“ICEMAN” CONTROLS BODY THROUGH MEDITATION

DUTCH “ICEMAN” CONQUERS
 BITING COLD USING MEDITATION

Rotterdam - http://www.veluweland.nl - The sun beams down on a warm Dutch spring morning, and the Iceman’s students look wary as they watch him dump bag after bag of ice into the tub of water where they will soon be taking a dip. The plan is to try to overcome the normal human reaction to immersion in freezing slush: gasping for air, shivering uncontrollably, and getting back out again as soon as possible. Instead, under the direction of “Iceman” Wim Hof, the group of athletes is going to stay in the water for minutes practicing his meditation techniques, seeking possible performance or health benefits. Hof, 52, earned his nickname from feats such as remaining in a tank of ice in Hong Kong for almost 2 hours; swimming half the length of a football field under a sheet of ice in the Arctic; and making the Guinness record books for running a half-marathon barefoot in Finnish snow in deep subzero conditions.

He tried to climb Mt Everest in 2007 wearing only sandals and shorts, but suffered frostbite and turned back at 7,400 meters - he wants to test the limits of human potential, not die trying. He climbed Mt Kilimanjaro instead the same way in 2009. Hof tells his students meditation in the cold strengthens mind and body. For most people, hypothermia begins shortly after exposure to freezing temperatures without adequate clothing, and it can quickly lead to death once the body’s core temperature falls below 32° Celsius. Hof says he can endure cold so well because he has learned to activate parts of his mind beyond the reach of most people’s conscious control, and crank up what he calls his “inner thermostat”.

Wim Hof of the Netherlands seeks to challenge and control his body by subjecting it to the harshest of conditions. Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery at Brooklyn Hospital Center said he wasn’t surprised at Hof ‘s ability to influence his body temperature, given the growing body of evidence that Tibetan monks who practice “Tummo” meditation have similar abilities. “They spend thousands of hours practicing this, while we spend that time doing other things,” the doctor says.  Our human life is so valuable, and it is not advisable to put our health in such threatening risks only to test the limits of physical endurance. 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

The average lifetime of a human being consists of many days and nights, so major scares are bound to come up every now and then, incidents which bring a person to the verge of death or some other major calamity. If one is lucky enough to survive these scares, they should take every opportunity to prevent them from reoccurring. Some things such as accidents and natural disasters are more or less unavoidable, but other scares come about through choices that are made. Harmful behavior can only be eradicated if we have a higher engagement. ... The Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, tell us that the living entities need a higher engagement, something which transcends all other activities. ... This discipline is known as Bhakti-yoga, or devotional service.

Krishna'sMercy.org - Jai Shri Krishna :
“Dangerous Behavior” - Posted on July 17, 2010
http://www.krishnasmercy.org/dotnetnuke/
http://krishnasmercy.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/dangerous-behavior/