My Day with the Iceman, Wim Hof

Hannah Faulkner Roman and Wim Hof

​An ad popped up in my Facebook Feed, “1-Full Day Retreat with Wim Hof in San Diego.” Did I read that correctly?! The superhuman Iceman legend was actually coming across the world to my city! This world-famous guru has set numerous world records of extraordinary human endurance: ran a half marathon above the Arctic Circle (barefoot and wearing only shorts), swam underneath ice for 66 meters, climbed the highest mountains in the world (while wearing only shorts), ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without drinking water, and stood in containers filled with ice for extended periods of time. 

I looked more into his traveling route, and he was only stopping in six cities in North America for brief evening lectures. San Diego was the only stop on this tour that offered a full-day retreat, including breathwork and a cold plunge ice bath. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I decided that I must attend on March 22, 2026, even if the ticket price is double what I would charge for a full weekend yoga retreat!!!

my first experience with the wim hof Method

In March of 2017, I embarked on the Everest Base Camp Trek through the Himalayan mountains. When we arrived in the last village with shops, Namche Bazaar (at the end of the tree line), I noticed that the guides were buying extra layers of clothes. They said that this week was one of the coldest they had seen on the trail, and even colder blizzards were coming our way.

​A few days later (Day 7 of the trek), we started up one of the most challenging parts of the entire trail, Thukla Pass between Dughla and Lomboche. Even underneath many layers, I was chilled to the bone in these negative snowstorm temperatures. I could barely put one foot in front of the other as we were approaching 16,000 feet in elevation, and I was starting to lose my will to continue. My mind started saying, “This is too hard. I can’t go on.” 

I suddenly remembered something I had seen years ago while I was researching breathing exercises (the pranayama limb of yoga) online. Someone called the Iceman developed a method heavily inspired by a Tibetan Buddhist technique, Tummo, involving full torso circular inhales and exhales for 30 times followed by a minute or more of breath retention to help regulate the body temperature and control the mind. His Wim Hof Method helped him overcome extreme grief, set world records, and change the lives of millions of followers who were battling disease, depression, anxiety, etc.

Wim Hof Method

While walking, I started activating these full torso breaths without the breath retention. I inhaled strongly from my belly, then chest, while rolling my shoulders back and slightly lifting my chin (similar to the arching in cow pose, bitilasana). Then I immediately exhaled strongly, hugging my core in, guiding my shoulders forward, and tucking my chin in (rounding slightly like cat pose, marjarysana). I continued in this pattern for about one to two seconds for each inhale and exhale for about 15-20 minutes until I reached the top of Dughla Pass. My body started heating up as I imagined a fire burning at my core. When I got to the top, I felt so hot that I had to start taking off layers. Not only did I feel warm enough now, but I also felt ecstatic and very energized. I was beaming. I’ll never forget how the Wim Hof Method saved me that day!

“I’m not here to climb the mountain, I’m here to find my soul.”
​-Wim Hof

​March 22, 2026

When Wim entered the stage, his presence sent waves of warmth and excitement through the crowd. He certainly has a charisma that inspires. His overall demeanor is light-hearted but a bit rough around the edges. He openly burped into the microphone and joked about his body parts communicating to each other, especially the ass hole! He told stories and jokes with many wise lessons woven in. He said, “I must be a good salesman because I just sell cold and air!” 
 
I love that his eccentric personality encourages us to climb out of the box to solve problems. If we want wellness, we must go to the well, the source, the soul. The key is love and faith. He reminds us that our purpose is world peace, and it starts by mastering our own minds. We can do so much more than we think!
 

Breathwork

After the inspirational speech, we moved the chairs to lie down and begin the breathwork. We started the full circular torso breathing that I described earlier, but this time, after 30-40 full breaths, we would exhale fully and hold that space of no breath for a minute. Next, we inhaled and held our breath for another fifteen seconds and exhaled. Further, we began the next round, this time holding our exhale for 1.5 minutes. I believe the final round was 2 minutes without breath.

​My entire body was tingling like a magic wand had been waved over me. I felt complete bliss, love, tears of joy and definitely connection with my divine nature. I wanted to stay here in this space, but unfortunately, a lunch buffet was awaiting, and the hosts ushered us out for a tasty meal. Food usually tends to dim these elevated feelings.

Wim Hof

 
After lunch, the Iceman talked about his new book and explained more about how he’s recently been working with scientific research to prove that his ability is available to all through control of the mind. At Radboud University in 2011, Wim Hof proved that he was able to voluntarily influence his autonomic nervous system. This ground-breaking finding was published in PNAS, established credibility, and piqued interest for further scientific research. In a large-scale study of 404 participants, the University of Queensland in Australia concluded that sustained practice of the Wim Hof Method was more effective than mindfulness meditation in keeping down stress, while maintaining high energy and mental clarity. In France, a study involving 24 adults found that the Wim Hof Method breathing reduces heart rate variability and significantly increases gamma-band oscillations. Wim Hof is currently scheduled with UC San Diego to investigate the neural and cerebrovascular effects of the Wim Hof Method. Further details and many more studies can be found on his website under the science tab. 

Science

the ice bath cold plunge

All of a sudden, it was time for the ice bath immersion. The confusion and murmuring began, “I thought we were going to do more breathwork to warm and prepare ourselves…” He simply said, “Just remember that you are the master of your own mind!”
 
I bolted out of the conference room and kept stride with a gal next to me. She confessed that she had never done this before. I affirmed that I hadn’t either. We both decided it would be best to be one of the first ones into the bath so that we wouldn’t get anxious and fearful watching others suffer first. I have to admit that I was quite nervous. I live in San Diego because I love the ideal, comfortable weather and mild sunshine. Cold is not my favorite. Just a week before, I had a dream that I panicked in the water and fainted, but deep down I knew that I needed to follow my intuition, connect with my inner faith, and let my mind conquer this matter. 
 
Fourteen people were allowed in at once. One of the Iceman’s instructors merely guided us to cross our arms over our chest and to tuck our fingertips under our armpits (to prevent our hands from going too numb). She confirmed that the water was freezing, 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Then she told us to focus on long exhales through pursed lips to calm the body.
 
Ready, Set, Go!
 
We jumped in! 
“OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!!!!!”
 
I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me!
 
I couldn’t breathe!
 
Trying to exhale, I was actually going into hyperventilation. 
 
My body was screaming, “GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!”
 
I thought I was going to totally shut down and black out.
 
But, this moment was too important for me. I couldn’t fail. 
 
The instructor moved to right behind me and strongly commanded, “YOU MUST SLOW DOWN YOUR EXHALES!”
 
So, I redirected all of the signals from my body telling me, “I can’t. This is too much stress,” and I just pushed it out through my breath. 
 
It felt like trying to blow out a cake full of 100 candles that were trick candles. It took many tries. I couldn’t quite get a long enough breath. 
 
Finally, after the first minute, I settled into a numbing rhythm. The cold stung and numbed me, but I finally felt that I had control. I found out later that we were only in there for two minutes, but I felt like I could have kept going for another 3-5 minutes. However, when the countdown ended, I was happy to jump out of the water with strong flexed arms. After I stepped out, it felt like I was in a new body, trying to learn how to walk again. Everything was so frozen and numb, but I felt elated!! I definitely tapped into that divine love and trust once more. I was buzzing with excitement and dopamine! I wandered around to watch the others in round two. Not everyone made it through the full two minutes and some were too scared to even get in. But I get it, the fear is real. 
 
The ice bath can go two ways: into the stress and darkness or pushing deeper to the light at the end of the tunnel. For some people, the initial shock can trigger immediate high blood pressure, potential cardiac failure or drowning. People have died in ice baths. I advise that everyone who tries this for the first time should always have a guide or chaperone to rescue you or remind about the slow exhales. Intense cold causes fight or flight response. One should never hold your breath in this situation.

After this experience, I read in his book that we should start slow with cold training. For a four week period, start the first week with 30 seconds of cold shower after a warm or hot shower, then add 30 seconds each week until you can do 2 minutes of cold shower. Two minutes of cold shower each day will lower your heart rate by 10 beats for 24 hours, making your heart much younger and stronger! I will definately give this a try!

In conclusion, I now have more tools in my survival toolkit for life. I just added the experience with surviving freezing water. If I ever were to fall into water like that, while on an adventure, I would know how to slowly exhale and take control of the panic! Full torso breathing can keep me warm while hiking or climbing snowy mountains. The exhale retentions, after full torso breathing on my back, can certainly help me connect with my inner divine. 
 
The Wim Hof Method is a fast and intense way to connect with your inner source.
The Iceman experiences the divine through cold and breath. 
Buddha found it by meditating under a tree.
Rumi became enlightened by whirling for 36 hours.
Jesus reached higher states through fasting and prayer.
Ancient Yogis held Tree Pose for days.
Many contemporary spiritual leaders and followers of these traditions have reached these states as well.
 
There are many ways to connect with The Source!
 
We all have a great power within to overcome negativity (fear, disease, depression, stress, anger). By pushing through discomfort, we can reach loving bliss!