“Anxiety comes from inflammation caused by the stresses of our society.” – Wim Hof
Stress compounds when your emotions and attention are drawn in different directions by the media you consume, your loved ones, and your professional commitments. Persistent stress is the number one culprit or a heavily contributing factor in many of the worst brain diseases, including but not limited to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cognitive issues, lower IQ, deteriorating memory, and inflammation. The inflammation creates an entire subset of problems – directly impacting the heart and your immune function. In addition to the pandemic itself, the response and media covering it have created constant, free-flowing anxiety with everyone on edge – scared of the next outbreak or economic terrorism by the government destroying their business with a selection of ‘zero covid strategies,’ such as authoritarian vaccine mandates disguised as safe and scientifically sound public health measures.
“What “The Iceman” Wim Hof is capable of was long viewed as scientifically impossible. It wasn’t until the first Radboud University study in 2011 that things really kicked off.
The study showed that by using his method, Wim was able to voluntarily influence his autonomic nervous system – something which until then was thought impossible. This ground-breaking finding, published in PNAS and Nature, established credibility, quite literally rewrote biology textbooks and piqued scientists’ curiosity.”
In addition to shifting the paradigm of what scientists thought was possible with immune system control, Wim Hof has garnered even more attention by breaking 26 Guinness world records. The wide range of seemingly unrelated feats includes records ranging from the longest distance swam under ice (66 meters), longest distance run in the desert without water, and hanging on with one finger at the greatest height in history – a 2000 meter cliff. At first glance, many people assume he must be an anomaly and extremely gifted to accomplish the things he has. I agree that he is, but not in the obvious, surface-level manner – traumatic circumstances in his life forced him to achieve a level of superhuman focus that many do not appreciate.
His gifts aren’t physical but mental. While learning how to cope with the tragic loss of his wife, he grew to love the feeling that complete submersion in ice-cold water gave him when combined with a controlled breathing technique he would later realize was called Tummo. Though he organically discovered it while overcoming the overwhelming loss, he went on to learn about the use of the same breathing technique in Tibetan monks’ Inner Fire Meditation practices. Wim Hof did not attain those records because he has the world’s strongest finger, the world’s biggest lungs, or the world’s most durable legs, but because of his complete dedication to remaining focused on his inner chi, which creates an unmatched self-confidence that few others possess.
This focus on his breathing technique and mastering his inner energy allows him to accomplish what are seemingly superhuman feats by preparing the mind and body to operate under extreme pressure. Rapidly filling the lungs with oxygen through deep, full breaths, then creating a sense of desperation by holding your breath on an exhale helps your body and mind adjust to stress by mimicking stressful situations. The breathing technique results in increased adrenaline and alkalized blood with a higher pH value and oxygen content, leading to a better functioning body and mind operating under pressure and adverse conditions. It accomplishes this through a phenomenon called ‘hypoxia’, which his website explains is a form of stress at the cellular level.
“This stress will signal the body to react and strengthen. The body’s sympathetic responses is activated and the pathways necessary to deliver that oxygen to cells are strengthened. These pathways could include a number of different systems, such as increasing red blood cells, increasing lung capacity, improved circulation and improved metabolic efficiency over the long term. This short-term period of hypoxia is a positive stressor. It signals the body to react and strengthen and to better deal with stress in the long term.”
The increased attention from people trying to gain control over their minds and bodies leads more and more of them to Wim Hof, culminating in a new BBC series documenting his story. Click here to read more from his interview with The Guardian about his upcoming series.
