How breathwork and cold exposure can shift your day, and your mindset

Breathwork and cold exposure might sound intense at first, but for me, they’ve become a simple and powerful part of how I reset and reconnect each day. Not a miracle, not a life overhaul. Just a consistent practice that helps me feel better, think more clearly, and show up more fully.

The science behind the practice

The Wim Hof Method, developed by Dutch athlete and adventurer Wim Hof, combines three pillars: controlled breathing, cold exposure, and commitment. What might sound like a self-discipline challenge is actually supported by peer-reviewed studies conducted alongside universities and medical researchers.

Scientific findings have shown that consistent breathwork and cold exposure can, among the other things:

• Regulate the immune response

• Reduce inflammation

• Improve mood by stimulating the release of endorphins

• Help manage symptoms of anxiety and depression

• Improve resilience to everyday stress

• Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (which helps calm you down)

These aren’t just anecdotes. They’re results backed by data. Hof’s method has been studied in collaboration with institutions like Radboud University, demonstrating voluntary influence over the autonomic nervous system, something previously believed impossible.

What it means to me

Every morning, I begin with 20 minutes of breathwork, followed by a cold shower. Or recently, an ice bath I built myself (which I’m really proud of). Compared to a cold shower, plunging into near-freezing water is much more intense. The moment I immerse myself, my thoughts dissolve. There’s no room for worries, to-do lists, or overthinking. It’s pure presence.

For me, this practice is deeply tied to my core value: freedom. But not just freedom from external constraints, like toxic environments, societal expectations, government oppressions, or bureaucracy. I'm also talking about freedom from myself, from mental loops, from self-doubt, from a habit of problem-fixing or victimhood. The cold becomes the door to that kind of freedom. The breath is the key to open it.

You can’t fight the cold. You’ll lose. It’s stronger than you. But you can accept it. You can lean into discomfort and find peace in it. That, to me, is a powerful metaphor for life.

Doing it together: My experience in Poland

I recently joined the Wim Hof Winter Expedition in Poland, and it completely reframed my understanding of the method. I’ve always practiced alone, and yes, it helps. I feel calmer, more grounded. But in a group, it became something else entirely.

People laughed spontaneously, cried, even had vivid visual experiences. During one session, I reached a state of awareness where I saw someone I had resented for years through a completely different lens. For the first time in four years, I felt compassion toward them. A kind of unexpected forgiveness surfaced. It felt like a deep shift in perspective, maybe even a sort of altered state of consciousness, though I’m not sure that’s the right term.

And then there was the mountain hike.

We walked three and a half hours through snow and wind, wearing only hiking shoes, shorts, and a backpack. Our instructors told us: “Focus on your breath. That’s the only thing you need.” So I started to focus solely on my breathing. After maybe an hour or an hour and a half, I realized something. I wasn’t thinking. No internal chatter, no distractions. I had melted into the environment, like there was no boundary between me, the snow, the mountain, and the wind. Just presence.

The last 20 minutes were tough. The wind grew stronger, and it started snowing more heavily. Everyone could feel the cold getting more intense. One by one, people stopped talking, went quiet, and turned their focus entirely inward. We all kept breathing, and everyone made it to the top, 150 people, energized, emotional, and incredibly alive.

At the top of the mountain, after 3.5 hours of hiking

Closing thoughts

This isn’t about becoming superhuman. It’s about becoming human, more fully, by reconnecting with what’s already within us. Breath. Presence. Resilience. The Wim Hof Method has helped me touch these qualities each morning, and occasionally, in moments of deep transformation.

If you’re curious, I encourage you to explore the method. Not as a miracle cure. But as a tool to slightly shift your day, and maybe even shift your perspective.