Chinese Medicine Perspective on the Wim Hof Method (WHM)
How Chinese Medicine Explains Iceman's Cryotherapy Method Wim Hoff, a.k.a Iceman, is a Dutch extreme athlete who became famous by setting various world records in freezing temperatures.Wim Hof developed a regimen which combines immersion in sub-zero environments, a specific breathing pattern and meditation. The Wim Hof Method (WHM) is claimed to help with, among other things, sleep, willpower, sports performance, stress, creativity and immune system. However this type of cryotherapy, although it shows results in many cases, also knows many failures. Those who have followed a Traditional Chinese Medicine education know that cold is considered the number one enemy of our body. The Chinese have even written a specific treaty on this subject, like The Shan Han Lun or Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases (1). When I first heard about Iceman and his method, my first thought was that this guy must be crazy. My reaction was probably in keeping with that of many of his detractors (scie...