Cold water or ice bath?

Stay with me, this isn’t yoga content but to me it has a lot to do with mindfulness and breathwork!

A lot of people have asked me about cold water therapy, and I am no expert but I just wanted to share my thoughts with you.

In fact, the fear of being cold sometimes stops me from doing things. Being cold often triggers responses in my immune system and causes arthritic flares in my body (or so I told myself).

So being curious I went to The Altus Life for my first ice bath experience and I was petrified. Gavin kindly prepared me for the 5 degrees and explained the process and I was left to my own devises. I dipped my toe in and alternated between the ice bath and the sauna, eventually building up-to (getting my whole body in minus my head) 5 minutes in the tub. Afterwards I’d mentally overcome my own internal mind blocks and felt exhilarated.

Fast forward a few months I did a lot more research (still no expert) I watched the BBC Celebrity Wim Hoff Documentary and I was amazed at how cold water can unlock the mind.

The benefits of cold water include:

❄️- Increases mental resilience

🥶- increases mindfulness

❄️- reduced pain and inflammation in your body

🥶- boasts your immune system

❄️- Improves your circulation

Please do you own research and never attempt to go into a cold body of water on your own if you are not experienced.

If you want to try more cold water therapy then I recommend The Altus Life or Joga who does cold wild swimming or you can try turning your shower cold (personally I don’t particularly like this method).

Me for now you’ll find me in my Dip Tank slowly acclaiming as the temperature drops. I stay in for 10 minutes and that’s all I need to feel refresh and energised. My thermometer is currently reading 12 degrees and that is still a shock to my system. Traditionally cold water therapy is classed at being anything less than 15 degrees.

With love,

Naomi ✨

P.S. Doing it with a friend or two makes the experience a little more pleasurable. If I can do it anyone can.