Cold exposure has been around for ages, if you're from Scandinavia your parents or grandparents were doing this way before it even got hip. But the reason why lately this practice has become so famous is because this one guy, Whim Hoff, has proven to the world that this can bring on immense health benefits. This guy has been studied by scientist, because his breathing technique was so insane he could even control his vital signals.
Far from being Whim Hoff myself, I have recently joined an ice bath group in my neighbourhood and these are some of the immediate benefits I have experienced: great cure for sore muscles, increased energy during the day including better ability to focus, reduced overall stress level which led me to better sleep at night. When practiced regularly it can strengthen immune system and help the nervous system self regulate in moments of stress.
This is how it works, we put our bodies in a stress situation (extreme cold) but in a controlled and safe environment. Prior to the cold exposure you'll learn some breathing techniques that will help you to control your body responses when you're inside the freezing cold water. Your body starts shaking and your breath will become short and fast. These are natural responses of the body to what it perceives being a life threat. When we are able to calm the breath by focusing our attention on taking deep and long breaths it's like telling your body "ok you calm down now, there's no life threat". What this teaches your nervous system is that whenever you're in a stressful situation ,no matter if it's a lion or your boss telling you off it's the same for your nervous system, you can reach out to this powerful that is your breath to self regulate again.
So you can think of ice baths as a "gym" for your nervous system, where we can practice over an over again how to self soothe our nervous system in situations of stress. Pretty powerful stuff hugh?
I met Tommy Newman 3 years ago when he had just moved to Ericeira with his family. His instagram page is @movebreatheimmerse if you want to check it out. When Tommy told me his story I knew then that I had to invite him to teach in one of my retreats. He's the living proof that this ice bath thing works. From a corporate background, Tommy used to live a pretty busy and hectic life in London. He had to reconsider his lifestyle once some health issues hospitalised him several times until he finally gave in to listening to the signs his body gave him. He's done a course with the ice bath king himself, Whim Hoff, and started practicing regularly. Ready for a career change he then started leading small groups at his own house. He even started guiding the world's top surf athletes whenever they were around Ericeira for the competitions. He knows his stuff and no wonder his business grew to the point that his house became too small and he now owns a small "ice bath/spa/wellness centre in the outskirts of Ericeira.
I'm reaaaally excited about this upcoming retreat and couldn't be happier to have Tommy onboard. If you wanna check it out our program for this retreat click on the link below.