

Yet, the two methods are nearly diametrically opposed in how they achieve these goals. The Wim Hof method can produce many of the same results as the Buteyko Method, including stress reduction and health improvement. He’s concluded that the practice is a significant de-stressor and could help treat many western diseases that are stress-related.įrom the Buteyko perspective, does Wim Hof’s method work? Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at Harvard University and the president of Boston’s Mind/Body Institute, has been studying Tummo for two decades.


Tummo breathing is also said to improve health. This allows monks to sit motionless in cold temperatures for many hours and remain comfortable. Tibetan monks who’ve mastered Tummo have been documented raising their body temperatures as much as 15 degrees in fingers and toes. This can be repeated as many times as desired. Finally, inhale again, very deeply (as deeply as possible) and hold the breath for 10 seconds. After this, inhale deeply and exhale, postponing the need to inhale. The Wim Hof method teaches practitioners to find a comfortable place, and while either sitting or lying down take 30 quick, deep breaths-inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. The word Tummo literally means “inner fire” in Tibetan. The breathing technique is accompanied by visualizing flames rising up along the spinal column. The Tummo method has two components: breathing and visualization. The purpose of tummo breathing is to create heat, which helps Tibetan monks live more comfortably in cold, mountain monasteries. Wim Hof teachings are based on an ancient type of Tibetan yogic breathing called tummo. It has three components: first, breathing rapidly and through the mouth second, exposure to cold and third, correct mental attitude. The Wim Hof method is not just a breathing technique. What is Wim Hof’s method and how is it practiced? Wim Hof (Iceman) pictured here with his students. Konstantin Buteyko advised a gradual approach to oxygenize the body because he warned that the power of breathing can be compared to radiation: it can boost your health quickly but applied incorrectly it can injure health just as fast. The Buteyko method, which advises breathing less, has the same aim (oxygenizing the tissues), yet it teaches a gentler approach to the same goal. Adrenaline is for survival, but this time it is completely controlled … the adrenaline shoots out throughout the body and resets it to the best functionality.”īut Wim Hof’s method does not work for everyone. “What happens … the brain says, ‘There is no oxygen anymore.’ Then it triggers adrenaline to shoot out throughout the body. “If you oxygenize the body, the oxygen gets into the tissue.

In a 2017 interview for Discover Magazine, Wim Hof described why his method can work wonders: In the bestseller, “Breath” by James Nestor, the author practices this method himself. He has appeared in a documentary from Vice News and has, with the help of his son, developed a website to promote his teachings. Wim Hof is wildly successful these days as social media has spread the news of breathing for health. He also explains that correct mental attitude, especially visualization, is an important element of his extraordinary powers. Wim Hof asserts that his breathing technique, which is based on the yogic practice of tummo, is one key to allowing him to build up cold tolerance. Everest in shorts and been immersed in freezing water for up to an hour and a half with no ill effects and without his body temperature dropping. Is Wim Hof, who is also known as “The Iceman", teaching a dangerous method of breathing? The Popularity of Wim Hof’s Methodĭutchman Wim Hof is also known as “The Iceman” for his incredible feats of endurance in the cold.
