As I get further along on my life’s journey, it never ceases to amaze me how Mother Nature gives us SO MANY ingenious ways to heal ourselves and solve our problems. Let’s face it, in life – there are times you feel on top of the world, and times you feel under the weight of it.
It’s no secret by now that the mind and the body directly affect one another and that stress is a factor in over 80% of all illnesses and diseases. The truth is that ‘Thoughts are Things’ and ‘How’ we think can affect How we ‘Feel’. For example, when we receive Great news, we’ll tend to feel Great and conversely, when we get Bad news, we’ll tend to feel ‘Bad’ (which will often lead to health problems like ulcers, high blood pressure, headaches, blocked arteries, ad infinitum). I love the expression, ‘The body is the dumping ground for our mind’.
Put good thoughts into our body, Get Healthy. Put Bad thoughts in, Get Sick.
I’ve learned that a sure way to feel GREAT (and therefore ‘Think’ Great) is to take a 30-60 second cold shower… Yes, that’s right a Cold Shower! In fact, a REALLY Cold Shower! (I can hear you now…”OMG, are you crazy, that’s Nuts?!”) But, the truth is that taking a cold shower will definitely exhilarate you – sometimes to the point of ecstasy!
The following benefits have been proven to have derived from cold showers, or even ice plunges:
- HELPS RELIVE DEPRESSION
- IMPROVE THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
- ‘GREATLY’ REDUCE INFLAMMATION
- REDUCE STRESS
- BOOST TESTOSTERONE IN MEN & INCREASES FERTILITY
- IMPROVE CIRCULATION
- IMPROVE SLEEP
- HELP IN MUSCLE RECOVERY (Do you notice how athletes spend a lot of time in ice baths?)
- DRAIN LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
- STRENGTHEN EMOTIONAL STABILITY AND WILL POWER.
- And, HAS ACTUALLY HELPED MANY PEOPLE CURE DISEASES BY REMOVING TOXINS THUS ALLOWING THE BODY TO HEAL ITSELF.
I’ve been incorporating taking cold showers daily for some time and can tell you first hand that it makes me feel GREAT! Starting the day with a cold shower carries over throughout the day and as mentioned, has an amazing number of health benefits.
In case you’re wondering, “Is it hard to do?” – “Is it Scary?” – “Is it Torture?”, etc., I’d be lying if I told you that ‘at first’ it wasn’t easy! However, you’ll notice that after the initial shock and the first few seconds, the shock wears off and the water doesn’t feel so cold – (i.e., you begin to get ‘used to it’); which is simply because the initial blast forces your abdominal breathing to become more dynamic and actually begins to internally warm you up. The warmth that comes from within, then settles you down and the initial shock goes away. In time, I arrived at the point where my initial hesitation of going in the cold shower has been conquered by KNOWING how good I’m going to feel afterward.
As usual, there are certain conditions where I wouldn’t recommend people taking a cold shower, including pregnant women, high blood pressure, etc. If you have serious health issues, definitely see a physician first.
I’m going to be writing more articles on some of Nature’s RX Remedies which will all be available to Members in the Library. Members of the Fredericks Golf Instruction & Learning Center can comment in the comment section and let me know their experience.
“Come on in, the Water’s fine!”
Roger Fredericks