A theme park for your mind
The Wim Hof Method Center in the Netherlands is not like most other centers. From the outside, it looks as if a slice of tropical jungle has been transplanted onto the Dutch countryside. There is no door through which to enter, no walls even, and you won’t find a reception desk.
The seed of the center grew organically around what was once nothing more than Wim Hof’s modest private home. His hands as restless as his mind, Wim built and planted and tinkered, giving expression to his inner self: adventure, play, finding quiet through the cold, and lots and lots of nature.
More than a decade later, the property has evolved into a sprawling theme park for the mind. A place to explore both outward and inward, and come away a new person.
Let’s take a tour, and discover all the ways in which you can invigorate body and soul at the Wim Hof Method Center.
Play with your fears
The rock formation slash waterfall at the Wim Hof Method Center is the perfect place to play with fear. In a way, it’s Wim Hof’s great big adventures in the Himalayas and the Namibian desert distilled into a single frame. The scale and stakes are dialed down, of course, but the idea is the same: go to a scary place and look at what happens with your mind.
When you step up to the ledge, you’ll notice how your appetite for adventure wrestles with the urge for safety. Stop for a moment to examine that emotion. Then take the plunge.
You can scramble your way up those rocks again and again to see how that sense of unease changes. Every time you leap off those rocks, the fear gets a little smaller. And that in turn eases your relationship with fear itself.
Find stillness in the sunroom
The breath is a key pillar of the Wim Hof Method. And breathing in unison—especially under guidance of Wim Hof—is something so profoundly centering, you have to experience it firsthand. Paradoxically, it is through this close connection with others beside you that you really get in touch with your deeper self.
Few places evoke that shared spirit as strongly as the central breathing area in the Wim Hof Method Center. This pavilion is built entirely from glass panes—sunlight spills in from all sides, warming your heart and soul. Bountiful plants fill the space with fresh oxygen, while the zing of a golden gong brings you into the present moment.
Slow down to the pace of Mother Nature
Much of the Wim Hof Method is about stepping away from the rush of thoughts and obligations—everything that keeps you from just observing life, appreciating it, and interrogating your place in it. The gardens of the Wim Hof Method Center—the flourishing plants and trees, the trickling streams, the placid lily pads—it all whispers to you to slow down. To stop, even. To take in the sounds, the air, and to just be.
Wim Hof has always tended and grown this garden as if it were another one of his children—through years of patience, love and care. Bursting with life (just like Wim), these grounds harbor palm trees, ferns, cacti, fish, turtles, and songbirds.
Dance with the cold
The one constant in Wim Hof’s spiritual journey has always been his wise sensei—the Cold. Mighty and merciless, the cold is a guiding light that teaches us how to get out of our own racing mind.
At the Wim Hof Method Center you can explore the cold in many ways, including in a cryo freezer, Wim Hof’s infamous wooden barrel, and of course the signature ice bath.
The Wim Hof Method Center is designed especially for those who have never dipped their toes into any ice cubes before. Besides Wim Hof himself, our team of qualified Wim Hof Instructors is always there to gently guide you, and help you discover just how friendly that tub of water actually is.
Rediscover your inner child
Being out in nature, breathing deeply, and entering the cold all help you enter a mental state that is very similar to how you were as a child. Your true self comes to the surface—the curious, unselfconscious soul that feels no shame and has no ego. It’s no wonder then that Wim Hof remains as childlike today as he ever was.
Throughout the Wim Hof Method Center you will find countless Wimsical contraptions, including a tree house and marble run, that show you how much playfulness and creativity reside in Wim—and how much of it you can find within yourself.
The garden is explicitly interactive, and you’re encouraged to let out that inner kid and just play.
Come together
When the sun sets on the Wim Hof Method Center, the fire pit is where you come together to reflect on everything you’ve experienced, the ways your perspective has shifted, and what you will take home with you.
Maybe you want to speak what’s on your heart, or maybe you just want to listen. The fire will keep burning for as long as there is music, good food, and togetherness.
The Wim Hof Method Center is a place to get in touch with every aspect of yourself. Desires, fear, stress, relationships. It is a canvas for the mind, built in three-dimensional space.
Here you are invited to explore the limits of yourself—body, mind and soul—on your own terms. It’s up to you where you take yourself and how much you want to discover.
Wim Hof hosts his special weekends exclusively at the Wim Hof Method Center. The next Wim Hof Weekend takes place on October 17-18.
Will we see you there?
