While I continue to be challenged at times with my condition, I am leading a very full life, and am living my passion and purpose. In my most recent blood tests, my ANA was totally undetectable – while this can happen spontaneously, for me it never has, and I have every reason to believe that this is due to the WHM and its impact on the immune system. This is separate from my cancer, but quite possibly related. It seems that the WHM is helping regulate cytokines, which are the small proteins involved in immune system signalling and inflammation, as well as reducing histamine release from mast cells, both of which appear to be the major source of my itching.įurthermore, my bloodwork has always showed positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA), which means I have antibodies that attack healthy proteins within the nucleus of the cell a situation seen in many auto-immune conditions. This has now changed and my overall response is vastly improved. Interestingly, I also had an exaggerated histamine response, which caused intense itching– a common situation for this kind of blood cancer, called a Myeloproliferative Neoplasm (MPN). Most notably, the WHM helps so much with symptoms such as fatigue and pain. While my blood counts have not changed dramatically in the intervening period, they have remained stable and even slightly improved, which is a great result for a progressive cancer such as mine. He gave me a great deal of time, in a pressing environment, discussing my health issues directly. To my surprise, I found myself with an opportunity to speak with him personally, just the two of us, and I was at first taken aback with his transparency and authenticity.
I signed up for the 10-week course the very next morning, and went to see Wim when he came to Melbourne a short time later. To say I felt great would be an understatement of epic proportions. That same night, I looked up some basic WHM instructions online, did some rounds of breathing, and took a cold shower. Firstly, I thought it showed great promise in helping alleviate the symptoms –if not working directly on the source– of my own cancer, but I could also see how it was a potentially effective tool in helping others with a broad range of health issues. However, one weekend late at night I stumbled across his VICE documentary, and I was captivated for many reasons. I had already heard stories of “the Iceman” and his many feats, but it seemed somehow extraneous to my focus. It was during this time of exploration and discovery that Wim appeared. I have many people to thank, as I learned as much as I could from Tibetan Buddhism, mindfulness, neurolinguistic programming, epigenetics, geobiology and more. Importantly, I had found that the practice of meditation was one of the key elements to putting myself back together, both in mind and body –with particular emphasis on the intimate connection between the two– and this became my primary focus. Not surprisingly, I quickly spiralled into a deep depression, but over time I found renewed meaning in my experience quitting my corporate existence and focusing on wellbeing- both my own and others’.
Just weeks after that, I was diagnosed with a rare and progressive blood cancer. This was followed by my mother, who ended her own suffering with cancer three years later. Ten years ago, my younger sister and only sibling took her life after a long battle with chronic illness.
#Wim hof breathing rashes series
So much had transpired in the space between, and I had so much I needed to tell him.Īfter more than 20 years of working with the world’s leading brands as a communications senior executive, a series of significant events led me to totally redefine my purpose. Getting back in touch with that little boy inside me. Yet here I was, some 40 years later, in a room full of people alongside an eccentric Dutchman a brother to all of us. It felt like I had arrived.īut how did I get there? Not one kilometre from where my grandparents used to live, where the sights and smells –the very taste of the air in each breath– took me right back to my childhood. At that moment, such words seemed particularly apt. A group of beautiful souls most I had only just met, but all of whom I resonated with deeply, all following a single thread- the breath, no matter where it led.Īs we are told in the Vedas: “Truth is one, but the sages speak of it by many names”. With eyes closed, I fell into the energy in the room. The rising emotion was one of elation something I hadn’t felt so profoundly in years. Basking in the afterglow, I noticed my cheeks wet with tears. The now familiar tones of Wim Hof echoed inside Aulua Lodge at Red Hill, Australia.Īnd then there was stillness.
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