MAKING A DIFF EREN CE
It is the push for further research that is Wim’s driving focus now. Wim is the first to admit that there have been countless people before him that have been able, through dedicated yogic practice, to achieve this level of control over their bodies. However, he believes that the difference is that we are now able to prove these abilities with scientific evidence. “We are into this study now about
air balloon at an altitude of 1500 metres. Altogether he now holds 26 Guinness World Records. When I question him about plans for
future extreme stunts, Wim replies, “Yeah. I still am very able to do that, but it's not of interest to me now. The interest for me is to tackle fear, trauma, depression and disease”. Wim always believed he had discovered what he refers to as a ‘short cut’ into the deep physiology of the human body – that he has conscious control over his own immune, vascular and endocrine systems. As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I find this truly exciting. This concept of mind-body integration is completely congruent with our holistic approach to health. However, for many years Hof’s claims were dismissed by the scientific establishment. The breakthrough came with a series
of experiments that started in 2007 with leading scientific researchers in the Netherlands. Hof explains: “They tested me in the university within a case study, experiment, and then they found out by taking blood that I'm able to suppress inflammatory markers which normally cause a lot of autoimmune diseases”. In summary, these experiments, which included prolonged immersion in an ice bath and being injected with a bacterial endo-toxin, showed that Hof was able to voluntarily influence his autonomic nervous system [1]. This was previously considered impossible by the scientific community.
12 JULY 2016
As a single case study is not considered conclusive evidence, the study was repeated with 12 volunteers who had been trained intensively by Hof for four days, compared with an untrained control group. The results were impressive.
Using Hof’s techniques, the trained group, unlike the control group, was able to replicate the previous results.
Hof has been involved in numerous studies since then, leading doctors and scientists around the world to acknowledge the enormous potential for prevention and treatment of disease with these methods.
mitochondrial oxygen tension. It appears that [using breathing techniques] we are able to increase the oxygen levels within the mitochondria themselves”. Mitochondria are known as the ‘powerhouses’ of the cell. They behave like a digestive system – taking in nutrients and breaking them down, using oxygen to create energy rich molecules essential for life. “We’ve got research related to
inflammation, to pain, anaesthesia and very soon we are going to compose a new study with Stanford University in San Francisco. That study is on inflammation in the brain, the wrong chemistry, relating to PTSD, depression, fear, trauma, anything we cannot handle. I'm very sure we are able to create new neurological pathways in the brain, making us able to control our brain a whole better than up until now is known.” Hof’s desire to achieve this has led
him to develop the Wim Hof Method (WHM). [There is a free introduction, including beginning exercises, at
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