I love to cold plunge and get asked about it a lot so here’s some 411.
First, what I get most often is that that I’m crazy to do this. Why would I voluntarily get in freezing cold water? Well, the water is rarely “freezing” but I get what people mean. This morning it was 36 degrees. Brrr. I felt it and my legs were red as crabs.
One thing is for sure, cold dipping, as I prefer to call it, is not for everyone. It was love at first dip for me though and have found the benefits to be immense. And factually, it’s a growing sport out there and for good reason. Yes, it is considered a ‘sport’ and beyond that, an ultra-endurance activity.
I started cold dipping a couple of years ago when my neighbor, dog walker and now dear friend asked if I wanted to try it out. I’d jumped in the cold water before but that one early August evening out at Golden Gardens in Seattle, Washington was a game-freakin’-changer. I eased in and woah—I felt something. Cold. Yes. But also, I felt a riveting sense of stimulation. I felt my insides waking up. I felt electrified. Exhilaration washed through my entire being! What is happening to me? This is awesome! Then I got out and I got….cold. I mean really cold. Teeth clattering shivers all the way home. That is what I found out is called ‘cold drop’ and it’s basically when your core body temp continues to drop well after you get out of the water. Paramount for me in my cold water practice is getting home and getting warmed up. By the way, did you know that shivering can be really good for you?
Backing up the bus a little bit, the cold water dipping game basically involves easing myself into the cold Puget Sound water (or Lake Washington in fall/winter) until I am in up to my neck. Every single time I have every gone, I have felt very cold and uncomfortable. It doesn’t last. The body adapts. Once I’m fully in (a few minutes for me, unlike my buddies who just go for it in one swoop) there’s hang out time. I’m most often with three or four other gals and we linger in the water for 10-15 minutes.
That’s where the magic happens. There is no worrying when you are in water that cold. There is no anxiousness. There is no grumpiness. There is just the cold water and as contrary as it sounds, it settles down my nervous system in a way that nothing else has even done. It takes a few minutes but then in this very obvious and mysterious moment, I feel a shift happen throughout my entire body…everything calms. I know this is going to sound cliché and I don’t care…but I literally feel a oneness in me and all around me that is ineffable. A chemical process is happening, I get that, and I feel elation.
I often say, “There are no bad days when I’ve been in the cold water” and it’s true. It is a holy moment, my every day baptism.
Aside from all the woo an energy worker would naturally say about something like this, the studies and science coming out around cold water exposure is provocative. You could read or listen to podcasts for days about it and still have more to learn.
What effects I have personally noticed are pretty phenomenal. I have way more energy, I am less reactive, I more clear headed, my body feels so much better, I sleep better at night and I feel stronger.
When in the water, I cannot believe this is available to me at absolutely no cost. I find myself laughing at the absurdity that I’m usually the only one (often) in the water, enjoying this epic experience…where IS everyone? I wonder that with earnestness.
To top it all off and certainly this does not deserve to be last, but co-mingling with nature in this way is humbling, beautiful and connects me to the deepest part of me as a human. I have seen seals so close up that I can make out all the features on its face. I have been swarmed by dozens of ducks. I have watched otters glide by, nodding a quick glance in my direction as they stealthily head to their den, I often observe little bitty fish just jumping in and out of the water, seemingly in sheer delight that they can. And, the most extraordinary moment yet, given to me freely by the grace and consciousness of the water? Well, one morning, very early and before sunrise, my Mer-friends and I were lingering in the water when one friend looked down and while gently waving her hands noticed, we all noticed it then, that the water was SPARKLING. Bioluminescence! It was breathtaking and we were in awe. This planet is extraordinary.
I enjoy sharing about the wonders of cold water and no, having a cold water tub in my back yard would not be the same. The way I’ve been able to define this practice is now an alchemy I can not imagine being without. I have been healed, revealed, inspired, enlivened and held by the precious cold water. I come out clearer, often something I have been perseverating on gets sorted, I feel and know I am present, and I am smiling, just smiling.
As we glide out of 2024 and into 2025, we have a new year upon us with millions of new moments ahead. What WILL we do? Who WILL we be? I have this grandiose vision of all humans having something available to them that can help them feel, think and then do what they need and desire to do in the world. It is so challenging sometimes, right? Challenging to stay inspired, to not react, to not behave in ways we wish we wouldn’t or shouldn’t. Most of us our doing our best, I really believe that. But there are many of us that are wanting to do better but that are doing it all on their very own. Don’t do that. If you want to do better and you want to be better, don’t go at it all by yourself. Find some help. Get some inspiration. Delve into what you need to do for YOU to be the version of you that you dream about.
And hey, if you want to actually delve into some cold water activation, to get the juices flowing…you know who to reach out to.
ps Also, I feel compelled to add that you should probably consult a doctor, med professional before you do cold exposure.
