Secrets of Icewomen: The Feminine Way of the Cold
Pavla Borg 
Inside the Czech launch of Secrets of Icewomen with Laura and Isabelle Hof.
Secrets of Icewomen: The Feminine Way of the Cold
Last weekend, I had the honour of being part of something truly special.
At a beautiful place called Resort Po.Spolu near Prague, I joined a group of experienced Czech and Slovakian WHM instructors to celebrate the launch of Secrets of The Icewomen, a book by Laura and Isabelle Hof, daughters of Wim Hof, The Iceman.
But this wasn’t just a book launch.
It was a workshop.
A reunion.
A reminder of why I do what I do and what makes this work so different when it’s grounded in feminine values like care, connection and collaboration.
To be part of a team, to support Laura and Isabelle and to feel supported back by those who live and breathe this method the way I do... meant a ton.
The Way of the Icewomen
These days, a lot of people talk about cold exposure.
The good. The bad. The trend. The anti-trend.
Many are teaching it, often based on personal experience. And while experience matters, the Wim Hof Method offers something different.
It’s not just about the cold.
It’s about how we meet the cold.
First: with safety, training and knowledge.
Then... through the breath, through mindset, through presence.
We don’t just go in.
We train in it.
We breathe with it.
We let it teach us something about our bodies and our limits.
"The beauty of the cold is that it puts you directly in contact with your body, so you will be given important cues throughout the experience. Your body will tell you when you can push just a little further, and it will tell you when you should be done for the day." Secrets of The Icewomen
Anyone can grit their teeth and suffer through cold.
That’s not mastery. That’s endurance.
But can you meet the cold with awareness?
Can you soften into it?
Can you stay with yourself when everything in your body wants to run?
And can you listen when saying no is the best answer instead of pushing through?
That’s the difference.
That’s the art.
That’s the mastery of your physiology.
This method isn’t just about resilience.
And it’s definitely not about one-size-fits-all protocols.
It’s not about how cold, how long or how often.
Or about that perfect Insta shot ;)
It’s about learning to work with your body... to listen, to adjust, to respect what’s true in each moment.
It’s about what shifts on the inside.
The calm within the chaos.
The strength that comes from knowing how to meet stress.
Through the synergy of breath, mindset & deliberate cold exposure.
Not as a rigid routine but as a living, breathing practice.
A practice that trains your body to become more adaptable, your mind to become more focused and your nervous system to recover faster.
“In fact, the higher the adrenaline spike, as part of a hormetic stressor, the greater the reset of our stress baseline.” Secrets of the Icewomen
Feminine Leadership in the Cold
What I loved most about this gathering was that it wasn’t about egos or titles. No one was trying to be the star of the show even though there were some very well known personalities in the room.
Apart from Isabelle and Laura Hof, Miss of the World 2006 Tatiana Kucharova, actress & Unicef Goodwill ambassador Jitka Cvancarova and functional medicine doctor MUDr. Jan Vojáček, CFMP were all part of the book launch giving heartfelt speeches and sharing their own positive experiences with the Wim Hof Method.
And yet, despite the cameras & the attention what stood out was the authenticity. The humility. The sense of shared purpose.
There was no competition.
Just women (and some men) holding space for one another, breathing together, learning together.
Showing a different kind of strength.
One that includes softness.
Leadership that listens.
And that’s what Secrets of the Icewomen captures so beautifully: a kind of power rooted in presence, not performance.
A group hug sealed it all.
Let’s Talk About the Noise
Lately, there’s been a lot of noise online about whether ice baths are safe for women.
Most of it is coming from people who don’t actually practice the method and definitely don’t guide others through it.
And as someone who’s been doing this for years and has witnessed many women come alive in the cold… I can tell you:
Cold isn’t the problem.
Confusing advice and fear-based messaging are.
"We see far more female anxiety before the ice bath and far more male anxiety during the ice bath." Secrets of the Icewomen
That’s why this gathering was such a gift.
It brought me back to what’s true for many women around the world.
To the wisdom of those who live and breathe this work, not just comment from the sidelines.
There is a way to do this that’s grounded in science, in safety and in self-trust. And women are more than capable of walking this path on their own terms.
“For as long as three thousand years the legendary Ama, also known as the sea women of Japan, have been diving into cold waters, scouring the bottom of the ocean for seafood and pearls to bring home... According to historical documents, women were considered the natural choice for this role because of their higher body fat content... giving women an edge when facing the cold.” Secrets of the Icewomen
What Comes Next
"The average is not the individual, and the individual is not the average." Secrets of the Icewomen
I’ll be sharing a follow-up post where I go deeper into this conversation, especially around the myths being shared about women and cold.
I’ll include what the science actually says, what I’ve seen firsthand and what really matters when it comes to safety & strength.
But for now, I just want to say this:
The Wim Hof Method is alive and well in the hands and hearts of Icewomen (and men) around the world.
We’re not here to perform.
We’re here to support, empower and breathe alongside those who are ready to grow stronger.
Want to Read the Book?
Gratitude
Thank you, Jakub for the top notch organisation and for bringing us all together!
Thank you, WHM dream team
@laura_hof_alchemy @isabellehof @tina.melicher @hanamoravcikova @michaela_davidovic @waclaf @zuzana.jezkova @maxmunson @filip_zeman_whm
Thank you to Nakladatelstvi Prah for the beautiful book!
With love,
Pavla
Categories: : cold, wellness, wimhofmethod, women