The Ice Man Cometh to Brooklyn (to discuss the science of inner-heat yoga)

A Panel Discussion with Wim Hof, Eddie Stern, & William Bushell

Moderated by Stefanie Syman

Part of the Youniverse project at apexart (http://apexart.org/exhibitions/bend.php).

https://a248.e.akamai.net/secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/6/e/6/8/600_455308264.jpeg

In 1982, a team of Harvard scientists led by Dr. Herbert Benson, tested three Buddhist monks-yogis who claimed they had the ability to “hack” their own autonomic nervous system and intentionally raise their peripheral skin temperature. All three were experienced practitioners of Tibetan “tu-mo” (gTum-mo) yoga, and were successfully able to demonstrate a substantial change in their peripheral skin temperature within minutes of beginning the practice. According to Benson, the monks regard the feat as a byproduct of a much larger spiritual project designed to correct misperceptions about the nature of reality. Wim Hof is not a Buddhist, but he too claims (and has shown) that humans have the capacity to voluntarily influence both their autonomic and immune systems through practiced meditation and yoga.

Hof, otherwise known as the “Ice Man,” is an internationally renowned “daredevil” who has routinely undergone feats of cold weather endurance. In 2007 he climbed past the “death zone” altitude on Mount Everest (~7,500 meters) wearing nothing but shorts. In 2009, Hof completed a full marathon in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F)—dressed in nothing but shorts—and finished in 5 hours and 25 minutes. Hof also holds the current Guinness World Record for the longest ice bath, now set at 1 hour 53 minutes and 12 seconds. Most recently, scientists injected him with toxins and Hof was able to demonstrate that by using his technique he could willfully control his autonomic immune response (see Kox et al. PNAS 2014 (http://www.icemanwimhof.com/files/pnas.pdf)).

Consciousness Hacking NYC invites you to join us in a conversation with Wim Hof on his unique methodology and inner-heat meditation. Renowned yogi Eddie Stern and biological anthropologist William C. Bushell will also join us to flesh out the religious and scientific perspectives. We will discuss their various projects and the ways in which you too can learn to consciously control your nervous system and stress regulation.

THERE IS NO FEE FOR ADMISSION

SEATING IS LIMITED

Wim Hof (http://www.icemanwimhof.com/innerfire) is a Dutch world record holder, adventurer and daredevil, commonly nicknamed “The Iceman” for his ability to withstand extreme cold. He is the creator of the Wim Hof Method and holds more than 20 world records.

Eddie Stern (https://brooklynyogaclub.com/) is the co-founder of Ashtanga Yoga New York, the Brooklyn Yoga Club and the Broome Street Ganesha Temple. He studied Ashtanga Yoga under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, of Mysore, South India, for 18 years. Eddie has published several books on Pattabhi Jois and Astanga Yoga, including a translation of Pattabhi Jois’s 1960 treatise, Yoga Mala. He co-founded the Urban Yogi program, which introduces inner-city youth to yoga and meditation, teaching them powerful transformative tools that they can bring back into their communities, with some of the youth becoming teachers themselves. Eddie also leads a team that writes health and wellness curriculums, based on yoga and mindfulness, for under-served public school districts, which has been implemented in over 100 schools in the past year. His school wellness protocols have been studied by the University of San Diego, Long Island University and Stanford University.

William C. Bushell, PhD. (https://tibethouse.us/friends/william-bushell-ph-d-2/)is presently the Director of Research and Academic Liaison for the Integrative Studies Historical Archives and Repository (ISHAR), a recently launched online database/library/archive (isharonline.org) for the field of “Integrative Studies.” Dr. Bushell, a Research Affiliate in the Department of Anthropology at MIT for over 20 years, is a biological anthropologist studying advanced consciousness disciplines in adept practitioners of yoga, meditation, and related practices throughout the world, and in a spectrum of scientific and scholarly contexts. He has also been formally affiliated with Harvard and Columbia Universities, and was a Fulbright Scholar, specifically for the scientific and scholarly study of yoga and meditation (1988-89). Bushell has developed a scientific model of advanced yogic/meditational practices which shows how these practices may lead to the transformation of the human sensorium and brain into a highly advanced and sophisticated form of “soft tissue-high tech” modality, and one that can potentially rival (and possibly surpass) any human-made forms of scientific technology.

Stefanie Syman (https://x.ai/about/) is a seasoned company builder and author. She has spearheaded early customer acquisition, go-to-market strategies, business development, and content creation for numerous startups. She co-founded FEED, a pioneering online magazine that developed many now common features of online publishing. Her articles on technology and culture have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and Rolling Stone. She’s also the author of The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America (Farrar Straus & Giroux). Stefanie has a B. A. in Literature from Yale. She is a co-founder of Consciousness Hacking NYC and is currently VP of Customer Experience and Communication at x.ai.