By Wim Hof

Most of us are raised to follow a familiar, predictable path: you go to school, choose a career, and then, if you are lucky, you earn a sabbatical, maybe a raise. This experience defines us, but it is not us. There is much, much, much more to our existence than that, to who we are in our depth. Our soul. And in accessing that soul, we find out that our minds and bodies are capable of so much more. This is the time to wake up to the true power we each possess within us. 

By consciously connecting with the reptilian brain, previously believed to be inaccessible, we have arrived at a new frontier, that of the brain-over body consciousness. That consciousness allows you to truly trust your judgment based on intuition and instinct. I arrived at these insights by going into the cold water, by reconditioning my mind and body to reject the primordial, prehistoric feeling that the cold is our enemy and that we have to make fire and sit in the cave to combat it. We have nothing to combat but our own conditioning and fear.

My American friend Chris Ryan wrote a book entitled Civilized to Death on these deeper feelings, about how we have become so civilized, so ensconced in our comfort zones, that it has gotten the better of us. He argues that we don’t live in nature anymore, but in opposition to it. And what, in the end, are we really opposing? The cold and its adverse power are not our enemy. The cold knows how to trigger our vascular system, which, if laid out end-to-end, would stretch nearly two and a half times the length of the earth.¹

Cardiovascular-related diseases are the number-one killer in our society today, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are approximately sixty-two thousand miles of veins, arteries, and capillaries in each and every one of us.² The vascular system is constructed, after millions of years of evolution, with millions of little muscles that contract and open the veins and the vascular channels in reaction to the weather. 

Regardless of whether it is warm or hot, our core body temperature has to remain 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If your core temperature dips only two or three degrees below that, you go into hypothermia, a hypothermic state. If it dips three degrees or more than that, it’s irreversible; your core body temperature spirals down, and your body is no longer able to heat up. So, we have this vascular system that opens and closes to protect ourselves from the cold and heat, to remain within the range of normal body temperatures. It’s a very delicate system.

But what did we do? We got into clothes. And we love these clothes so much, these dresses and suits and nice ties. We’ve got Gucci, Versace, Vanderbilt, all these fashions that everybody loves. But clothes actually de-stimulate our vascular system—the intricate system that delivers blood throughout our bodies. And when the elements are working on our vascular system, it opens and closes, it expands and contracts, and in doing so, the muscular tone of the vascular system is exercised. 

Wearing clothes, being dressed up all the time, is de-stimulating. These little muscles do not work. And do you know who’s paying for that? Our heart is. When these little vascular muscles are not tuned up, not working at an optimized condition, our heart is forced to pump much more, deeper, and stronger, to get the blood flow through. This puts undue stress on our heart on a chronic basis. That’s one of the primary reasons, together with diet and exercise, why cardiovascular-related diseases are the number-one killer in our society.

A Cold Shower a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

How do we tackle this killer? It’s very simple. A cold shower a day keeps the doctor away. The medical system is increasingly driven by pharmaceutical solutions than by healing, and few would recommend this method, but it’s right there. It’s simple, and it works, and it doesn’t cost a thing. Our vascular system needs to be stimulated to achieve the desired muscular tone. It doesn’t need training, only awakening. Then, once it’s awakened and optimized, let’s say in ten days, a whole sequence of magic begins to occur within the body.

Anybody who has ever stepped into an unheated swimming pool or endured an “Ice Bucket Challenge” knows that the immediate impact of cold water on our bodies can be uncomfortable, if not downright painful. It is therefore understandable why some might be reluctant to willingly submit to that discomfort. It’s unpleasant. But just as your body adjusts, in time, to the water in the swimming pool, so does it adjust, with repeated exposure, to the water in the cold shower. 

Initially, the cold water will precipitate a cold shock response, or a gasp reflex, which is a completely natural reaction. This may lead to some hyperventilation, yet this involuntary physiological response subsides over time as the body relaxes and begins to adjust to its new environment. The more often you take cold showers and the more accustomed you get to that initial shock, the more you begin to crave the sensation.

I began intuitively, when I was seventeen years old, to venture into the cold water. I understand now that this intuition stemmed from the trauma of my birth, but that’s my personal story. It doesn’t matter how you get to it so long as you do, and if you get there from my suggestion, then all the better. I have dedicated my life to this because I have experienced the benefits firsthand. Back then I had a feeling, and I could not find an explanation for it in the books I was reading. Couldn’t find it. So I went into nature, and I found answers that weren’t in books. And because nature belongs to all of us, I feel compelled to share what I have learned. It’s not mine, it’s ours. I just simplified it. We are able, as a society, to confront cardiovascular-related diseases if we can learn, collectively, how to achieve vascular fitness.

When you take a cold shower, all of those little muscles in your vascular system—millions of them—are activated and exercised. Within ten days of taking these showers, you will notice that your heart rate has decreased significantly, as much as fifteen to thirty beats per minute, and that it remains that way twenty-four hours a day. That translates to a lot less stress. It’s important to understand that your heart rate increases whenever your body experiences stress. That sends a primordial signal to the body to activate adrenaline and cortisol, which sets off a series of biochemical processes that exhaust your adrenal axis, your energy, because you’re in poor vascular condition. Your heart needs to pump more, work harder.

At the same time, while your energy is depleted, you’ve got your boss telling you to do this or that, your spouse is making their own demands, and your children are doing what children do, all of which increases your stress levels. Traffic on the roadways or mass-transit delays don’t help either. It all adds up, and the result is that your heart must pump even more without any way to cool down, to have a rest, because your vascular system is compromised.

Now, if you go and exercise your vascular system—I call it “vascular fitness” nowadays—you can effectively counteract this stress. Once you have trained yourself with exposure to cold, you can do “snowga,” which is, like it sounds, yoga in the snow. You can go and do exercises outdoors in the cold while bare-chested and barefoot, just in shorts. Within fifteen minutes, you won’t feel the cold, which is an indication that your vascular system has adapted. That’s innate. 

It was always there, but by constantly seeking comfort, we have become strangers to our natural, optimized vascular condition. This is unfortunate because it’s our vascular system that delivers blood to the cells and with it, all the nutrients, oxygen, and vitamins our bodies need to thrive. And if your vascular system is exercised and adapted, your heart rate will decrease in turn. It’s the antidote to stress, and it all starts with cold showers.

Cold showers are the gateway to flow and energy and peace. I’m not exaggerating. It’s the entry point from which you will learn the power of the mind over the body. If you do just ten days of cold showers after warm showers, meaning that you end your regular, warm showers with a minute or so of cold water, then you will be able to command your vascular system to close up when you go into the cold. It’s amazing what your body can do at will, and all it takes is ten days of these showers to regain your optimal vascular tone and achieve this control. As your vascular system awakens and its muscles begin to tone up, it forges a connection with your brain, with your will.

WHM Protocol: Cold Exposure for Beginners

Going into the ice water can be quite shocking, so you’d better learn to prepare your body if you want to try it. But how do you do that? We wear clothes all the time, which de-stimulates our bodies, leaving our vascular systems in poor condition. So, what can we do to reduce the impact of the shock and instead allow the ice water to optimize our cardiovascular system? Most of us who live in the West take showers every day, and most of those are warm or hot showers, because we don’t like the cold. But if you end your warm or hot shower with just thirty seconds of cold water—just thirty seconds—you will begin to see results.

Anybody is able to endure thirty seconds of cold water, especially after spending several minutes under the warm or hot water, collecting heat. The warm water opens up your veins, aiding your blood flow. So, while the cold water might cause you some discomfort at first, thirty seconds is no great hardship.

What happens inside your body when you shift the temperature from warm to cold is that all the little muscles in your vascular system begin to awaken. They close up and then open, close up and open, and this repetitive process establishes the vascular muscle tone that, with repeated exposure, develops into its optimal condition. Start slowly at the beginning, with just fifteen seconds at the end of your shower every day. In a week, you will feel able to endure thirty seconds, or more. This is because the tone of your vascular muscles is improving, developing. Your core body temperature remains just fine. And the result is that you experience better blood flow throughout the day, which gives you a lot more energy. 

Once you are able to go longer than thirty seconds, you begin to develop an ability to consciously resist the shock of the cold water. You suppress the shiver response, the gasp. Suddenly, the water’s not cold anymore. Instead, it’s a force, and you, standing there, are a counterforce. You’re in control. You’re awakening to the physiological power and the neural activity of your own body.

Week One: Thirty seconds of cold water at the end of a warm shower.

Week Two: One minute of cold water at the end of a warm shower.

Week Three: A minute and a half of cold water at the end of a warm shower.

Week Four: Two minutes of cold water at the end of a warm shower.

Do this gradually and work your way up, at least five days a week. Follow the feeling. Don’t force anything. It’s also fine to start with fifteen seconds and build up more slowly.

Some benefits of cold exposure begin at 60° Fahrenheit, so most tap water is cold enough to make a difference. As your vascular muscle tone develops, it will absorb more and more of the shock until it’s hardly a shock at all. Your vascular system constricts on demand to protect your vital parts. And what you will see is that your heart rate goes down during the day, reducing your stress level. You feel more energized. The improved blood flow delivers better nutrition to your cells. You find that you don’t get sick anymore because your body is no longer vulnerable. Instead, you feel strong.

By the end of the fourth week, your vascular tone will be optimized to the point that it will be mind over matter. You turn the knob to cold and will your body not to react in shock. This is only the beginning of the power of the mind opening up to you. If you are able to command the vascular system, which is everywhere within your body, you are able to go—at will—to any part and control it consciously. You’re the boss. And it all starts with thirty seconds of cold water.

—

Wim Hof, “The Iceman,” holds multiple world records for his feats of endurance and exposure to cold—such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro wearing only shorts and shoes, running a barefoot half-marathon in the Arctic Circle, and standing in an ice-filled container for more than 112 minutes. Having been taught by the majestic natural power of the cold, Wim is on a mission to share his discoveries with the world.

The benefits of his method, now practiced by millions, have been validated by eight university research studies. He has been featured on the BBC, VICE Media, Discovery Channel, and Joe Rogan, Tim Ferris, and School of Greatness podcasts. For more, visit wimhofmethod.com.

Well Being Journal adapted this excerpt from The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential, by Wim Hof.  Sounds True, 2020. Reprinted with permission.

References:

1. Joseph Castro, “11 Surprising Facts about the Circulatory System,” Live Science (September 25, 2013), livescience.com/39925-circulatory-system-facts-surprising.html.
2. Castro, “11 Surprising Facts about the Circulatory System.”