Ice Man

Wim Hof. I'm a fan.

To commemorate our first and probably last nor’easter of December I’m sharing an oldie but goodie.  For those of you not in the know yet, I present to you the Ice Man.

This newsletter was first published Nov 2016.  Updated Dec 15, 2020. 

I've been practicing various forms of meditation on and off for nearly 20 years. On and off because I'll be the first to admit I'm not a Buddhist nun (or any other kind) no matter how much I tried to look like one once upon a time. Considering the benefits I cannot help but keep coming back to a practice again and again. Science has shown meditation can provide calmness of mind, improve overall health and clarity of thought, to name just a few. 

I find meditation to be a way to carve out time and space for myself whenever and wherever I am. Then there's Wim Hof also known as the Ice Man. His mission, his dream is for everyone in the world to be healthy and free of illness. This man holds more than 20 Guinness Book World Records for spending time immersed in ice baths or freezing water, running marathons in shorts without food or drink through snow-covered terrain and a desert.   

Hof asked scientists to research his biological functions and to test what he was capable of.  For research purposes Hof was injected with a neurotoxin and the worst symptom he experienced was a headache.  It has been shown he can control his autonomic nervous system (ANS). Before Hof, science has mostly believed the ANS was responsible for involuntary and reflexive functions of parts of your body such as the heart, digestion, and glands. Hof is proof that we as cognizant beings can do so much more. He doesn't believe he's special. He believes anyone and everyone can do what he does. I believe him. 

I attended Hof's workshop in NYC recently. His method, in my view, seems to be meditation on steroids. This is active, concentrated breathing. This is not intended to clear the mind or control thoughts, which seem to be why most people steer clear of other forms of meditation. A clear mind and clarity of thought are natural byproducts. Hof is a freewheeling kind of guy but to make his method accessible he's outlined how to practice what he does. There are rounds of deep breathing, breath-holding, directional focus and physical exercise. His method seems to create an internal ability to regulate body temperature and richly oxygenate the blood which can make one feel a natural "high". The best part is: breathing is free. You're already doing it all the time thanks to your ANS. How about doing it mindfully? Open a world of possibilities when you take time for yourself and really... as Wim Hof says "Breathe. Breathe, Motherfucker".

To learn more, please check out his website.