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Lewis HowesThe SECRET To Making Yourself IMMUNE TO ILLNESS! (Heal Your Body And Mind)| Wim Hof & Lewis Howes
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Chapter summaries
Beating Inflammation: The Endotoxemia Experiment and Mind as a Muscle
Wim Hof describes the endotoxemia experiment, where he showed a different response from other test subjects, and the follow-up training of 18 people. He explains his view of mindset as a neurological muscle and willpower.
- •Wim Hof describes the endotoxemia experiment, in which bacteria are injected to trigger inflammation in a controlled setting
- •He says he showed a different chart from the other subjects and that anyone can do what he does
- •He trained 18 people in the mountains for four days in cold, breathing and mindset
- •He describes mindset as a real neurological muscle, not placebo, and cites brain scans at Wayne State University in Detroit
The Thinking Brain vs. the Survival Brain
Wim explains how a controlled modern life leaves the deeper brain unused, and Lewis asks whether the mind alone can handle a cold or flu. Wim says it can and describes his Michigan scan showing his temperature held up in cold water.
- •Wim says our controlled lifestyle means the reptilian and mammalian brain parts are no longer lived
- •He says about 25% of blood flow goes to the thinking brain
- •He says cold and breathing build neurological pathways, after which the mind alone can work
- •He describes using his mind in the Michigan study so cold water stress did not lower his core or skin temperature
Cold Immersion, Mood Regulation and Mental Health
Lewis asks what Wim thinks about before entering ice water. Wim recounts his dangerous core temperature drop in New York and describes the mood-regulation brain findings, including his hopes for bipolar research.
- •Wim tells Lewis his cue before entering cold water is to tell himself to shut up, go in, feel, be and connect
- •He recounts his core temperature falling past the point where medics said it could not recover, then recovering by using his mind
- •He cites researchers' language about autonomous processes related to mood regulation now being within the will
- •He hopes for a study on bipolar states and says people can be given back control over emotions
A Practical Path for Someone Stressed and Exhausted
Lewis asks what someone overworked and depressed should do in the next 24 hours. Wim describes first relaxing the person, then breathing, energy, circulation and cold as steps toward control.
- •First step Wim describes is relaxing the person and moving them away from anxiety, sharing warmth and connection
- •A relaxed body stores oxygen better, while shallow breathing and chronic stress lead to burnout
- •About 20 minutes of deep breathing restores biochemistry and boosts mitochondrial energy (ATP)
- •He says resting heart rate falls 15 to 30 beats a minute and then the person goes into the cold
Birth Trauma and a Mother's Invocation
Asked why he got into ice and breathing, Wim recounts his traumatic birth as an identical twin and his mother's promise to make him a missionary. He contrasts himself with his genetically identical twin brother.
- •Wim describes being born nearly too late, blue and purple, one of twins nobody knew were two
- •His mother prayed for the child to live, promising to make him a missionary
- •His identical twin brother can't do what Wim does but is now training and healing people
- •Wim says the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, immune system and deep brain are accessible to anyone who trains properly
Discovering the Cold at 17
Wim describes his early curiosity in psychology, religions and martial arts, and finding cold water on a Sunday morning at 17. He connects the experience to his birth trauma and describes training alone in the water.
- •At 12 he read on psychology and Buddhism, and by 17 he had explored many traditions and disciplines
- •He undressed and went into icy water on a Sunday morning and knew from inside that this was it
- •He links the deep breath on entering cold to rebirthing and his birth experience
- •Four months later he could hold his breath underwater for five to seven minutes after 25 deep breaths
Loss of His Wife and Healing Through Cold
Wim recounts his wife's death by suicide when he was 35, leaving him with four children. He says the cold stilled his mind and, along with his children, helped him survive and heal.
- •His wife jumped from an eight-story building because of a severe mental disorder, while he was in the mountains
- •He took care of his four children while feeling deeply broken
- •He turned consciously to cold water to deal with his terror and broken heart
- •He says the cold stills the thinking mind, and the healing took years while getting a hold of the anxiety took about a month
Challenging the Establishment: Happiness, Strength and Health
Wim reflects on going from school dropout to teaching professors and doctors. He argues for tapping into the mind without pills, and Lewis notes the establishment profits from not solving the problem.
- •Wim says that 23 years after 1995 he is a dropout teaching professors and doctors worldwide
- •He says no pill is involved, only awareness, power, breathing and cold
- •Lewis says the establishment doesn't like it because solving the problem doesn't make money
- •Wim challenges professors and doctors to prove him wrong and calls for guaranteeing happiness, strength and health
Love, Nature and Rethinking Schooling
Lewis asks where Wim feels most loved. Wim calls love the greatest power and argues that schools should teach love, connection and control over the body's systems rather than aggression.
- •Wim says love is the greatest power in the universe and that loving nature means you won't damage it
- •He says we lost connection because we are wrongly schooled
- •He wants children taught to tap into immune and endocrine systems to guarantee happiness, strength and health
- •He says competing with elbows is aggression, whereas strength is helping each other become the best of ourselves
Fear, the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Senses
Asked about his greatest fear, Wim describes a fearless state of being through what he calls the sixth, seventh and eighth senses. He also names his personal fear for his family and his young son.
- •Wim describes the sixth sense as the ability to enter any part of the brain at will, citing German brain scans showing 100% neural activity
- •He says fear is a signal that results from narrowed consciousness, and that confidence comes from going past it
- •He describes the seventh sense as immune system proprioception, acting in minutes rather than days
- •He describes the eighth as tackling a stressor top-down out of the body, shown in Detroit
- •He admits he fears for his family, especially his one-and-a-half-year-old son
Parents, His Dog and the Lessons of the Cold
Lewis asks about influences growing up. Wim describes his gypsy-like father and strict Catholic mother, then names his dog and the cold as teachers.
- •Wim says his father was free and without rules, while his mother was strict and very Catholic
- •He says his mother was the closest thing to a guru for him
- •He says his dog, three times faster in freezing mountains, is now a teacher
- •He calls the cold merciless but righteous, leading to deep peace and power
Four-Minute Breathing and Push-Up Exercise
Lewis asks for a short exercise, and Wim guides him through deep breathing followed by push-ups without air in the lungs. Wim explains the alkalizing effect and recommends doing it daily, then mentions his app and workshops.
- •Wim explains that breathing alkalizes muscle tissue so the performance neurotransmitter can keep going
- •Lewis sets a push-up baseline, then does breathing rounds and more push-ups while holding his breath
- •Lewis reports tingling, lightheadedness and a lot of energy during the push-ups
- •Wim says everybody has four minutes and push-ups are better than breathing alone
- •Wim points to a free app and course at wimhofmethod.com and upcoming workshops
Mission, Three Truths and Greatness
Wim states his mission and describes himself, then answers Lewis's three-truths question. Lewis offers an acknowledgment and asks for his definition of greatness.
- •Wim's mission is for everyone to be happy, strong and healthy and to own their own mind
- •He describes himself as crazy about life, his wife and family, and a simple dude changing the world
- •His three truths are to have courage to go through fear, find out who you really are, and heal as many as you can
- •Lewis acknowledges him as a maniac on a mission with a childlike spirit
- •Wim defines greatness as being astonished every day and being on a mission
