COLD WATER

The tingling aliveness and warm feeling of my skin, the calm serenity of mind, and the total reset of my nervous system... all of which comes online after the shocking moment of dipping in a river, or turning the shower dial to icy blue

Here I am in the Mangaroa river, but if a river is not handy, after a few deep breaths the end of my warm shower will often end with 30sec - 1 minute of cold.

It's part of a morning routine that wakes me up, destroys grogginess, and sets me up to smash the day.

I do this for a number of reasons - one being, that we're more stressed out than we ever have been as a species.

Chronically stressed.

Even though I like to think I'm all Tibetan yogi - I still feel the pressure sometimes.

Sometimes I just feel low, groggy, anxious, nervous, depressed... and when those feels hit me OR anyone around me, my instinct is to hit the cold water.

Ironically - one of the best ways to deal with chronic stress, anxiety & depression, is to seek other forms of "acute stress". Yes - MORE STRESS - because not all stress is bad.

"Acute stress", is a small dose of stress applied to activate positive response patterns.

Cold exposure, is a positive form of stress that is like putting more weight on the bar at the gym, or running further in a training regime

This process, also known as #hormesis, stimulates the immune system to become more resilient, protecting against illness — unlike chronic stress, which lowers immunity and increases inflammation.

This kind of stress tunes up the nervous system, and improves performance & our sense of wellbeing - making us more adaptable in tense & stressful situations.

This is where the line "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" comes from.

My Dad (a champion cyclist) would often say to me “a little bit of stress is good to keep the fire lit under your ass long enough to finish a painting”... Still working out if this is the same thing

Like uncle Wim says "there is still every reason for healthy people to take cold showers, or swim outside in cold water. It gives you the feeling that you are alive.”