When I trained to become a Wim Hof Method instructor back in 2018, I had no idea how much it would shape the years that followed. It is one thing to become an instructor, it is another entirely to step into the role of training the teachers themselves. I have now spent years travelling to the Wim Hof Academy in Poland and Spain, guiding new instructors through the final stages of their journey, and each time, I am reminded of what it truly means to be a student of life.
The Instructor Weeks: Intensity and Transformation
The instructor weeks are intense, five full days and nights of total immersion. From the moment the first morning begins, it is as if a train leaves the station and does not stop until the very end. It involves twelve to fourteen hours a day of practice, learning, teaching, reflection, and growth. It is not for the faint-hearted, and it is not meant to be, as the purpose is transformation.
For these soon-to-be instructors, this week marks the culmination of a long journey, which includes months or years of personal practice, study, teaching friends and family, and deepening their relationship with the Method. By the time they arrive, they have already invested so much. This final stage is where everything integrates: knowledge, practice, and heart. It is also where they are pushed to their edge:
- They sit science exams.
- They deliver presentations under pressure, explaining research like the famous Radboud University study.
- They practise leading breathing sessions, guiding people safely into cold water, and coaching with authenticity and care.
- They learn the subtle but powerful skill of holding space, the invisible art that turns good instructors into great ones.
Holding the Container
Through it all, we, the trainers, hold the container. We have to be emotionally ready, energetically steady, and deeply attuned to the rhythm of the group. We arrive grounded, knowing we will give everything for five days straight. For me, that means taking a few days beforehand to fill my own cup. This time I spent two quiet days hiking around Karlštejn in the Czech countryside, surrounded by nature, preparing myself to meet the group with an open heart.
When we finally gathered at the airport in Prague, the energy was electric. People had come from all over the world, with around fifteen nationalities represented, many of them not teaching or even learning in their native language. The courage that takes humbles me every single time. Even among my fellow trainers, I was the only one teaching in English as a first language. I have endless respect for their willingness to stretch beyond comfort, to communicate heart to heart across cultures and accents, united by breath, cold, and purpose.
What happens over those five days is nothing short of alchemy. Under the pressure of performance, something beautiful emerges: vulnerability, humility, accountability, growth. Mistakes become milestones. The hot seat moments, the tears, the laughter, the breakthroughs, they all become part of the initiation. Diamonds are formed under pressure, and so are great instructors.
The Real Magic is Care
But the real magic lies in the care. Again and again, in the feedback from participants, one theme shines through: they felt seen. They felt supported. They felt that we genuinely wanted them to succeed. That sense of safety, amidst the intensity, is what allows transformation to unfold. When people know they are cared for, they dare to step up. They dare to shine.
By the end of the week, something extraordinary happens. Standing together beneath the famous Wim Hof waterfall, the same one from the Vice documentary that inspired millions, the group sings. People from many countries, strangers just days before, are now bonded for life through shared challenge and triumph. That sound echoes off the rock walls and into memory. It is a sound you never forget.
The Forever Student
Every time I return from the Academy, I feel both emptied and full. Humbled by what I have witnessed, and renewed by the reminder that I too am still learning. As my dear friend and fellow trainer Emma says, we are only ever a few steps ahead of the people we teach. That is all. And those few steps are enough to guide, as long as we keep walking, keep growing, and keep looking honestly at our own blind spots.
I have realised over and over again that mastery is not a destination. It is a relationship, with curiosity, with humility, with life itself. The moment we believe we have arrived is the moment we stop evolving. But if we stay open, if we remain the forever student, then every challenge, every group, every breath becomes another teacher. I have learned as much from my students as they have learned from me, maybe more. That is the beauty of this work. It is a spiral, a loop, an ever-deepening journey that connects us all through shared practice, shared courage, and shared humanity. And for that, I am endlessly grateful.