What COLD EXPOSURE Does to the Female Brain 🧠 Isabelle & Laura Hof

Women face an incredible burden of stress with their hormones fluctuating each month throughout their lives, affecting not just their body but also their brain.

Learn to relax in the stress. All these stressors, they enter the female brain much more impactfully.

These changes influence things like body temperature regulation, our breathing rhythms, which makes it crucial to approach women's health and wellness In a way that addresses the mysterious and incredible variation that lives within them.

47% reported a reduction in their anxiety, 36% a reduction in their mood swings, 30% a reduction in their hot flashes, and 20% a reduction in their night sweats.

Cold exposure increases your glucose sensitivity.

So what are the primary benefits with cold and your breathing methods?

It's a combination that ignites as well a certain mindset that can let us flow better through the world. We not only manage stress, but we transform it into a power, into a strength.

Are there any special concerns for pregnancy, postpartum, menopause?

It's actually a myth that cold exposure directly influences our hormonal balance and it can disrupt our menstrual cycle.

Welcome back, Kwik Brains. I am your host and your brain coach, Jim Kwik. Today, we'll learn about the effects of cold exposure and breathwork on women specifically. I would encourage men to please stay with us as you will receive many gems for yourself, but also the women in your life. Isabel and Laura Hoff, they are co-founders of Ice Women Community and instructors of the Wim Hof Method. They are here today for you to share their empowering journey and how Their work really transforms not only how women approach physical and mental challenges, but also how they thrive in a world that often imposes limitations. They are the author of this book, which I highly recommend. We'll put links in the show notes as we always do, called Secrets of the Ice Women. Now, as with all things, make sure you check with your health practitioner, you know, before doing any kind of health modalities. Welcome to the show, Isabelle and Laura.

Thank you, Jim. Thank you, Jim.

And, uh, it's a great honor to be here with you and to really spread this message of the Secrets of the Ice Woman and of these benefits of the Wim Hof Method. We absolutely love it.

It's incredible.

It's a method that just transforms lives all across the world. And now we get this chance to really spread this message for the benefits of all women around the world. For us, And really for me, this book is really a way to uplift women, to educate them, to make them more aware of the power that is within them and to empower them by igniting this innate capacity that all women have around the world to be more confident, to be more healthy, and to have that power within them, their own selves. So that's really important for us.

I absolutely love it. You know, I first met your father, Wim Hof, in 2013, where we were speaking at an event together. We were the 2 keynotes in a very special gathering in Boston. And since then, cold has been part of my non-negotiables every single day for the past 12 years. It's just, even when I go to hotels, I have to fill up the— I have to request a bathtub, and I make these trips with my pillowcase to the ice machine. We've had We had the pleasure of having Wim on the podcast. I'll put a link in the show notes. Why don't we start out? I mean, really, you know, I asked our team to reach out to you because our team is big fans of your method and the work that you do. Maybe for people who are not yet familiar, you could explain what the Wim Hof Method is and then how integrating this method into daily life influenced your family dynamics and your own personal health?

Yeah, great question. So for those that still aren't familiar with the Wim Hof Method, it consists of 3 pillars: breathwork, cold exposure, and mindset. And we work with all the 3 pillars to gain maximum physical and mental benefits. And it's not only cold exposure, it's not only breathing exercises, very powerful though. But it's a combination that ignites as well a certain mindset, a certain mindset that can let us flow better through the world. And, um, well, since 2014, my brother, we are working as well with the family, with our brother and, and our father. So yeah, family dynamics is a very interesting topic. I think it's enough podcast to delve into it.

This is why the method is so good for us, stress resilience and emotional resilience.

I love it.

So it's, yeah, it's both the highs and the lows. That's, that's with family. There are no boundaries. There are no layers with families. Uh, that is also the power of being amongst family that there are no layers and you can really be. And, um, but this method, what it brings to all of us, like for me, like I studied psychology, clinical psychology and health psychology. And what I've seen through this method that is a Powerful, powerful way of really forcing, of having, um, a lot of benefits for your mental being. And it's, you have, you have talking therapies, which can be great as well, but I see it as physiology beats our psychology. So if we change our physiology, it influences our psychology very powerful. So sometimes by talking.

Yeah.

You can actually go in a spiral downwards and you need to change. And that happens on a different level. And with this method, you can reach that level and gain amazing, um, great benefits if done in the right way, of course.

And of course we know Wim Hof. I think he's known all around the world, right? And we have lived with Wim Hof since we were children. So we know him inside out and he's the most pure man you can Really, uh, get to know because he is what you see, you know? And what he really did is going into nature, really being connected to his inner nature, going into the call. And why did he do it? He did it all by intuitive feeling, just going by feeling. What do— does— what feels, uh, right for me? Uh, not too much in the brain, not only thinking, doing.

Mm-hmm.

And so Because of that, it's really a 50-year practice, pretty much what the MIST method consists of, because he was always going into the cold when it was winter. He was doing yoga in the snow. We as children would go with him or his breathing exercises every single morning, 4 o'clock in the morning. If I had a nightmare, I would go to the living room and my father was doing the breathing exercises, you know, so. In summer, cold showers all over. And so we as children were never told that we needed to do anything, um, to go dipping with him in the cold. But intuitively, if we wanted, without forcing, we just would join him. And of course, your father is your father, so it's not really cool to do what your father does.

That's right.

You're not quite intended. So, you know, the breathing exercises, honestly, I didn't really do that until maybe 23 when I had a huge hangover, really a huge hangover. My father accidentally came over and he said, you know what, sit with me and let's do this breathing one more time. You'll see what the effect is. I was like, no, I don't wanna do it.

Okay.

So I sat with him. We did 3 rounds of this breathing. And that was the moment that I was completely sold. Really, I looked at them and I was like, holy shit, this shit really works. And that was the moment that I got into it. With regards to the cold exposure, it was always just cold showers since I was 11, uh, or just going outside if I was cold. This is how our father taught us. If you are cold, only then you put an extra layer on. But it's not the other way around. We never let the weatherman dictate how we should dress. And so I have moments that I had, uh, yeah, people come up to me telling me, hey, don't you need a jacket? Well, yeah, I don't feel cold. So this is really intuitively how we were raised by our father. And only later we realized, uh, that, okay, it's a little bit different. This intuitive feeling is going by your inner nature, but this is really what our father really taught us, going within. And really feeling what is your path? Where do you need to guide to? And this really, this mindset of, uh, staying connected with yourself and this can-do mentality, a deep trust in oneself. This we really received from my father, and I really thank him a lot, uh, for this because he's not conditioned at all and he really gave that sort of to us. So you have to find out your own boundaries and be— Yeah. But these practices has been sort of the techniques which my father always did. And we just later on discovered the beautiful benefits of it. Of course, later only came the ice baths. But when you do the ice baths, we introduced the ice bath as a way to introduce cold exposure in a controlled setting to teach others to also learn to deal with stress. to deal with that ice bath. And so you do it one time in the correct manner, and you just feel the stress gliding off your body. You feel aligned.

What I love about what you're talking about, the two of you, mindset and cold and breathing, it's free, first of all, to all the listeners. It doesn't take a lot of time for those people who have done this. So what are the primary benefits you see your clients or your community experience with cold and your breathing methods? What are some of the top things people could expect?

I think for women, really, we're talking about women, they really deal with this stress, this daily rumination. Women have a more stress-sensitive brain. And so that means that anything that causes stress in their environment, and there are many stressors, you You might have read that in the book as well, so we won't go into that. But all these stressors, they enter the female brain much more impactfully. So the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex of a woman's brain, they're much closely connected with one another. We also know that the neurons fire in a more rapid speed, meaning that stress, environmental stress, whatever stress there is, it just enters a female brain and the impact is bigger. And so what we need to do for female brains, I think also the physiology, but to learn to deal with stress. And I think this is one of the, the biggest benefit of this method because everybody's stressed. Everybody's stressed. Any human being, modern human beings, they're constantly stressed, bombarded with stress, the phone, the laptop, their work, environmental stressors. And for females especially, Also with regards to their hormonal balance, it's very important to become more resilient toward stress. And that is really what we teach, uh, with, with the method. Now there are 3 others.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, what I want to add on this one, because stress is such an important factor in our lifestyle. It's not only for women, also for men, but especially for women. Women experience twice as likely more stress as men. And what this, what this method teaches us, and also especially the research, what we have seen in the brain, we're actually reshaping the brain. So we are, we are creating architectural changes in the brain. We are increasing our stress resilience. And you can see that by the amount of, uh, uh, of endocannabinoid receptors, 1 it's called. Okay, these are widely spread in the brain and they work as a stress buffer. So you're actually increasing your stress buffer. So it tells us something profound, that by consciously engaging with stresses in the right way, we not only manage stress, but we transform it into a power, into a strength. And that is for me number one. The number 2 is energy. It's really energy. I mean, this whole world, this whole global world, we function on energy. Yeah, there are wars about energy, but we have as well energy in our bodies. So if you feel energetic, you feel good. And your mitochondrial health really, uh, really, uh, yeah, you help your mitochondrial health by doing this method. So we see a lot of people reporting tons, having tons of energy. So that's one of the benefits as well for all. So again, not only for women, also for men.

And we know stress is a contributing factor for all, you know, health challenges. It can amplify, magnify, you know, any chronic stress, certainly. And, you know, even a side benefit, if I'm able to, if my wife is able to reduce stress through breathing and cold therapy, it makes me less stressful also because her stress leads to my stress for sure. I definitely want to do—

more lucky in the bedroom, probably as well.

Right. Absolutely. And then, maybe at the end, we could do a little bit of breathing exercise so we could take everyone through a guided experience. Our audience really loves, you know, not just passively listening, but to be able to do something. For the cold exposure, it could be very daunting for many. And I totally agree about the energy. I don't love Still to this day, we live on the water and I would jump in, you know, in the wintertime. I don't love it, but I love how I feel afterwards. I mean, I get— Talk about energy. Nothing, coffee or anything, doesn't do what good breathing and a nice cold exposure. But cold exposure can be daunting for many. What are your recommendations for some initial steps for our listeners that could, you know, to safely begin practicing cold exposure? And is there a way that they can measure progress at all? So what are some initial stages if they haven't experienced, you know, intentional cold exposure? How would you recommend our listeners start? And is there a way of measuring their progress over time?

For sure. So good question. Because It, the cold exposure, you want to do it safely. It's all about the dose in cold exposure and how you adapt your body to do the cold exposure in the right way. And for a beginner, it's really important to start slowly. So that's slowly but safely. And that is by turning the showers just cold at the end, just 15 seconds or 5 to 15 seconds at the beginning, and then you slowly build up. Until 2 minutes. So in the beginning, it can be intense for the body. You want to just go. So the reaction directly is fight or flight. You want to go, you want to run away. Uh, you don't like the feelings. Um, so the practice here is really to, to, the practice here is really to just accept that feeling. So that's the mindset component. The mindset is very important as well in cold exposure. So to accept that it's not nice, but it's an emotion. So to accept that emotion at that moment, but not to react. So we respond. And you can see that while you're doing it more and more, it is, it becomes more easy as well. And before, actually before doing the cold exposure, we always do the breathing exercises. Yeah, the breathing exercises increases our pain tolerance. So this is also what we have seen by doing research with Radboud University.

Mm-hmm.

It actually increases our pain tolerance. So the stress of the water is more manageable. So this is what we always do before.

Not, not important to underscore, not, not during. They don't do the breathing while they're in the water.

No, no.

So the breathing exercises is before. You always lay down on a mat. You never do it in the water. So lay down on the mat, then take a moment to be in shavasana, to be in a meditation for a couple of minutes. And then you can go to the cold. And it's important to also know that if you do the breathing, the effect, the increased pain tolerance, it doesn't only, it's not only for directly after, it's even 4 hours after.

Wow.

Okay. And so that is a very important measurement. And what's the sort of cold exposure, whether doing the showers at a certain moment, it's more manageable. You can see that you add on the time. Your stress response will be less intense. And especially with the ice bath, the ice bath is the most intense form of cold exposure because the showers are, yeah, it's cold, but it's manageable. The ice bath is going up towards, yeah, 0 degrees. I mean, it is, it's direct.

You're either in or you're out. There is no in between. And so you either connect with the body and you either go into a sort of a meditation where you really have to accept All of these emotions, the feelings that arise, the stress that you feel, because there is a period of about 2 minutes where you really transition from a very stressful state to a more parasympathetic, restful state. And that is what we want to induce. What we don't want, and this, I see this all the time, because cold exposure has many different benefits. So people sometimes just do it for the benefits, not really doing it with the mind in the correct manner. And they really push through. They go sit in an ice bath, push through, trying to control, but you're never going to win it from the ice. The ice will always win the battle with you. And so the, what you want to learn and what the conditioned responses that you want to train is to learn to deal with stress. And that means accept the stress in the moment, learn to relax In the stress. Because if you learn to relax in that stressor of an ice bath, that's called cross-adaptation. You will learn to deal with stress in any other category of your life. And that is really how profound and important an ice bath for me is. It's the ultimate stress management tool you have. And so sometimes I see big buffed fellows, they sit in an ice bath. They just power through, they're full of control, and they are, I'm just gonna control until the very last. But what are you really learning?

Right.

Learning to push through. You're learning to only control. That's not what you want to learn. You want to learn to relax in the stress, not push towards the stress. That's the best conditioned response you can learn. And that's for me, really the best thing that you can do with an ice bath. Now, there are many different components. You have the mental aspect, the physical aspect. We have this cardiovascular system, of course, and that's going to help you to deal with the cold, physically speaking, but you have to train that. And there is such a thing as training because you either use it or you lose it. And we see, we see this, we have written about it in our book. So it's a very important thing to notice, gradual cold exposure over time, it will physically help you to deal with the cold. Then you have the mental aspects, of course. And the mental aspect is really that voice. I call it the little devil. I call it that inner saboteur of yourself. Every time when you go into the cold, that inner saboteur of yours, that comes up. That's the voice inside that doesn't want to make you feel comfortable, doesn't want you to go beyond your comfort zone. And that's the voice that you get to win the battle with every single time. Now, when you do this, you will feel this threshold coming up, huh? Every little time. And it's different for everybody. So I do think that 2, 3 minutes in the beginning, wow.

Yeah.

You overcame your stress response. You learned to deal with the stress, be calm in the stress. That's what I want to see. When you've done that successfully as a beginner, Bravo. That's really how I see it.

Bravo.

After that, the party is on. You can do whatever you want, whatever you feel good with, right? So there, that's really feeling this connection with the body because we are really also strengthening this neurological muscle. This is how I see it. As I, again, you are either in or out. You either learn to connect with the body, mind-body. And strengthening this connection, or you disconnect. So this is really very personal for each person.

And is this something that you would recommend doing once a day in a perfect world just for optimal health and performance, like once a day or more, or is there certain times that people, men and women shouldn't do it? Like, should they do it before going to sleep? And You know, speaking of women, many women sometimes stay away from cold exposure because they're concerned about potential disruption in their monthly cycles. How would you recommend our women who in our community approach cold exposure to gain the best benefits and still honor their cycles and hormones? Does it change at all week to week or?

It's actually a myth that cold exposure directly influences our hormonal balance. And disrupt, it can disrupt our menstrual cycle. It's, uh, the truth is, is actually that excessive stress disrupts our menstrual cycle, can disrupt our menstrual cycle. And excessive stress means as well excessive cold exposure. So if some woman would do everyday cold exposure and then will notice something about the menstrual cycle, they're doing something that is excessively. And, um, this also happens with overtraining and with other types of stressors in the world. So for, um, yeah, for in our community, we have seen actually that a lot of women, they do the cold exposure, they do the Wim Hof Method, and they see a more regular menstrual cycle. And it's all about the dose in this, in this way. Dose and timing also is, yeah, can, can work. Can add. Um, but it's really about the dose. So timing, um, I think that for women, what is important to understand is our menstrual cycle and to understand as well where they are and where to do a little bit more and where to do a little bit less. So if you do a week, we can divide the menstrual cycle roughly in 2 phases. That is the follicular phase and the luteal phase.

Yeah.

And the follicular phase. Yeah, the hormone estrogen rises, rises, rises, and estrogen gives us a great mood and great energy feeling. So in that sense, we can endure a bit more cold exposure. And what estrogen also does is it works on our thermogenesis, so it dissipates heat faster. So we can handle the cold better in this phase. Let's— and it starts at the first day of your menstrual cycle. And it ends at ovulation. So roughly 14 days. And then from 14 days, from day 14, that is your follicular phase that starts the follicular phase. And there the hormone progesterone takes the lead. And this hormone is actually a more calming and more relaxing hormone. And what it also does with our heat, it preserves the heat. So your core body temperature, especially for a woman, goes a little bit up. And there is less heat for the hands, for the extremities. So women tend to feel colder in this phase, in this phase of the cycle. So over here, we would say to women, be a bit more compassionate. You can still do cold exposure, but be a bit more compassionate. A phase where we would less recommend doing cold exposure if it adds extra stress to you is the menstruation.

Okay.

The premenstruation and the menstruation. There you can say like, how do I feel? If it's too, too much stress, then don't do it. But more important in the Wim Hof Method, and what is key is the interoceptive focus ability. So how you are listening to your body.

Hmm.

And each physiology is different. So each physiology of men, of a woman is different. And also your environment is different. So you know how much stress you are adding in. And the interoceptive focus, that ability to listen to the wisdom of your body and to know when to push a little bit more and when to lean a little bit back, that actually influences and is very beneficial for our hormonal balance. So that really depends on the woman. And yeah, everyday ice bath for a woman, I wouldn't recommend.

A few days a week for sure.

But again, it really depends on the woman, on your physiology, on the stresses you have in your environment.

Yeah.

So for a woman, really, if you keep it too protocolized, it actually doesn't, wouldn't work because a woman really has to feel where she is. And the more connected with the body, she will sense that. If she's more disconnected from the body, she wants a more protocolized Way. I understand because it's far more in the mind, but that actually disconnects you from the body. And so, yeah, there is a protocol, but then how much can you be in contact with the body and feel what, and, and sense what you really need and go with that? So most of the time, women will be very much able to sense that they have an intuitive sense and awareness of that. So. What I do want to mention though, is that an ice bath can also be an amazing pain reliever. So I, for example, I sometimes have incredible, uh, pain. It's the first day and the second day of my menstrual cycle. And it's, it's quite painful. And I actually use an ice bath. I use it as an instant pain reliever. Like the pain just goes away. And so, yeah, it's, uh, it just releases the tension, the cramping. So there are ways of using the cold exposure. The rest, I really leave it for the days around the menstrual cycle. But when I really feel the pain, I just go in an ice bath, really 2 minutes and the pain goes away.

Yeah, I like the pain management part. You know, I have a chronic from injuries, my shoulder, my back and get so much relief. I always do my cold in the morning. as part of waking up and it just— I have this natural high for hours. Going back to women, are there any special concerns or considerations for the protocols for pregnancy, postpartum, menopause? Does anything change, you know, certain times when women experience more fluctuations in their hormones? Is there any Considerations there. Are you a high achiever constantly seeking that next level of success? Welcome to the Kwik Success Program. It's a deep dive and support system to master your life and scale to new heights in personal and professional achievement. Included is our exclusive monthly book club where we process transformative ideas from amazing books to level up your learning and your life. We also bring the author to the club to answer your burning questions. You can also participate in monthly live coaching calls with me where your questions meet my decades of expertise. Simply go to kwiksuccess.com. That's kwiksuccess.com and choose the plan that works best for you.

Now, there is a more nuanced, nuanced answer actually for this. Well, we don't recommend doing the breathing exercises as you work with temporarily low oxygen environments in the body, and we just don't know what it does with the future. So we would say, refrain yourself from, uh, from the breathing exercises. These are powerful, but don't do that while you're pregnant. But the cold exposure, yeah, in the first trimester, I'm pregnant by the way as well, so I'm doing it.

Oh, congratulations.

So the first trimester, we would say stop doing the cold exposure, or at least the ice bathing, because it's adding of stress. Mm-hmm. And we just don't know what's happening there. And if you look at as well, the amount of, of miscarriages, 10% of the miscarriages happens in the first trimester. And then it reduces to 1% or, or half a percent. So just stop and don't do the ice bathing in the first trimester. And if you're experienced, you can do it in the second or the third one. If you're experienced, then you feel well, if it gives you a good feeling. But again, here, this is interoception. You have to feel if this is good for you. If, if by any means you don't feel it, then skip it until after your pregnancy.

Sure.

And then postpartum, postpartum, we would also say just Had a baby, you're the family. I don't know if you have children, but yeah, it can be very draining, especially when they are very little, 1 month, 2 months. Yeah, you're, you're sleep deprived. There's a lot of stress there. And especially after as well giving birth, you want to just, yeah, withhold kind of stressors and kind of practices that induces stress. Um, The only thing is that the breathing exercises, as it is, as it lowers the pain, uh, the pain, it can be very beneficial for women who experience pain after the pregnancy. So for example, for me, it really helped me with a certain pain I had. Uh, and, um, also what we want to say about postpartum is that if you want to give If you want to breastfeed, there's a lot of questions about breastfeeding and cold exposure. Um, it's better to not do it until you really understand the drinking behavior of your baby. Because it is a stressor, of course. So if, if, if, yeah, you get some milkshake. You get some milkshake if you do it after cold exposure. Also timing. Don't do it if your breasts are full of milk. So like she wants to give him a milkshake.

That's funny.

So yeah, in that sense, it's always a bit of the common sense there as well. Like when to do it, when not to do it. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of research into it, but we have amazing community and there is some research and where you see as well that it can benefit, uh, the cold exposure can benefit actually the pregnancy. Uh, one of the things that I found very interesting for myself as well, that Uh, your, your glucose sensitivity that drops, it drops. So you're less, you're less sensitive to glucose and it has to do with the glucose going to the baby.

Hmm.

But this then leads to prediabetes, et cetera. So cold exposure actually increases your glucose sensitivity. So that I found very interesting as Yeah. Putting the practice in my second and third trimester because, yeah, glucose sensitivity is a very important health parameter.

What is this?

Yeah. And, uh, yeah, we also know for menopausal women, really, it's amazing. And we know this for really like a decade and a half of, uh, really experienced women in perimenopause. And they find great benefits with regards to, yeah, all of their symptoms, depressive symptoms. They feel more, more energized. They have more confidence. They first are not connected to their body and all of a sudden completely connected, more in balance, ready to tackle the world. And again, there's not a lot of research, but we do know about a study done last year with female researchers of UCL. And that was done with regards to 114 women that did cold water swimming in nature. And they asked them, yeah, what the benefits were and how they were feeling. And more than 60% were reporting to use it for their menstrual or menopausal symptoms. So that's really, yeah, it helps with hormones. That's pretty much what it indicates. And also for the 785 menopausal women, there were great benefits. Uh, 47%, uh, reported a reduction in their anxiety, 36%, a reduction in their mood swings.

Wow.

30%. A reduction in their hot flashes and 20% reduction in their night sweats. So it's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing.

So yeah, there's not probably not a pill that does that, get those kinds of results. Yeah.

So why isn't there more research being done? And this is of course with menopause all across the board, but women have been their own experimenters and almost like their own researchers and scientists. Like the rabbit hole of menopause, which I really dived into for this book. And I, it was incredible. But so I'm happy that it's, it gives more power to women, to their health, happiness, their strength. This is an all-over empowerment tool. This is the way that I see it.

And I love that your family is building awareness, you know, for this. You mentioned breathwork as one of the 3 pillars. Of the method, maybe we could close with a quick walkthrough, maybe a basic breathing technique. It takes, you know, 2, 3 minutes that beginners can do with us, kind of. And so they could kind of experience this and, you know, continue the habit.

Yes, we will do that. Jim, you're gonna follow my lead.

Okay.

You know how this works. You have already done it. But Isa, you want to just mention some of the things? Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, um, because these are very powerful techniques, the powerful breathing technique, we always want to say a disclaimer, especially for that person who is now driving a car. Um, never ever do it in the car and never ever do it in the water because you can pass out temporarily. Probably not in the first phase, but you never know. So always do it laying down comfortable so that if something happens, you're just, yeah, passing out and then you wake up again.

Perfect. So these are really powerful. You go into your subconscious brain. So you also don't do deep forms of meditation behind the wheel. That's just not what you do. You go on the mat, lying down. That's the only way to do it. I love it. Great. So we do, uh, one round maybe of a little basic Wim Hof Method breathing. And it really consists of 3, um, yeah, 3 parts. So the first part is really a form of active breathing. And you can use the nose to have a little bit more control as a beginner. So it's really active in filling the belly, the chest, also the neck. Just fill yourself up all the way. And I don't want you to breathe with the mind. I want you to follow the breath and breathe with your whole entire being, almost like you're following the breath and how it feels like circular. So there are 3 phases. One is the active phase. We do about 30 breaths. Then we have a second part, and that's the retention phase. That's when we— Go with no oxygen. In the lungs, and we hold our breath as long as we can until we feel the urge to breathe. And only in that moment, we take final, last deep breath in, only one, and then we hold it on the inhale for about 10 to 15 seconds.

You ready?

Yeah, let's do it. Everyone, I encourage everyone to, if you're not driving something or operating heavy machinery, to lie down and take a moment for yourself, disconnect to reconnect.

So you can use the nose. If it's blocked, just use your mouth anywhere else. Okay? You ready?

Mm-hmm.

Take a full breath in. Belly, chest, head. Let it go. Unforce. Fully in again. Let it go. Fully in.

Let it go.

And just continue. Go within and just follow the feeling. Follow the breathing. Filling you up with air. Let it go.

Pulling.

Let it go. Beautiful. Connect with each single breath. Let it go. If you feel tingling sensations, lightheadedness, it's all okay. Breathe into it. No minding. Fully connecting with each breath. Just continue. Beautiful. Make it circular. Like the wave in the ocean. Coming in. Going out. Beautiful. We have about 15 more. Take it all you got.

Beautiful. 14.

13.

Just let it go. Beautiful.

Almost there. 11. Just lightheadiness. Last 9. Your own pace, make it activating. And just release without force. 8. Beautiful. 7. Last 6. Last five. Make them count.

Beautiful.

Last four. Last three.

Beautiful.

Last two. Take a full breath in all the way up.

Up, up, up, up, up, up, up.

Let it all go. Well, the last one, fully in, all the way. Halfway out, halfway out. And then stop your breathing. Just hold your breath. And in this moment, there's nothing else to do but to be here now. A moment of relaxation, of complete stillness. And you stay here as long as you can. And only, only when you feel the urge to breathe, only then— Maybe we do it together? Take a full breath in and hold on the inhale.

Hold.

We hold it for about 10 seconds.

8, 6, 4, 2, 1.

Two zero.

Let it go.

One that was running with her out.

I love it. Feel it's that feel different every single time in a good way, and I'm sure I would love to hear people's feedback if they could take a screenshot of this episode wherever you're consuming it. And tag us all on social media. Um, and so we get to see it. I'll, I'll repost, uh, you know, a couple and just please share your experience, you know, and that's what we do as a community. We can become more limitless together. Where can, uh, people find you on social media?

Laura Hall, Alchemy. That's my name.

And Isabel House. Easy.

Instagram. So, so happy to be with you, Jim.

Yeah, no, I want to thank you. Thank you so much. As always, we put the extended version on YouTube. So we keep all the audio to 20 minutes because it's, you know, quick. But on YouTube, please make sure you subscribe and watch the full episode here. We have joined 1.8 million subscribers there and see, you can watch it on video and me doing these exercises also as well. To end the episode, I like to ask our guests just one question. Really simple. You know, our, our show is all really about learning. What is one thing each of you are currently learning about or studying that, that's lighting you up or you're personally curious or excited about? Is there something, could be on this topic or something else?

Yeah, well, for me, it is about the, the, the immune cells of the brain. It's called microglia, and that's a new field in psychology as well as psychiatry. I'm always very interested in psychology and psychiatry. And actually what they have discovered, what they are discovering is that in 10 years, it could be that if you have a mental issue or mental disorder, that instead of you going to a psychiatrist, it could be that you are going to immunolates.

Immunolates.

Immunologist. Yeah. Somebody who is checking your immuno— immunology. So it is the same with the microglia in your brain. So it counts for 10% of your brain cells and your microglia, those cells can either be in an anabolic state or in a catabolic. So they are fighting or they're repairing. And if they're repairing, they're repairing lots of brain areas, which are good for executive Uh, functions. And it means as well more impulse control, better planning, better decision making.

I love that.

So if you are lacking that, yeah, then you go to another route.

I call them the Shaolin monks. The Shaolin monks. I think they're like Shaolin monks, you know, they're fighters, but they also gardeners. They're peaceful, but they also good fighters.

Good fighters.

Yeah.

And yeah, and, and what we want, of course, are very peaceful ones, more peaceful fighters, of course, when they need to fight. but peaceful to repair and to, to make us the best versions of ourselves. I mean, so I see again what this, what our lifestyle does to, to us, to our brains, and now in the, in the form of microbia. So I find that really interesting. We will learn more about that in, in these years.

Um, well, I had a little question. Uh, I think I wrote it down like, uh, last week. So that's sort of my quest right now. And it's, Who are you without your stories?

Oh, wow.

It's sort of a spiritual quest. So it's like, Jim, who are you without your stories? That's the question that I'm asking myself.

Well, these are 2 interesting topics. You know, I, I, I study, uh, psychoneuroimmunology. And then also in terms of with our stories, you know, a lot of people, it creates evidence and, you know, their scripts, but, you know, imagine us teleporting into our lives right now in this exact situation. Like, you know, without that story, right? You know, what would, what would we be and what would we do? That's, that's fascinating. Where can people get your book, Secrets of the Ice Women?

Yeah, it's through Amazon, HarperCollins, or through our website. Just type in Wim Hof Method, Secrets of the Ice Woman, Laura Hof, Isabel Hof, and it will direct you to the right place.

And it will be published 29th of April. Good to mention.

Fantastic. We'll put all of this, links to your social media, to the previous episodes we've had with Wim, and also a link to your new book. Congratulations. We'll put that in the show notes at jimkwik.com/notes. I want to thank you both for your time and your talent. I know your family is very mission-driven. You've had a very significant impact on my life, which allowed me to To help more people also as well. And, you know, I highly recommend people go deeper. So connect with the two of them and get the book for you or a gift. As always, you could find more ways to fuel your brain's potential on our YouTube channel. Join a couple million people there where we have the extended versions and make sure you hit subscribe, leave a comment. I read every single one. This is your brain coach, Jim Kwik, and until next time, be limitless. Thank you both.

Can we do that together?

Yeah, yeah, we can do that.

Thank you.