Cold Water Therapy (Fascinating!)

[Taomeow]

I usually have a tepid shower after my kung fu lesson and then I turn to cold water(just for one minute or even less): it's quite a shock but after that you feel great

 

If you're in good health just try it out

 

I used to alternate between a sauna and a cold shower (or a cold swimming pool when I lived near one that had one), it's a huge shock and you do feel great afterwards -- make it blissed out, sublime -- especially with the hot sauna/cold swimming pool combo when the sauna was really hot (you won't believe it if I tell you how hot, these figures are illegal in this country -- but we baked apples on the upper shelf while baking ourselves on the lower!) and the swimming pool, very cold.

 

There used to be (maybe still is) a winter resort in upstate New York owned by a Finnish couple (the sauna is a Finnish invention, though its many versions existed everywhere of course -- sweat lodges etc.) and they encourage diving into the snow right from the sauna, then back, and so on. But I think one must choose one's shocks wisely... I've had enough, I've explored many, many extremes in order to be ready for the middle ground that lies in between. (How else would one know what balance is if she doesn't know where the extremes are?..) So, like all else, I think it's individual -- someone who "hasn't felt enough" might want to go for a few shocks, someone who has "felt too much" might quit. I quit.

[z00se]

I think there seems to be 2 different ways to become healthy. A natural yang way and a TCM style yin way. The yang way involves eating raw food with meat, drinking cold water, jumping in freezing water, lots of hard exercise. The yin way involves eating cooked mild food, drinking warm water, keeping external cold out of our body and soft gentle exercise. After centurys of the different methods western people end up big and strong, the asians end up small and weak. I think when you're sick or every now and then your body needs a rest period where you use the TCM approach but generally it's best to use the yang approach. But i'm a westerner and my body is designed that way. If your asian you probably need a more yin approach.

 

I feel in TCM you're always balancing your body perfectly so that it performs at it's best but then it loses it's ability to resist outside attack. The yang way you are constantly resisting different forms of outside attack that eventually your body is worn out and the external attacks overcome you.

 

Plus I'm glad i'm a westerner i like being big and strong, i don't like the thought of surrounding myself with pillows all the time Thats the way i've been brought up to think and what i pride myself on.

The asians pride themselves on their abilities to out manouver and parray attacks, thats how they've been bought up to think.

[z00se]

Cold water is great after a big workout. The reason you get sore muscles the day after is due to them bruising and being torn with your exercise. If you shower in cold water after some intense exercise, it will bring down the swelling and from my experience the day after pain will be reduced by at least 80%. Try it!

[soaring crane]

Cold water is great after a big workout. The reason you get sore muscles the day after is due to them bruising and being torn with your exercise. If you shower in cold water after some intense exercise, it will bring down the swelling and from my experience the day after pain will be reduced by at least 80%. Try it!

 

+1

 

it works and it's healthy as heck. I do a lot of running and incorporated ice baths into my recovery routine years ago. The effect is absolutely amazing.

 

Toughen up a bit with a good cold rinse at the end of your showers. BUT when first starting this, start low, as far from the heart as possible, meaning the right foot. Then the left foot. Right lower leg, left lower leg. Right thigh, left thigh, etc. Doing only the legs is really enough but once you get used to it, you can just rinse off cold, no problems.

 

Don't turn on the warm water afterwards - leave the shower after the cold rinse. Your body will react by generating its own heat, once you get used to it.

 

Water therapy is very common in Germany, thanks to this man:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneipp

 

 

 

[Andrei]

I hate cold water. And I am a big white guy with east european genes. And I looooove finnish spas

 

 

[soaring crane]

^^ I'm a big spa/sauna fan, too. You do know that the ice cold rinse after the hot sweat is 50% of the program, right?

 

I've made snow angels in the nude, lol. Fun stuff

[Guest paul walter]

There are many studies and some books, especially from Russia, that have shown the benefits of cold-bathing to be verifiable. Some of the major benefits include: improved micro-circulation especially and vascular activity in general; cleansing of toxins from the body and organs through improved function and 'purging'; production in the body of a large amount of heat that makes you feel very relaxed and very positive; increases metabolic rate; charges the surface of the skin with negative ions(we get too many positive ions from our habits and environment which negatively effect our health-got to get off this computer ); strengthens immunity considerably. The times I my life that I've only taken cold/luke-warm showers and baths have co-incided with the 'best' times of my life. I am currently only taking cold baths/showers, sometimes twice a day cause it feels so good! Takes a few weeks to get used to most likely but it sure is worth it. There is an annual conference in Moscow that investigates the science of cold-water on the human organism. Paul.

[soaring crane]

I am currently only taking cold baths/showers, sometimes twice a day cause it feels so good!

 

lol, I'm with ya, except that I do shower nice and warm at first. I believe the warm/cold process does more than just the one-sided cold. Try it a couple times. Just do your normal routine but at the end, blast yourself good with very warm to hot water, long enough to really feel the temperature rise on your skin, all over. And reverse it quickly - rinse off thoroughly with the coldest water you can get out of the shower. You'll feel the rush of blood through your skin, it's wonderful. Yin/Yang.

 

I'm off to the gym and after my workout, lol, I'll shower off with cold water. The other guys think I'm nuts but I'm the healthiest one of all. I've been asked many many times what I do to avoid colds and flu or to get rid of the sniffles when they do occasionally catch me off guard - people just don't want to listen when I tell them the things I do, lol.

 

And then to explain that I supplement everything with whole body breath, well.... They just want me to recommend a pill or a puky liquid to swallow instead.

 

 

[Guest paul walter]

lol, I'm with ya, except that I do shower nice and warm at first. I believe the warm/cold process does more than just the one-sided cold. Try it a couple times. Just do your normal routine but at the end, blast yourself good with very warm to hot water, long enough to really feel the temperature rise on your skin, all over. And reverse it quickly - rinse off thoroughly with the coldest water you can get out of the shower. You'll feel the rush of blood through your skin, it's wonderful. Yin/Yang.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I've done that but prefer the cold version. . You're forgive -you're in Germany! I think that I usually have a lot of heat in my body from calm breathing and being a very yang fire sign astrologically speaking so can take these rigours-also the more you do it the warmer becomes the response within. Cold showers and being vegan (very yin), liking mountains...the iceman cometh...Paul

Edited February 6, 2010 by paul walter

[z00se]

I think that I usually have a lot of heat in my body from calm breathing and being a very yang fire sign astrologically speaking so can take these rigours-also the more you do it the warmer becomes the response within. Cold showers and being vegan (very yin), liking mountains...the iceman cometh...Paul

 

I am always very hot. If i have a hot shower i will sweat after. I always feel hot when i go to bed and want to poke my feet out of the doonah. My wife on the other hand is always cold and needs to snuggle up to me. But the thing is i feel hot next to her and like she feels hot too but she says inside she still feels cold! I can't bare the temperature and have to space away from her a bit but still make sure shes covered good by the quilt. It takes a long amount of extended cold from outside till i'm cold on the inside. Unless i got a cold, then i feel cold very easy.

[Guest paul walter]

I am always very hot. If i have a hot shower i will sweat after. I always feel hot when i go to bed and want to poke my feet out of the doonah. My wife on the other hand is always cold and needs to snuggle up to me. But the thing is i feel hot next to her and like she feels hot too but she says inside she still feels cold! I can't bare the temperature and have to space away from her a bit but still make sure shes covered good by the quilt. It takes a long amount of extended cold from outside till i'm cold on the inside. Unless i got a cold, then i feel cold very easy.

 

Hmmm.dunno...perhaps you have a liver problem or high blood pressure? Actualy raw food should be quite yin (is that what you eat?). Maybe you just had too many cold showers and created too much internal heat-maybe you will combust soon... . Paul

[z00se]

Hmmm.dunno...perhaps you have a liver problem or high blood pressure? Actualy raw food should be quite yin (is that what you eat?). Maybe you just had too many cold showers and created too much internal heat-maybe you will combust soon... . Paul

 

i don't have high blood pressure. If i eat lots of raw fruit it helps me out feeling a bit cooler. I just love meat and dairy so much! I just started cooler showers again and should get back into it. My wife is chinese and i think she picked up this 'internal heat' buzzword from one of the doctors so now anytime something is wrong with anyone it's always because of internal heat Meanwhile i do get a hot sore throat/nose often which goes down to my chest then slowly goes back to my nose/throat till i get better. Pain in the arse, no idea why it goes down before it comes back up again!

[Guest paul walter]

i don't have high blood pressure. If i eat lots of raw fruit it helps me out feeling a bit cooler. I just love meat and dairy so much! I just started cooler showers again and should get back into it. My wife is chinese and i think she picked up this 'internal heat' buzzword from one of the doctors so now anytime something is wrong with anyone it's always because of internal heat Meanwhile i do get a hot sore throat/nose often which goes down to my chest then slowly goes back to my nose/throat till i get better. Pain in the arse, no idea why it goes down before it comes back up again!

 

Well I'd say since you're in China...go see a Chinese doctor. . Your wife sounds like a Chinese woman I knew--exactly the same response to TCM 'buzzwords', everythings "pathological wind" etc. until the novelty wore off, justa way of making sense of something for what she had no idea about. Still, it really sounds like you have some problems with 'rising and descending heat' . The dairy really should go--that much I do know, not good. Paul.

[z00se]

Well I'd say since you're in China...go see a Chinese doctor. . Your wife sounds like a Chinese woman I knew--exactly the same response to TCM 'buzzwords', everythings "pathological wind" etc. until the novelty wore off, justa way of making sense of something for what she had no idea about. Still, it really sounds like you have some problems with 'rising and descending heat' . The dairy really should go--that much I do know, not good. Paul.

 

Yeah i know dairy is not good for me. Too much anyhow. Butter seems not too bad but milk and cheese are worse. I wonder if you know if RAW unprocessed milk unhomogonised/unpasturised milk is a less 'hot' food than the cooked version?

 

I espcially try stay away from dairy while i'm here though, with all the chemical things they've been puttin in the milk in china lately.

[Aetherous]

In my opinion, cold water therapy is the real deal. It is something I treasure.

 

 

Including the video because it's beautiful and motivational...

[thelerner]

The St. Louis Ki Society does a Winter Misogi training session each year (or it used to). After 2 days of training, we'd hit an icy flowing river, dunk down a few times, do some kiai's in the water.

 

The point wasn't to be martial or tough, you were supposed to enter the water with a calm spirit, focus your mind and walk in smoothly. It was a great experience. The perfect compliment to a weekend of martial arts and meditation.

 

 

Michael

[Aetherous]

Yes, I think if you go in with a "martial" attitude, it can take away from some of the benefit.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

OK, Scotty, how do you 'do' your cold water therapy? What's your regimen...c'mon, spill!

[Aetherous]

Well, first I get blue ice shipped from a global warming digging site in Greenland, which they estimate to be 200,000,000 years old. I figure the water must have been better at that time, because there wasn't any pollution and Pangea still was around.

 

Then I heat up the ice by practicing tummo on top of it in a kiddie pool. It starts boiling and melts any plastic kiddie pools, so if you're going to try this, be sure to invest in a metal kiddie pool.

 

Now it's usable water, and tastes strangely like mastodon and pterodactyl piss, so then I filter it through a top secret filtration method which takes out all prehistoric impurities and draws upon the powers of Uranus to energize it.

 

Next, by practicing bummo I create an internal vortexing snowstorm which shoots out of my huiyin spontaneously giving everyone in my apartment complex triple orgasms, which then causes them to go into triple rainbow body and cause all 'shroomers within a 100 foot vicinity to start crying. The local news is wondering what's happening, but it doesn't matter, because at least the 'shroomers are enjoying the breathtaking sights. I don't know where my neighbors went, though!

 

Anyway this process cools off the liquid, and also creates random hailstorms for some reason. So I need an umbrella.

 

Then I open up my pores to ingest the pure sattvic energies of my special sauce, and I go for 1000 years without eating food or drinking any water.

 

After all of that, I tend to go sit underneath the shower and let the tub fill up as I breathe. When the river gets colder I will go dunk in there.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Wow! How weird is that?!? That's exactly what I do!!

[Spotless]

I am glad to see this topic - I forgot about this!

 

I took a long cold shot after showing for several years and it was fantastic for calming and "kicking everyone" out of my space.

I never tried the bucket method - but I did not have much of a learning curve either - I just remained calm through it all until the resistance left and then i went a little while longer and left the shower as smooth as glass.

[hydrogen]

I used to take regular cold shower in my college days, daily in the summer and weekly during winter for a few years.

 

I usually jump into cold shower directly. Only the first few second was hard. After a while I actually felt pretty cozy. If I took it too long, I'd feel cold again. That's time for me to get out or before that happened. I always felt energized afterward.

 

I swam once in the frozen lake during winter. It was awful. I shouldn't dip my head into the water because the assault from the wind. I felt my head was an ice cube.

 

I may resume the ritual again, maybe starting this summer.

[ancienthealth]

Cold showers are magnificent -- Energizing.. Scary... Powerful... Cleansing

 

 

I find them great after i've eaten a bit too much to perk back up. I still like hot showers in the winter though..