How I Do The Wim Hof Method: Meditation

Note: This is part two of a three-part series where an average, middle-aged dude — me — tells you my step-by-step method for how I do each of the three aspects of the Wim Hof Method. Part one was about the breathing technique. Today is focused on meditation, and part three is about cold exposure.

Sometimes I use this sandy riverside beach near my house to do my Wim Hof meditation. (Photo: Author)

I admit it: I suck at meditation. This is why, over the past few years, on most days I’ve committed to — and followed through — on at least five minutes of it every day.

Five minutes? That’s not going to do anything, man! Yeah, one would think. But my experience (and some science) suggests otherwise.

In today’s post, I want to tell you how I do the meditation part of the Wim Hof Method. In addition, I’m going to share a brief overview of a spiritual practice I tag on at the end of my meditation, which I hope to expand into another blog series after this one.

Okay, take out your meditation cushion, take a deep breath and … wait, are you starting to meditate on me? Knock it off! Read the article first!

So my practice is very simple. After I finish the three rounds of Wim Hof breathing, which takes between 10 and 15 minutes, I do the following.

1. On my iPhone, I shut off the Wim Hof App and open the Insight Timer app.
2. I then hit the Discover button on the bottom of the screen, which opens up some options including Timer which I select.
3. I then press the Start button and a 5 minute counter begins. (Note: I’ve already prepped this)
4. I stay in whatever position I’ve been in for the breathing exercise, either lying down or sitting.
5. I close my eyes and concentrate my focus on an area between my eyes.
6. I imagine my inner landscape as like being the sky and thoughts that appear as being clouds that drift across the sky.
7. If I catch myself latching onto one of these thought-clouds, or, if I find I’ve been immersed in one unconsciously for a while, I simply say, “Thinking” and return my attention to the center of my eyes.
8. I may consciously slow down my breath if it feels a bit sped up. To do this, I use the 4–7–8 method, which means you breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven…