Wim Hof — The cold truth

“There is a natural power of healing in the cold and anybody is able to learn.” Wim Hof

In the past few years many of you have been asking us about our perspective on ice water exposure and the method promoted by Wim Hof.

Like any new technique that claims to offer miracle results in our health, there needs to be enough time — years, in fact — before anyone can accurately assess its effects, and whether the high promises live up to the hype, without any collateral damage or casualties. 

We feel that now it may be the right time to share our opinion on this matter, and to offer some guidance based on recent events and the scientific information on the effect of cold exposure and heart health. 

Several investigations have uncovered at least 11 cases where families claim their loved ones died after performing the Hof breathing method, or a similar technique, with cold water therapy. 

Some followed his You Tube channel, but others attended trained Wim Hof events led by certified therapists. 

THE EXPERTS

The NHS’s medical director has warned immersion in cold water can be “harmful” and research by a leading scientist shows that breath-holding and then going into cold water significantly raises the risk of a heart attack.

Professor Mike Tipton of the University of Portsmouth, who has been studying the effects of cold water on the body for 40 years, found that young and healthy individuals had a 1 to 3 per cent chance of cardiac arrhythmia when in cold water.

But when they were asked to hold their breath beforehand, that figure rose to 63 per cent.

“It’s an incredible way of reproducing cardiac arrhythmias in otherwise fit and healthy individuals,” he said.

Some of the casualties had a prior undignosed heart condition, but others did not. Naturally, nobody performs a full ECG and heart scan before jumping into ice-cold water baths.

Athletes have long used ice baths to treat soreness, but Hof suggested something more extreme — hyperventilation followed by breath retention, to increase oxygen levels in the blood, before a partial immersion in ice.

The danger is that hyperventilating rids the body of carbon dioxide, which in turns means the body has less oxygen, reducing brain function and leading to loss of consciousness and heart attacks.

CLAIMS & DISCLAIMER

The Wim Hof website’s FAQ page says the technique is not for everyone.

It advises against practising the method if you have any of several conditions, including high blood pressure or heart disease. However, the website also says his method can lower blood pressure, which is a contradiction within itself.

The website makes medical claims such as: “Scientific research has provided us with evidence that followers of the Wim Hof Method have a stronger immune response to pathogens, compared to others.”

Scientists disagree: “In terms of the claims made for the immune system, there are no definitive studies.”

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s medical director, said: “There is limited scientific evidence to support the use of cold water immersion as a medical ‘treatment’ and it is alarming to hear of claims of its alleged benefits for a number of conditions.

“It can be extremely harmful and risky, and in some cases, deadly.”

The risk of the Wim Hoff method, it seems, is drowning and death. 

FIRST, DO NO HARM

As yoga therapists we aim to work safely and cause no harm to our clients and students. 

As  these investigations continue their course and science takes time to find out more, we share this information so you can make your own sound decision about recommending  ice-cold water exposure practices to your students and those who may be at risk of serious harm from them. 

This does not mean that you cannot benefit from a cold shower if you enjoy them! It is the ice-cold immersion paired with the breathing techniques that can cause a harmful effect. Blood pressure goes up in the cold. Vessels contract, including the coronary arteries!

This effect may be ok in healthy individuals at reasonable levels of low temperatures -such as the cold shower you may have in the mornings- but not in extremes. 

Even cold showers may be contraindicated for heart patients through the activation of the sympathetic nervous system response, as we learned in the Yoga Therapy for the Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems. 

Thank you for taking your time to read as member of our community dedicated to safe and respectful Yoga Therapy.

Wishing you all a wonderful month of July,

The Team at The Yoga Therapy Institute