While growing up I remember catching glimpses on TV of this crazy guy called Wim Hof setting records in enduring extreme cold. I was always pretty amazed by it but didn’t see any reason to get myself in any of the trouble he was getting in. Until I came across a Vice documentary which featured a study with random people that learned to get comfortable with the cold and suppress an over-reacting immune system after a short training. Since then it had been on my mind to try out one of his retreats in Poland. The cold and a fragile immune system are likely to be things I’ll have to deal with the rest of my life after all.

I was curious to learn about the scientific explanations behind it so I signed myself up for a deep dive week where there would be some attention to this.

Expectations

I expected it to be a week of hard work with hopefully a gold pot at the end, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out the whole trick of getting through the uncomfortable moments was to turn them into playful or meditative experiences.

Even though it was challenging at times, I ended up finding joy and appreciation for life, even in the most physically discomforting moments. This undoubtedly wasn’t just thanks to the learned techniques but also the feeling of being held by the group of people, that quickly turned into a solid tribe that carried each other.

Before I knew it I was standing with a big grin I couldn’t get off my face in disbelief that I was feeling so good despite the inhospitable conditions. (-15 C blizzard)

Intention setting

Upon arrival in the hotel in Poland we were told we would be going in potentially dangerous situations (e.g. scarcely clothed up a mountain in -15) in which a competitive atmosphere would be toxic and get us into trouble. At some point we would all face difficult moments during the week and we really needed to carry each other rather than compete with each other. The instructor continued to say “You are free to drink and party at night, as long as you remind yourself of the reason why you came here and ask if yourself if your actions are in line with it.”

I felt this intention setting gave a good bedding for us to show our more vulnerable sides from the start. After some jokes and lightning up the atmosphere we ended the first day with a light meal on the big table where we would gather with the tribe the rest of the week.

Facing our primal fears

Key elements of the week were facing one of our most primal fears: oxygen deprivation and extreme cold exposure. By familiarizing ourselves with triggering our physiological fear response in this way, we learned to turn moments of fear into moments of joy and courage and regulate back to a rest state easier. To most people it will probably sound like a bad idea to deprive yourself of oxygen or get into extreme cold but I will go into some more detail about how these can be tools to enhance our state of mind and strengthen our body.

The breathing practice

I was very excited to get to know the ins and outs of the breathing practice because I heard about a study in which after a short training volunteers demonstrated they could fend off flu-like symptoms after being injected with bacterial endotoxins (a toxin the body will fight off as if it is a bacteria).

For the geeks here is a brief summary of the study:

Hitherto, both the autonomic nervous system and innate immune system were regarded as systems that cannot be voluntarily influenced. The present study demonstrates that, through practicing techniques learned in a short-term training program, the sympathetic nervous system and immune system can indeed be voluntarily influenced. Healthy volunteers practicing the learned techniques exhibited profound increases in the release of epinephrine, which in turn led to increased production of anti-inflammatory mediators and subsequent dampening of the proinflammatory cytokine response elicited by intravenous administration of bacterial endotoxin … practicing the learned techniques resulted in intermittent respiratory alkalosis and hypoxia resulting in profoundly increased plasma epinephrine levels. …trained individuals experienced fewer endotoxemia-associated flu-like symptoms, and a more swift normalization of fever and cortisol levels, which are likely the result of the attenuated proinflammatory response.

Why influencing our immune response is so significant

Wim Hof claims the breathing technique plays a big role in keeping him healthy despite the extreme stuff he does. Being able to regulate our immune response is so significant because many diseases or even types of cancer, often originate from an over-reaction of our immune system.

…inflammation is a critical component of tumour progression. Many cancers arise from sites of infection, chronic irritation and inflammation. (source)

Which is why the writers of the endotoxin study see great potential in applying these practices in therapies. Perhaps one day a simple act of breathing/cold therapies can replace some drugs (that usually have averse side-effects).

This study could have important implications for the treatment of a variety of conditions associated with excessive or persistent inflammation, especially autoimmune diseases in which therapies that antagonize proinflammatory cytokines have shown great benefit. … This study demonstrates that the in vivo innate immune response can be voluntarily influenced in a nonpharmacological manner… (source)

This is a video from the study that demonstrates the breathing technique in a clinical setting. (showing various biometrics such as blood pressure, heart rate, o2 saturation, ph level etc.)

We started every morning with this breathing practice. Laying down, eyes closed, the instructor would guide us into it with a rhythmic drum.

WARNING: If you want to try this do it seated or lying down. Never driving, standing or near water. There is a small chance you will pass out. This phenomenon is known as shallow water blackout.

The practice starts with taking in about 20 to 30 deep in-breaths and passive out-breaths, chaining each cycle to the next without breaks. This is essentially controlled over-breathing/hyperventilation. (the video above shows the pace at which this was done during the mentioned study)

This over-breathing gets more CO2 out of the body than it can produce, lowering the your blood acidity. (Respiratory Alkalosis)

This allows us to hold the breath longer. This is because the urge to breathe initially comes from too high CO2 levels/acidity in your body, not by the absence of oxygen.

2. After the last out-breath, you hold the breath.

During the breath-hold CO2 levels/acidity in our body rises again, this opens up the veins so our body is ready to take up oxygen.

3. When you feel a clear urge to breath from your diaphragm, you take a regular breath in and hold it for 10–15 seconds.

In this phase the body replenishing oxygen, by doing it with only one breath it stimulates the body to adapt to deal with less oxygen. The effect is similar to athletes who acclimatize to high altitudes to improve their performance at sea level. It was demonstrated that people were able to climb to high altitudes much quicker without getting altitude sickness by acclimatizing using this technique.

This means that through this technique you can improve your cardiovascular fitness through just breathing.

Cardiovascular fitnesss is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement. (Wikipedia)

To reach the full effect of the technique it is important to repeat each round without a break because the oxygen saturation only starts dropping to the extremes after multiple rounds (B graph below).

Interesting note on the study is that the measured Epinephrine/Adrenaline levels were actually higher than the ones measured in a study where people were bungee jumping.

Epinephrine levels in trained individuals were even higher than those reported in a recent study in which acute stress elicited by a bungee jump was found to suppress cytokine production

These breathing practices made for some intense mornings, after the roller coaster ride I would seat at the breakfast table feeling calm but sharp and ready for the adventure that was awaiting.

Worthwhile noting is that similar breathing techniques are taught within Tibetan Buddhist practices, transformational breathing and holotropic breathwork (which famously replaced the LSD-therapy of Psychiatrist Stanslav Grof after LSD became illegal).

Wim Hof demonstrating the breathing practice

Trick to deal better with short intense movement

A interesting trick I learned was to start over-breathing before a steep climb or a sprint. We usually get out-of-breath and start over-breathing when its too late and our body demands that we catch our breath. But by “starting up the engine” earlier we can turn up our heart rate and lower CO2 levels/acidity allowing us to go a little bit further before getting sour muscles or getting out of breath.

Getting in the cold

Most of us in the modern world are used to being in the comfort of 22°C (72°F) all the time. Although we have a innate ability to warm ourselves, like a muscle if untrained it can’t handle much.

We started the week with getting in cold water at a nearby waterfall. We usually get a gasping response when we get in the cold water, tensing our body and hyperventilating high in our chest. This panic response can be controlled by breathing more deeply and slowing the breath down. Over time I have noticed the deep breathing has become my natural reaction to the cold and I calm down much more easily.

The first days we acclimatized to the cold at this beautiful waterfall. It was around freezing temperature outside.

A big aspect of befriending the cold was learning to separate physical discomfort from emotional suffering. We started practicing this by melting a snowball in our hands and staying with the sensations.

On day 2 we did a meditation where we tried to keep our awareness with the sensation in our body and sat in the cold for a while. This worked surprisingly well for a moment, however when we got out of the meditation my body started shaking uncontrollably and fearful thoughts started to arise.

For a moment we were still like monks

The instructor explained how we could see the shaking and fear as just energy that has the potential to be turned into a different type of energy that is beneficial to the situation e.g. feeling of playfulness or courage.

As the Masai would traditionally do with their tribe, we gathered around and jumped rhythmically, letting out a breath on every landing. Before I knew it I was letting out shouts as we jumped, smiling and feeling supported by the people around me. The shaking had completely stopped and I could hardly remember that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to warm up again just moments ago.

I continued the journey in the forest jumping around from rock to rock, playing around like a little kid. The instructor explained how the high energy state I was in was beneficial in the cold however it uses a lot of energy and can’t be sustained for a long time.

For the climb to the snowy peaks of the mountain we would have to use the playful/active mode to get out of our fear responses and at the same time if we could regulate ourselves back to a calm, meditative state for the majority of the walk.

Focusing on these states made the climb to the snowy peaks of the mountains surprisingly pleasant, switching from meditative rhythmic hiking to playfully sliding over slippery parts and pouncing in the snow like a little fox.

Changing my relation to the cold

These experiences have profoundly changed my relation to the cold, although I might still feel some resistance to go in cold water at first, I know I will get out of it feeling calm and refreshed and whatever thoughts circling around my mind quiet down. As one study on cold exposure notes:

the WHM (Wim Hof Method) also engages higher-order cortical areas (left anterior and right middle insula) that are uniquely associated with self-reflection, and which facilitate both internal focus and sustained attention in the presence of averse (e.g. cold) external stimuli (source)

After staying in the cold for longer (1min+) I notice my body warming up. Over time you can train your body to use energy to generate heat rather than start shivering. (Worth while noting is that this process doesn’t happen when exposed to mild cold.)

Explanation of observations of cold exposure using the “Wim Hof Method” in a scientific study

Notes for anyone wanting to try out getting in the cold

Joint pain and pain in extremities can occur, also your fingers and arms might not move, when you notice this remember, don’t panic, if you warm up slowly it will soon be a long forgotten discomfort. Warming up after extensive period of extreme cold should be done especially slowly is because letting cold blood flow back too quickly to the vital organs can have a damaging effects.

When going in the cold vessels in the arms and legs get constricted to get all the blood to the vital organs to keep them warm. This same process gets reversed when warming up, known as the afterdrop, which makes cold blood flow to your core again and can make you feel much colder while warming up than when in the cold.

For anyone who wants to try cold exposure this, remember to build up slowly. Expect to need some extra sleep/rest and food on the way and stay in touch with your bodies needs to not get in trouble/catch a cold.

Mental aspect

These techniques reminded me that how we think about our stress reaction affects our physiological response. As psychologist Kelly McGonigal talks about in her TED talk:

in a typical stress response, your heart rate goes up, and your blood vessels constrict like this. And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease. It’s not really healthy to be in this state all the time. But in the study,when participants viewed their stress response as helpful, their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this. Their heart was still pounding, but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile. It actually looks a lot like what happens in moments of joy and courage. Over a lifetime of stressful experiences, this one biological change could be the difference between a stress-induced heart attack at age 50 and living well into your 90s. And this is really what the new science of stress reveals, that how you think about stress matters.

Both the breathing practice and cold exposure at first triggered habitual fear responses for me, but I could easily regulate back because I was getting there in a controlled manner and had plenty support around me. Overtime both these practices have started to bring up moments of joy and courage in me rather than fear. Which comes to no surprise as the fear reaction is very similar to one of positive excitement, the difference lies in the interpretation in our brain.

As Lisa Feldman Berrett words this well in her TED talk: To some degree we can become an architect of our emotional experiences:

…you have the capacity to turn down the dial on emotional suffering and its consequences for your life by learning how to construct your experiences differently. And all of us can do this and with a little practice, we can get really good at it, like driving. At first, it takes a lot of effort, but eventually it becomes pretty automatic. the actions and the experiences that you make today become your brain’s predictions for tomorrow.

Understanding of physiological states though the autonomic nervous system

Every day we ended with some theory. A presentation about the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) helped me particularly well in understanding the challenging and fearful moments during the week, as well as other moments in my life. (The information here is based on Polyvagal theory)

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), as the name implies, runs without our conscious control. It is responsible for things such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes. It is constantly on the lookout for cues of safety or risk and responds to signals and sensations through 3 path ways:

Social engagement / Rest and Digest state (ventral vagal complex of the parasympathetic branch)

Fight or Flight state(sympathetic branch)

Freeze state(dorsal vagal complex of the parasympathetic branch)

These pathways have a evolutionary order in which they developed.