Known as the Iceman, Wim Hof is founder of the Wim Hof Method, which centres on breathing and cold therapy techniques. He’s considered a trailblazer in offering transformative experiences with long-lasting beneficial change. This year, Hof ran a pair of five-day summer expedition retreats (in June and July) near the city of Huesca in the Spanish Pyrenees. “These have an absolute awakening effect on the psyche, health and spirituality,” he says. “Participants become the alchemist over their body chemistry, connecting neurologically with the depth of the brain at will.” 

Wim Hof

Attendees learn Hof’s patented “scientific breathing techniques”, with physical benefits including improved energy levels, natural detoxification, reduced stress, a rebalanced nervous system, and a strengthened immune system. These techniques also help in embracing the cold as a “warm friend” to condition the mind and body. Learning how to work with it, including ice-baths, is said to help burn fat, boost immunity, improve sleep, reduce inflammation, and enhance nature’s own mood boosters. 

This of course, takes commitment. As the majority of Hof’s programme is held outdoors, the right setting is vital. “I chose the location because it is a beautiful and majestic setting of natural phenomena with mountains, rivers, abysses, sunsets, and more,” he explains. Imagine, he says, an immersive breathing session, filling your lungs with clean mountain air, under a lush canopy offering shade from the Mediterranean sun, with a vibrant turquoise lake as a backdrop, as you’re completely in the moment.  

Photo: Wim Hof Method

Accommodations are at the camping grounds of Morillo de Tou. With its breathtaking surrounds, this former village offers a variety of accommodations. During the day, explore the gorgeous hills, valleys, rivers, and falls of the area through hikes, swims, canyoning, and whitewater rafting. Evenings, meanwhile, are intended for mental and physical replenishment via locally sourced, traditional Catalonian cuisine. “You’re free to cap the day with a drink and tapas at the terrace bar, or opt for an early night’s sleep,” says Hof. 

“Participants discover that they can be so much more and are able to face reality with a set of new skills to battle everyday challenges – bringing peace, power and love for who and what you are,” says Hof. The most challenging aspect, he says, is to open up and face fears and conditionings. The most rewarding? The long-lasting results. “All the love, happiness, strength, and health within our control is nothing more than awakening to our true nature,” he proclaims. 

While Hof’s programmes tend to attract the motivated, he says that everyone who joins benefits from the experience. “Each individual has their own unique story, yet all attending are united in their belief in the power of nature and of the human mind to rise above.” 

Photo: Wim Hof Method

How To Experience The Wim Hof Method In Hong Kong? 

For those who can’t make it to the Spanish Pyrenees this summer, Hof’s method can be mastered in Hong Kong thanks to Brian Lai, Asia’s first certified instructor of the Wim Hof Method. “Witnessing the incredible shifts in myself and the others during the first training was the catalyst for me to continue studying under Wim,” says the Australia-born Lai. After training directly with Wim in 2016 and 2017, involving breathwork, ice baths, cold exposure training, and meditation, Lai founded Primal Breathwork in hopes of teaching people the core concepts and principles of breathwork and science-based tools to build resilience, manage energy, better achieve their goals and “ultimately become happy, healthy and high performing humans.”

Find Lai’s teaching schedule at primalbw.com and learn more about the Wim Hof Method at wimhofmethod.com.