Wim Hof

I picked this book up in the shop and opened it at an anecdote in which the author - Wim Hof - is challenged by someone about drinking beer, an act seemingly at odds with his otherwise ascetic regimen - the titular Wim Hof Method - which leans heavily towards cold showers and heavy breathing. In response, Wim demonstrates the irrelevance of beer by immediately breaking a world record. He goes outside where it is cold and snowy and settles into the "horse stance", in which uncomfortable position he stays for what he assures us is a record-breaking length of time. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his account, or indeed his sincerity, which makes it all the funnier. Elsewhere, he sets records for running a marathon barefoot in snow and hanging one-fingered from a rope suspended between two hot air balloons. In both cases, he accomplished the feats topless.

Being barefoot and topless features heavily in his adventures, most often in places where it would ordinarily be ill advised. He attempts (and fails) to climb Everest in nothing but shoes and shorts and he is famous for being packed in ice wearing nothing but his underwear. He credits his ability to perform these stunts to his method which he also claims can alleviate (if not cure) cancer, arthritis, MS and numerous other ailments as well as adding vigour to your bedroom skills. These are bold claims for what amounts to cold showers and hyperventilation. Wim is quick to say that the science is behind him - often decades behind him, though catching up - but the bibliography is thin and most of what purports to be science in his writing reads like a kind of word salad. A disclaimer at the start of the book says it all: "The information in this book is not a substitute for and is not to be relied on for medical or healthcare professional advice".

If Wim were a fictional character, he would perhaps be one of literature's greatest comic creations. Most people have met someone like him: the aging hippy, burbling an endless confection of peace, love, eastern mysticism, psychoanalysis and pseudo-science; veteran of endless hours of yoga and meditation that have somehow generated a bedrock of unfounded certainty in his own insights and understanding, but without generating a scintilla of self awareness; a raging narcissist, preaching selflessness and a kind of unfocused universal benevolence. At the same time, one feels that though outwardly (usually infuriatingly) serene, they're right on the brink of some unfathomable personal abyss. Wim disavows his status as a guru while repackaging breathing exercises and asceticism-lite as a charismatic life coach.

His unassailable self belief leads to behaviour that seen from any outside perspective is clearly reckless and irresponsible. He leads expeditions of sick people to the summit of Kilimanjaro without proper acclimatisation. He also takes groups up mountains in the winter without the most basic equipment, including clothes. He taps into the inter-related modern fads for pseudo-scientific charlatanism and rugged survivalism.

The last of these generates one of the funniest passages in the book. After a successful break through in a coaching session, he congratulates one of the participants, saying "If you are in tune, mentally and physically, with your true nature and sit within your heart, you become aware of the peace, happiness, and purpose that brings, you will be able to perform at your best." "Their hearts were opened", he concludes. Directed at a group of middle managers on an away day, it would merely be silly. However, in this case, his message of universal love is delivered to a platoon of Navy SEALS.

… (meer)

I'm not really sure what to make of Wim Hof. I picked this up as an audiobook and found the concept of what he professes intriguing. You do have to buy into the philosophy though. There is much there beyond the actual methodology.

So it comes down to this, either you will end up thinking he is a seer among seers who shows the way that is the natural way beyond the medical/pharma industry that has us all in our grips at this juncture. Or you will think he is a total crackpot shilling for takers like us who will breath in and out real hard followed by a cold shower.

I briefly have dipped my toe in the water and huffed and puffed a bit and at this stage remain split. I will continue to probe into it and see for myself and hope he is the former and not the latter.… (meer)