Chill Out! Using The Cold To Optimize Your Health
Peak Flow co-founder Dr. Rob Williams February chillin’ in Vermont’s Mad River (above), and in the ice (below).
Close your eyes, quiet your mind, and still your body – take a few moments, relax, and chill.
Now - imagine yourself stepping into a cold shower, a chilly lake, or an ice-encrusted barrel full of near-freezing water. Notice how simply imagining this experience influences your mental and physical state – slightly elevated anxiety, heart rate, or nervousness, perhaps?
Bingo.
Chill out!
Here’s how to use the Cold to optimize your health…
“The cold is a teacher,” Wim “The Iceman” Hof famously observes. “Merciless, yet righteous.”
And!
The Cold (we like to capitalize with a “C” this elemental force of nature) is also a powerful diagnostic tool and a positive stressor, providing both valuable feedback and inspirational energy for Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Begin with “hormesis” – a fundamental biological principle in which voluntary positive stress (“eustress,” not “distress”) regularly applied in titrated doses with recovery – builds resilience for all living creatures and systems.
Lift heavy weights regularly and then recover? Your muscles grow bigger. Hormesis.
Walk, run, or bicycle and then take a rest day? Your cardiovascular system grows stronger. Hormesis.
Cold immersion is also a powerful hormetic tool when practiced regularly.
Two questions:
1. How does your Breath show up during stress?
2. How can your Breath serve you in flowing through stress?
If you are unsure of either answer, the Cold will provide the answers for you - quickly and effectively.
Why?
Few experiences feel more stressful than immersing yourself in the Cold.
So – voluntarily and regularly entering the Cold brings myriad benefits.
Really?
Yes.
Science now suggests that regular Cold immersion reduces inflammation, improves mental and physical resilience, optimizes metabolism, boosts recovery, increases motivation and drive, and afford us a mental, physical and spiritual “reset.”
More on the science below.
But first – how do we successfully leverage the Cold?
Three phases:
1. Before Cold
Find the right cold plunge approach for you. (The Nordic Plunge is awesome, but perhaps start with a 30 second cold shower, and develop your practice.) Approach the Cold with humility, even reverence, and take a minute to close your eyes, quiet your mind, relax your body, and use your breath to relax your entire nervous system via slow nasal inhales and slow, slightly longer nasal exhales. Use the Cold as a Meditation.
2. During Cold
Enter the Cold quietly, fluidly, and consciously. Immerse up to your shoulders, keeping neck and head dry. Allow your body to react to the Cold, and use your Breath to steer yourself away from initial shock to greater calm, closing your eyes, bringing your breath into your nose, lengthening your exhales, cultivating calm, gentle humming on the exhales, and staying relaxed and still so your body can build a thermal heat cone around your entire frame. Magic.
3. After Cold
Exit the Cold the same way you enter. Resist the urge to immediately towel off or leap into a warm or hot shower. (Important - avoid the painful “after drop” that comes with too rapid warming!) Instead, let your body warm up naturally. Full body movements – tai chi, the “horse stance,” the 5 Tibetan Rites – quickly move warm blood from your core out to your extremities. Once you warm up, slowly towel off, and then enjoy the beautiful post-Cold full body resonance and slightly altered mental state – take the Cold with you into your day or evening!
Cold Science: Key Takeaways
Science seems to suggest that a mere eleven minutes of Cold exposure per week maximizes Cold’s health benefits.
The Cold only optimizes when practiced regularly - building psychological resilience of Mind, Body, and Spirit. Start simply, and build a simple weekly “flow” for Cold – we suggest a 30 second shower at first, and gradually increase your “dose.”
The Cold shocks us into a “breathe here now” state, jump starting our alert sympathetic (“fight, flight, or fright”) nervous system, generating endorphins, and energizing us for Life.
The Cold constricts blood flow to our outer epidermal layer (our Skin), causing deep muscle circulation that reduces inflammation and stiffness.
The Cold activates our lymphatic system, catalyzing the removal of toxins and wastes from our Body.
The Cold treats injuries by constricting our blood vessels, stimulating our blood flow and boosting our immune response for faster recovery.
So, use the Cold to optimize your health.
The Cold is Gold!
Chill out.
Dr. Rob Williams
June 23, 2023
NOTE: Be sure to check with a health and wellness professional before embarking on your Cold journey.
Join Peak Flow and Dr. Rob Williams for 2 summer COLD and BREATH adventures in Vermont!
Saturday, July 1 from 9:00 - 1:00 in Cambridge, Vermont at Save Sauna’s stunning outdoor location,
https://www.wimhofmethod.com/activities/whm-fundamentals-workshop-cambridge-dr-rob-williams/50146
Saturday. August 19 from 1:00 - 5:00 pm in Burlington, Vermont at the Burlington Surf Club.
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