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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Wim Hof Method summary
Wim Hof
Activate Your Full Human Potential
26 mins
Brief summary
"The Wim Hof Method" by Wim Hof is a guide that teaches how to boost physical and mental health through breathing, cold exposure, and meditation techniques.
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The Wim Hof Method
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Key idea 1 of 8
Wim Hof was shaped by an early love of nature and dramatic encounters with the cold.
Wim Hof’s life began with a struggle. His identical twin, Andre, was born first, and the doctors almost missed Hof, mistaking his presence for his mother’s contractions. And so he was born in the cold hospital corridor, struggling for breath.
As an adult, he understood this early struggle had left a deep, unconscious imprint on him – pushing him to embrace life to its fullest.
Following his difficult entrance into the world, Hof enjoyed a childhood spent out in nature. He believes this was equally formative.
The key message here is: Wim Hof was shaped by an early love of nature and dramatic encounters with the cold.
As a child, Hof played in the woods near his home city of Sittard in the Netherlands. Along with his twin brother and friends, he played at being Tarzan, swinging from the trees on old bicycle tires. He preferred to spend all day making tree-houses and digging underground rather than study or attend church. He’d even cook in the forest, baking potatoes in an open fire, and eating them with a little salt.
This early relationship with nature was vital to him. It stimulated and developed his senses, and gave him a deeply rooted sense of his place in the world.
Hof and his friends would even build little igloos in the snow. One day, when all of his friends went home, Hof stayed inside the igloo, feeling a nice kind of glow from the freezing ice. His parents found him much later, peacefully dozing . . . but in the early stages of hypothermia! Thankfully, they’d found him in time to revive him. But this would hardly be his last encounter with the cold.
At 17, Hof moved to Amsterdam to live in a squat. There, he could think freely and make music, living outside of societal norms and conventions.
One freezing Sunday in Amsterdam's Beatrixpark, Hof felt a sudden, mysterious urge to swim naked in the freezing water. Just like in that cozy igloo as a child, the cold didn’t repel him. He recalls feeling liberated by its power.
More than that, he felt liberated by his own power. If he could withstand this cold, he thought, then what else could he do? Inspired by the cold, he began to sense hidden reserves in the human mind – he could be much more than he’d ever imagined.
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What is The Wim Hof Method about?
The Wim Hof Method (2020) posits that we can overcome almost anything, from illness and depression to extreme climate conditions, by employing Wim Hof’s methods. Based on three pillars – cold, breathing, and mindset – The Wim Hof Method seeks to help you activate your full potential.
Who should read The Wim Hof Method?
- Anyone looking to improve their general health and well-being
- Endurance athletes and winter sport fanatics
- Those looking for alternative remedies to illness and depression
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