Why Cold?

The cold water brings immediate presence. In the presence of extreme temperature is the opportunity to control the mind. Calm it, and finding calm in the chaos… finding calm in the cold.

It is also a safe place to release emotions, anger, rage, fear and doubt. After, center into stillness, trust, openness. The cold water becomes a peaceful container. A controlled environment to practice feeling stress, tightness and fear, then allowing the self to feel calm and clear.

The benefits of cold water therapy, ice baths, ice showers, cold air are plenty. Cold water therapy has been used in many cultures through the years for spiritual, mental, physical,  emotional healing. Their practices and rituals are all a little different, but their common theme is the cold.

Here are a few examples:

Japanese Shinto practice called Misogi – ritual of bathing in a cold waterfall. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Misogi

Tibetan Buddhism Tummo breathing – meditation cultivating inner fire and sitting in cold temperatures outside. https://www.gaia.com/article/harvard-meditation-study-resilience-tummo-and-inner-peace

The beneficial effects of cold-water immersion (CWI) on human physiology dates as far back as 3500BC with the Edwin Smith Papyrus making numerous references to cold being used for therapeutic purposes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9012715/

My personal history with cold water:

During the last month of my yoga teacher training, i slipped and fell on my tailbone. I was in so much pain and couldn’t move, I looked into quick ways to heal the body naturally. I found that icing the tailbone would help it. It helped, and after about a month, I could move my body naturally again. Then, I found Wim Hof on Youtube and started to get curious about cold showers and ice baths. The cold water helped me get stronger physically and mentally. I built resilience. I felt powerful. I felt confident. Not only does it improve immune response, it aids in fat loss, reduces inflammation, reduces stress and anxiety. Build Resilience to stress through breathwork, vocal toning, emotional release and stillness… all of which can be experienced at the Music Monastery in Nashville, TN.

Check our events for an upcoming workshop 🙂