationship to stress.

My skin temperature remained one degree above it all.

The brain imaging, as Hof presents it, showed a different pattern from ordinary strain. He describes low stress activation in the prefrontal cortex, high activation in the insula, and robust activation of the periaqueductal gray. In plain terms, he frames this as the brain coordinating sensation, pressure, and feel-good chemistry in a way that supported calm control under cold stress.

This is where the role of breath becomes more precise. Breath is not the whole destination. It is a training tool that gathers attention, changes state, and teaches the mind how command feels inside the body. Cold exposure adds resistance, giving attention something clear and uncompromising to meet.

The protocol becomes less about tolerating discomfort and more about learning under pressure. Cold gives immediate feedback. Breath gives an accessible handle. Attention learns to stay. Over time, the supports matter because they reveal a deeper capacity: the mind can remain organized when the body receives a strong signal.

A Protocol For Resilience

Breathing is the most immediate place to begin because it is always available. You carry it into traffic, grief, anticipation, fatigue, and silence. When you take conscious control of breath, you create a deliberate pause between stimulus and response. That pause is small, but it changes the direction of the day.

Hof describes breath as a way to influence biochemistry, and the transcript points to shifts in blood pressure and neural chemistry through deep breathing. The felt outcome is simple: the system can move toward clarity, energy, and steadier mood. You start with what the body is already doing, then make it intentional.

Cold exposure adds a second layer. It introduces resistance that the mind cannot negotiate away. The first instinct is often to leave, tense, or postpone the work. Staying with breath inside that sensation trains attention like load trains muscle. You build resilience by meeting intensity without surrendering precision.

This is a useful way to understand the practice without inflating it. Breathwork and cold exposure are not replacements for care, diagnosis, or support when mental health is complex. They are practices that can help people explore state change, stress tolerance, and trust in the body. Curiosity keeps the work honest; consistency makes it real.

The protocol does not need to begin dramatically. Six deliberate breaths can become a clean threshold. A brief cold finish in the shower can become a daily test of attention. A quiet moment after exposure can teach the nervous system what recovery feels like from the inside. Small rituals compound when they are precise.

What matters is the relationship you build. Breath gives you access. Cold gives you feedback. Focus gives you command. Together, they create a sanctuary inside the body, not as escape, but as return. You learn that steadiness is not something you find after life settles; it is something you practice while life is moving.

Hof’s most useful contribution is the insistence that we are less helpless than we have been taught to feel. The body has signals, pressures, and limits, and those limits deserve respect. Within that respect, there is room for training. You can prime the mind, regulate the breath, meet the cold, and recover your sense of agency one ritual at a time.

Wim's Wise Words

A second take, from someone who's lived it.

If you take one thing from this, take the scale down. The cold does not need drama to teach you something. In fact, the best work begins when you can stay precise enough to listen.

I would start with breath before temperature. Sit down. Keep it simple. Six deliberate breaths, slow enough that you can feel the body soften without forcing anything. Then choose a short cold finish in the shower, thirty seconds if that is honest for you. The point is not to prove courage. The point is to keep your attention clean while the body receives a strong signal.

Where I'd Start

Do the breathwork on dry land, seated or lying down. Never in water. Never while driving. This matters. Strong breathing can change your state quickly, and respect keeps the ritual useful.

Then meet the cold with one instruction: relax what you can. The jaw. The hands. The first sharp inhale. You are not trying to become numb. You are learning how sensation rises, peaks, and passes when you do not panic around it. That is the real training.

If you want a broader foundation for the method, read Cold, Breath, and Resilience. If you want the more practical, everyday doorway, Cold Showers, Breathwork, and the Practice of Self-Mastery sits close to where most of us actually begin.

What To Watch

Do not use cold to punish yourself. Do not use it to override exhaustion. None of this replaces sleep, food, sunlight, or care from someone qualified when your health needs more support. Cold is a teacher, not a substitute for the foundations.

The sign you are working well is not how long you last. It is how you come out. If you leave the shower sharp, steady, and quietly awake, the dose was useful. If you come out frantic, depleted, or proud in a brittle way, reduce it. Mastery is precise, not severe.

I like a little warmth after cold, but I do not rush to erase the lesson. Stand still for a moment. Let the body find equilibrium. Feel circulation return. That pause is where the ritual becomes more than temperature. You learn that a strong signal can arrive, and you can remain intact inside it.

Start small enough to repeat tomorrow. That is where resilience becomes real.