'Gambling with your life': Experts weigh in on dangers of the Wim Hof method

"The Iceman" Wim Hof claims a combination of breathing exercises and cold exposure can bring people many benefits, including increased willpower; fat loss; a "fortified" immune response; "balanced" hormones; and reduced iNFLaMMAtion.

The jury is still out on whether the Wim Hof Method (WHM) has any of these benefits, but are the teachings also dangerous?

Experts told Live Science that some of Hof's practices, as shown in some videos online, pose a risk of drowning, as well as potentially dangerous heart-rhythm irregularities. However, a spokesperson for the WHM said these videos are not reflective of the official method, but simply examples of Hof doing "extreme feats," and that they provide safety videos and instructions on their website explaining how to safely practice the WHM.

Whatever the official guidance on the WHM website states, some Wim Hof-branded social media videos give a very different, and dangerous, impression of how to practice the method, experts say. What's more, there is evidence that people have died doing WHM breathing exercises while in water.

Related: How to swim in the ocean

What is the "Wim Hof Method"?

The basic WHM breathing exercise described on the company's website involves taking deep, consecutive breaths, a form of deliberate hyperventilation. After hyperventilating, you hold your breath "until you feel the urge to breathe again."

Separately, the WHM also involves "cold therapy," or exposure to cold. The WHM website says cold therapy can involve cold showers and ice baths. However, in social media videos, Hof and other practitioners often submerge themselves in bodies of water outside.