davidwolfeI had the distinct honor of hosting, speaking onstage with, and getting some interview time with Wim Hof in October 2016. Wim Hof “The Iceman” holds a startling 26 world records for his mental and physical feats in extreme climates — mostly in very cold climates. Hof was born in the nation of Holland, a relatively cold, wet, North Atlantic climate, and he is actually from the exotic, historic city of Amsterdam.
Image: David Avocado Wolfe, Emily Rakhit, Wim Hof
In early October 2016, Wim Hof delighted our LongevityNow Conference audience. He was wild. Untamable. He mentioned his work and the scientific research he’d been involved in, but I couldn’t really hear his words, his presence was overpowering everything he said!
This guy has an energy that I resonate with. Almost 20 years ago, when I got into hunting wild spring water, I also became enamored with cold wild water (jumping in it) and cold wild weather (getting out into it) and that is exactly what Wim loves and appreciates. His message: cold weather invigorates you, takes the inflammation out of you, and strengthens you; and that most of the Earth is cold, so what are we running from? I could tell Wim understood better than I ever had that cold and heat are frequencies and, with practice, you can consciously control your reactions to them.
Image: Friends and I at a Hot Springs in Iceland.
Wim Hof is a cross between Robin Williams (as one of our Longevity Conference attendants so wonderfully observed) and an Arctic Wolf (my interpretation), an extremely loyal pack animal that can survive and hunt in temperatures as low as -70 Fahrenheit.
Wim Hof’s major message is that cold can benefit our health and can help us overcome low energy, depression, anxiety and various disease conditions. Some of the scientifically researched benefits of cold therapy or cryotherapy are as follows:
- Lowered histamine reaction with rheumatoid arthritis. (1)
- Improvement of mood, deep relaxation, freshening up, consolation, euphoria.(2)(5)
- Reduces anemia (tested in Athletes). (3)
- Decreases pain. (4)
- Decrease in Tinnitus (6)
- Lowers Cortisol (7)
- Burns fat (specifically increases thermogenesis of white and beige fat) (8)
Beyond the scientific discoveries regarding cryotherapy, I continue with it because of the feeling you get during and after a cryotherapy session — whether it is an ice bath, a naked jump in the snow, a glacial water dip or a cryo-freezer environment. For me, cryotherapy activates focus and charges my entire body with “cold electricity.” I’m awake and alert and feel like I’ve done something wonderful for myself. And Wim Hof is constantly inspiring me to go further.
Image: Cryotherapy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Right now Wim is offering his 10-week online course. In his 10-week online course you will learn how to:
- Reduce inflammation, which has the potential to effectively combat/counter/reduce/mitigate auto immune related disease/afflictions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
- Become a “super” version of yourself allowing you to control your life.
- Apply ancient techniques and modern strategies to increase your health and wellbeing.
- Enhance your athletic performance by reducing lactic acid and recover faster.
- Use cold therapy to feel energized during the day while sleeping like a baby at night.
Click HERE to check out Wim’s online training and how you can participate.
Wim gave us the discount code: david20 (all lower case). You can use that code —where it says “Got Coupon” — to save even more!!
My friends who’ve participated in Wim’s trainings told me they were quickly breaking barriers and doing things they never thought they could within the first week!
In addition, Wim Hof offers weekends where he is personally with you and trains you in how to deal with the cold and become comfortable in cold to improve your overall health.
References:
- Wojtecka-Lukasik, E., K. Ksiezopolska-Orlowska, E. Gaszewska, O. Krasowicz- Towalska, P. Rzodkiewicz, D. Maslinska, D. Szukiewicz, and S. Maslinski. “Cryotherapy Decreases Histamine Levels in the Blood of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Inflammation Research 59.S2 (2010): 253-55. Web.
- Rymaszewska, J., D. Biay, Z. Zagrobelny, and A. Kiejna. “The Influence of Whole Body Cryotherapy on Mental Health.” Psychiatria Polska 34.4 (2000): 649-53. 0033-2674. Web
- Banfi, Giuseppe, Gianluca Melegati, Alessandra Barassi, and Gianvico Melzi D’eril. “Beneficial Effects of the Whole-body Cryotherapy on Sport Haemolysis.” Journal of Human Sport and Exercise JHSE 4.2 (2009): 189-93. Web.
- Metzger, D., C. Zwingmann, W. Protz, and W. H. Jäckel. “Whole-body Cryotherapy in Rehabilitation of Patiences with Rheumatoid Diseases-pilot Study.” Die Rehabilitation 39.2 (2000): 93-100. Print. ISSN: 0034-3536
- Rymaszewska, Joanna, David Ramsey, and Sylwia Chladzińska-Kiejna. “Whole-body Cryotherapy as Adjunct Treatment of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders.” Archivum Immunologiae Et Therapiae Experimentalis 56.1 (2008): 63-68. Web. ISSN: 004-069X
- Kamińska-Staruch, Agnieszka, and Jurek Olszewski. “Evaluation of Effectiveness of Whole-body Cryotherapy in Patients with Tinnitus.” The Polish Otolaryngology 61.5 (2007): 801-04. Print. ISSN: 0036-6657
- Leppäluoto, J., T. Westerlund, P. Huttunen, J. Oksa, J. Smolander, B. Dugué, and M. Mikkelsson. “Effects of Long-term Whole-body Cold Exposures on Plasma Concentrations of ACTH, Beta-endorphin, Cortisol, Catecholamines and Cytokines in Healthy Females.” Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation 68.2 (2008): 145-53. Web. ISSN: 0036-5513
- Ye, Li, Jun Wu, Paul Cohen, Lawrence Kazak, Melin J. Khandekar, Mark P. Jedrychowski, Xing Zeng, Steven P. Gygi, and Bruce M. Spiegelman. “Fat Cells Directly Sense Temperature to Activate Thermogenesis.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.30 (2013): 12480-2485. Web.
Image: Cryotherapy at FreezLab, Amsterdam, Holland.
