“The contrast between hot and cold generally speaking contributes to the felt sense of aliveness, connecting one to the body and opening the senses.”
So… why are people getting so interested in winter bathing and sauna culture?
Rich sauna traditions from all over the world have always emphasised the sauna as a soulful place. A place where you can wash away the worries and literally detox – both physically, mentally and spiritually. Sauna has many benefits for the cardiovascular system, and decreases risk to heart disease with its stress-reducing, soothing effects.
“Rich sauna traditions from all over the world have always emphasised the sauna as a soulful place. A place where you can wash away the worries”
Cold bathing is a luxury for us living up in the North. To immerse oneself in natural cold water improves mood and causes a cascade of feel-good chemicals in the body. Cold exposure can be used as a mental resilience-building practice as well, not to mention the benefits to the immune system that many enthusiastic winter bathers report. The question is: how comfortable are you with being uncomfortable? And can you relax into it?
Hack your nervous system…or come back to nature’s own medicine: the invigorating power of the hot and the cold!
