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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide
Disclaimer: I started reading this book concommitant with practising the breathwork techniques it describes on advice of my teacher, who is wholly unrelated to Wim Hof or his method. I have experienced some benefits to my health through this practice.
This book is compelling. I really like the fact that, for all the hype and super-stardom that Wim Hof has accrued with his antics, he comes across as genuinely simple and honest. I have read many books and interacted with many “modern gurus” and their disciples as a result of my work as an alternative therapist, and usually walk away with a sense of “yeah, right”, but not with this book. The wild claims and shameless self-promotion characteristic of books like this one never once stray from the inner logic that underpins “the method”. The science it touts is solid, and doesn’t seem to be bent or biased. It checks out. The author shows remarkable restraint in addressing himself to the skepticism that is understandably lined up against him, which lends his writing an air of credibility and level-headedness that is rare in this kind of literature. Worth a read, at least, and maybe further exploration. Highly recommended.
This book is compelling. I really like the fact that, for all the hype and super-stardom that Wim Hof has accrued with his antics, he comes across as genuinely simple and honest. I have read many books and interacted with many “modern gurus” and their disciples as a result of my work as an alternative therapist, and usually walk away with a sense of “yeah, right”, but not with this book. The wild claims and shameless self-promotion characteristic of books like this one never once stray from the inner logic that underpins “the method”. The science it touts is solid, and doesn’t seem to be bent or biased. It checks out. The author shows remarkable restraint in addressing himself to the skepticism that is understandably lined up against him, which lends his writing an air of credibility and level-headedness that is rare in this kind of literature. Worth a read, at least, and maybe further exploration. Highly recommended.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
While there’s some good information, it reads like a Wim Hof method infomercial. Too much focuses on the “wow” factor and not enough on the science. The breathing exercises are super helpful, information about cold exposure is great, but it jumps around too much to be completely worthwhile. YouTube videos basically cover it without all the fluff.
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
When people hear that I started doing cold water plunges, people want to know if I do the Wim Hof Method. I heard something about him, but it sounded a bit extreme for this suburban middle aged mom, so I said no.
Then people recommended I watch the Wim Hof episode on Goop. So I did and it seemed cool. My cold water plunging guru did run me through the breathing technique once and I didn’t really like it. I felt like my brain was hypoxic and that I might throw myself into a panic attack. Just quite dips in the water was I needed, not this crazy breathing that will propel me up snowy mountains in shorts.
I listened to this book as an audiobook. Olympic speed skater Apolo Ono narrates this book. Bonus: Ono is from Seattle! However, the audiobook was not the place for a method with multiple steps and differing techniques. I may have to You Tube a how-to on those techniques. Otherwise Wim Hof talked about his life as a squatter, chakras and the soul, man. It was kind of a ramble of stuff.
Then people recommended I watch the Wim Hof episode on Goop. So I did and it seemed cool. My cold water plunging guru did run me through the breathing technique once and I didn’t really like it. I felt like my brain was hypoxic and that I might throw myself into a panic attack. Just quite dips in the water was I needed, not this crazy breathing that will propel me up snowy mountains in shorts.
I listened to this book as an audiobook. Olympic speed skater Apolo Ono narrates this book. Bonus: Ono is from Seattle! However, the audiobook was not the place for a method with multiple steps and differing techniques. I may have to You Tube a how-to on those techniques. Otherwise Wim Hof talked about his life as a squatter, chakras and the soul, man. It was kind of a ramble of stuff.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Very interesting read. Despite the science and studies backing up Wim’s theory it’s still hard not to be a little bit cautiously skeptical of the claims and results! Overall a good read to complete before my February challenge of taking a cold shower everyday 🧊
Good book, but only worth reading once you're prepared to apply the practices that Wim lays out, which I am not. But I definitely trust the process from this material and will eventually come back to it
To start off: I do cold exposures and the breathing exercises regularly, I love them. I believe that this method can help a lot of people to get back into embodiment and spirituality without religion, which is important in todays society.
Did I like the book? Yes and no. Yes because it gives a good overview about the method and how to do it (it‘s simple, the explanations are easy to follow, all good). Moreover, I found it fascinating to learn more about Wim Hofs Life. For this part I would give 5 stars.
However, I felt he overdid it a lot with the „everyone called me a generic freak and now science proofs them wrong“. I can understand where it comes from but it was stated in almost every chapter and at some point I felt a bit like „Ok, here we go again“. Also as a scientist, the studies he mentions are case studies, I know that a lot is going on with the method and that scientists are gathering more and more data but his statements are often a gbit of a stretch (I also can understand this but I don’t like it for any method).
Moreover, his statements of mental health problems being curable by just breathing and going into the cold is dangerous. Please seek medical advise when you have mental health issues, chemicals can help here (WHM may support but I highly doubt that it is a proper solo-alternative to drugs and/or therapy).
Therefore: read this book, practice the breathing, cold exposure and mind set exercises if you feel connected to them. But don’t overestimate the scientific backup here (yet).
Did I like the book? Yes and no. Yes because it gives a good overview about the method and how to do it (it‘s simple, the explanations are easy to follow, all good). Moreover, I found it fascinating to learn more about Wim Hofs Life. For this part I would give 5 stars.
However, I felt he overdid it a lot with the „everyone called me a generic freak and now science proofs them wrong“. I can understand where it comes from but it was stated in almost every chapter and at some point I felt a bit like „Ok, here we go again“. Also as a scientist, the studies he mentions are case studies, I know that a lot is going on with the method and that scientists are gathering more and more data but his statements are often a gbit of a stretch (I also can understand this but I don’t like it for any method).
Moreover, his statements of mental health problems being curable by just breathing and going into the cold is dangerous. Please seek medical advise when you have mental health issues, chemicals can help here (WHM may support but I highly doubt that it is a proper solo-alternative to drugs and/or therapy).
Therefore: read this book, practice the breathing, cold exposure and mind set exercises if you feel connected to them. But don’t overestimate the scientific backup here (yet).
This was the fastest I have read a book in some time. The Wim Hof Method is compelling, and while I have been trying out cold showers for weeks now (and feel notably better, mostly in terms of how much energy I have), I hadn't tried the breathing method until today. It was a very interesting experience, and I felt great. I'll be doing it daily from now on and seeing what comes of it. Wim Hof is a genuine, good person. You can see it in the book and in his videos. I appreciated the amount of data he references and his willingness to submit the method to science for raw proof alongside that; it makes me a lot less skeptical.
This book is written something like a semi-organized stream of consciousness. It jumps around a lot, it repeats itself again and again, and probably could have been a little shorter. But the thing is, the method is so simple that there really isn't much to say about it. I think that Wim probably wrote the book simply to get his personal story out there and to present another way to tell the world about his method. It stands as a complement to his current presence online and in his classes. Some of his claims are bold, and he lost me a few times, but he is trying to describe a lot of experiences that are probably extremely difficult to put into words, let alone in a language that is not his native one. I appreciated his attempts to convey his spiritual journey and how the cultivation of the cold and breathing techniques tie into that. Having seen some of his videos, I could picture him speaking the words throughout the whole book, which was honestly a good move in this instance, even if it meant some distracting writing occasionally. It needed some editing, yes, but it's authentic, and it's given to the reader as Wim would say it. Give the method a try today and see what it does for you.
This book is written something like a semi-organized stream of consciousness. It jumps around a lot, it repeats itself again and again, and probably could have been a little shorter. But the thing is, the method is so simple that there really isn't much to say about it. I think that Wim probably wrote the book simply to get his personal story out there and to present another way to tell the world about his method. It stands as a complement to his current presence online and in his classes. Some of his claims are bold, and he lost me a few times, but he is trying to describe a lot of experiences that are probably extremely difficult to put into words, let alone in a language that is not his native one. I appreciated his attempts to convey his spiritual journey and how the cultivation of the cold and breathing techniques tie into that. Having seen some of his videos, I could picture him speaking the words throughout the whole book, which was honestly a good move in this instance, even if it meant some distracting writing occasionally. It needed some editing, yes, but it's authentic, and it's given to the reader as Wim would say it. Give the method a try today and see what it does for you.
Tev ir taisnība gan tad, kad tu domā, ka vari kaut ko izdarīt, gan tad, kad domā, ka nevari.
Šī pieredze mani pilnībā disciplinēja un ielika pamatus morālei. Es biju tikpat spēcīgs kā īpašās vienības karavīrs. Tāpēc es iesaku visiem bērniem, kuri grib kļūt stipri, izvadāt avīzes kalnainā apvidū. Tu uzzināsi, kas esi, jo nebūs neviena cita, ar ko sarunāties. Tu ļausies pārdomām un atklāsi mierpilnu pasauli, kura harmoniju nekas nespēj izjaukt. Tu būsi viens, un neatkarīgi no laikapstākļiem tev būs jāpaveic darbs līdz galam. Tu atradīsi sevi pašu savā visdziļākajā būtībā. Lūk, tas ir spēks.
Mēs esam attīstījušies tik tālu, ka varam kosmosā palaist raķetes un nogādāt cilvēkus uz Mēness, taču neesam iemācījušies, kā kļūt laimīgiem, spēcīgiem un veseliem. Cik patiesībā gan mēs esam nabadzīgi… Cik maz spējam kontrolēt.
Šī pieredze mani pilnībā disciplinēja un ielika pamatus morālei. Es biju tikpat spēcīgs kā īpašās vienības karavīrs. Tāpēc es iesaku visiem bērniem, kuri grib kļūt stipri, izvadāt avīzes kalnainā apvidū. Tu uzzināsi, kas esi, jo nebūs neviena cita, ar ko sarunāties. Tu ļausies pārdomām un atklāsi mierpilnu pasauli, kura harmoniju nekas nespēj izjaukt. Tu būsi viens, un neatkarīgi no laikapstākļiem tev būs jāpaveic darbs līdz galam. Tu atradīsi sevi pašu savā visdziļākajā būtībā. Lūk, tas ir spēks.
Mēs esam attīstījušies tik tālu, ka varam kosmosā palaist raķetes un nogādāt cilvēkus uz Mēness, taču neesam iemācījušies, kā kļūt laimīgiem, spēcīgiem un veseliem. Cik patiesībā gan mēs esam nabadzīgi… Cik maz spējam kontrolēt.