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 (scientists, doctors and journalists) who all have in common to never look beyond the tip of their nose and their so-called scientific knowledge.

After the first moment of surprise and incomprehension, I took the time to watch Hof's videos and listen to the testimonies of people who have followed his teaching (2). I could only see the surprising effectiveness of this method. So I decided to test it myself with my friend and colleague Marius Nan.

Being of Russian origins and having practiced martial arts for a long time, I had obviously been subjected to the dubious practice of ice-cold showers. The result I had experienced was of being "woken up". Another noticeable effect was that, in the instances when I had already been weakened, of catching a cold and even once ended up with a very violent torticollis. I must say that following this last experiment, I had been “cooled”.

But Mr. Wim Hof ​​argues that his method has therapeutic virtues. Additionally, there seem to be too many who agree with him to be denied, as well as a series of scientific experiments that have demonstrated its efficacy. Faced with those facts, then the only thing I could do was look for an explanation.

First of all, let us note that the Wim Hof Method does not solely entails submersion in freezing water. A very specific form of breathing also plays an essential role. I will not detail this but encourage you to watch the video and download the app, most of which is free.

From a Chinese medicine perspective, cold has two possible effects on our body's systems:
1) We have a sufficiently strong immune system (Oé / Weï Energy), which is able to react to and at least temporarily resist the aggressive energy of the cold
2) Our Oé / Weï energy is insufficient, resulting in an inadequate immune/protective response to the cold energy: we get sick or even die of cold

In either case, it should not be possible for a human being to spend hours in icy-cold water. Yet Iceman is able to bathe in ice for hours! An aberration of nature? Manifestly not, since we know that who have been trained according to his method have also become able of the same feat.

Even though Chinese Medicine seems to teach us that cold is our enemy and that therefore Wim Hof is wrong (and very possibly dangerous), if you look at his method in detail and apply some less-known and understood principles of the ancient tradition of acupuncture (a.k.a. Classic Acupuncture), it then emerges that Iceman has it completely right after all.

The Yin / Yang approach
Cold is a Yin energy. When present in excess, it causes a Yang response of the body, as it seeks to warm up and regain balance. The sources of heat in our body are Shao Yin and Shao Yang.

The 5 Elements approach
Cold belongs to the Water element (Kidney and Bladder), whereas breathing is ensured by the Lung which belongs to the Metal element. As it happens, Metal feeds Water in the Mother-Son Energy Law (Sheng Cycle). The Lung will therefore transmit its energy to the Kidney. Let us note here that there are two sorts of Kidneys in Chinese medicine: Kidney Yin that manages the fluids and Kidney Yang (adrenal gland) which provides thermoregulation and the ability to manage stress through adrenaline.

The Three Burners approach
Here it is important to understand the energy circuit. Three energies participate in the production of Iong and Oé / Weï energies: ancestral energy, food energy and the energy of the air.
Although all three participate in the production of Iong and Oe / Wei, air is the one that we can most easily and quickly absorb and activate.
Increasing the flow of ancestral energy requires complex traditional teachings that are not within the reach of all (It takes a great deal of discipline and above all one would need to find a competent and willing teacher).
The diet produces energy, but its mobilization is too slow.
The energy of the air is precisely the one we need when exposed to cold. In the Upper Burner, ancestral energy, food energy and air energy come together to produce Iong and Oe / Wei energy. A greater amount of energy from the air allows a greater production of these energies.

The energy axes approach
Taé Yang is responsible for the refreshment and corresponds to the layer of the skin. Its opposite is the Shao Yin (composed of Kidney and Heart channels) that produces heat in the body (not to be confused with the Shao Yang that produces the purifying fire of the body and which is not intended to maintain thermal equilibrium but to fight against perverse external energies.) It is the Kidney (especially the adrenal glands) which in its Yang function with the Heart provides thermoregulation.

Keeping all these important principles in mind, what actually happens when we expose our body to cold whilst applying Hof's breathing technique?
- Oxygen is brought to the lung in larger than normal quantity. Oxygen is a Yang principle, since it ensures combustion. Without oxygen we cannot maintain a fire.
- The Metal element is energised (Lung / Large Intestine) thanks to the breathing exercises, which is related to Oé / Weï energy.
- The Metal element in turn feeds the Water element and therefore the Kidneys which are both the guardians of the ancestral energy, but also one of the constituent elements of the Shao Yin layer, which maintains heat in the body.
- This also encourages and increases energy production of Iong and Oé / Weï energies, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of energy production.

As the classical texts of Chinese medicine say when Blood and Energy are balanced, every disease is swept away.
Oé / Weï energy is our immune system, but Iong energy is the energy that carries / accompanies the blood. To fight against the cold, it is therefore essential to have a large amount of energy Iong to bring the blood to the ends.
Through respiration, the production of energies is considerably increased, but the exposure to intense cold produces a reaction of the body which, in order to protect itself, will supply energy to each parcel of its territory. So the body, like an empire that has abandoned provinces to bandits, is aware of its existing deficiencies. Not only does he fight against the cold, but he realises that other, more devious opponents are already present. It is then the opportunity for him to restore order, to heal other diseases.

During World War Two, in France some of the resistance fighters were city dwellers. Some of them were not so young and suffered from different chronic diseases (Arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, etc.), but whilst living in harsh conditions like sleeping on hard and cold floor, being in constant motion, having insufficient diet, they found that they no longer needed their medicines. Somehow the terrible conditions that they suffered stimulated their system in such a way that it became self-sustaining and self-healing.

What Wim Hof teaches is how to expose ourselves to harsh conditions and take advantage of it. His method brings together all the circumstances that boost our body's functions and generate a powerful self-healing cycle.





(1) also known as Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders or Treatise on Cold Injury
(2) What Doesn't Kill Us, by Scott Carney, 2017