What Doesn't Kill Us

by Scott Carney

One week after I left Poland after summiting Mount Snezka, three instructors flew to the farmhouse and Hof taught the active group three basic techniques: cold exposure in the snow, focused third-eye meditation, and sequential muscle retention after hyperventilation. They climbed up the same mountain that I did and baked in the same sauna. When they returned from their trip the volunteers continued to practice on their own for 5 days before showing up to Pickkers and Kox’s lab for supervised injections. The results were astonishing. Even after such a short training program the active group showed positive levels of epinephrine as well as an increased amount of anti-inflammatory molecules in their blood. They had fewer fever-like symptoms than the control group experienced, and their cortisol levels returned to normal much quicker. To quote the subsequent journal article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: “Hitherto, both the autonomic nervous system and innate immune system were regarded as systems that cannot be voluntarily influenced. The present study demonstrates that, through practicing techniques learned in a short-term training program, the sympathetic nervous systems and immune system can indeed be voluntarily influenced.” This short declarative statement forced the scientific community to completely reevaluate their understanding of the immune system. The article earned a mention on the journal Nature’s website and caught fire across the inte...