5 Lessons in Mindfulness From Over 500 Cold Showers
The Awakening Plunge
It’s the hardest 30 seconds of my morning.
After spending the last five minutes awash in the warm, pleasant bliss of hot water, I am ready to make a drastic change.
As I stare at the shiny silver shower knob, I try to talk myself out of it.
“Just skip it today.”
“You can just go without it.”
But with a flash of courage, I take the plunge.
I quickly turn the knob as far down as I can and turn my back to the water. After a brief delay, the change is complete. The once pleasant warmth of the water has transitioned into a sharp, stinging bite.
At first, my body tenses in response, but then I remind myself of my practice.
I take a few deep, calming breaths. I consciously relax my body and tune into the sensations.
After 30 seconds or so, a profound shift has happened.
The water is still unpleasant, to be sure - but I am no longer resisting it.
Instead, I turn my mind towards noticing the sensations — towards noticing my reactions.
What at first felt like an act of torture has turned into a moment of contemplation. I envision myself as a Zen monk under a waterfall in Japan. I allow myself to rest within the experience rather than fighting it.
My once restless mind has become more clear and focused.
Instead of resistance, I now feel a sense of calm equanimity.
And after a couple of minutes, even my physiology has changed.
My body has adapted, bringing more warm blood to my skin. My heart rate has slightly increased, and I am now wide awake. My brain has even received a rush of dopamine, that will help to power my day.
After several minutes, and making sure to rotate and cover all parts of my body with the icy streams, I turn off the faucet and dry off.
My morning cold shower ritual is now complete, and I am ready to face my day with a renewed sense of presence and vigor.
Such has been my routine for most days over the last two years.
Today, I’m going to tell you how you, too, can take the plunge into the mindful benefits of cold showers.
Beyond the Physical: A Spiritual Journey
While cold immersion has grown somewhat of a cult over the last few years, most people (especially my wife) think I’m crazy.
This deliberate embrace of something most people dread is certainly not a popular option.
And even amongst cold immersion enthusiasts, many are mostly just suffering through it to get the physiological benefits.
(For those who don’t know, these include improved circulation, muscle recovery, dopamine production, and increased metabolism, to name a few.)
But the physical benefits are only part of why I put myself through this masochistic morning maintenance routine.
The thing is, for most of us, our 21st-century lifestyle has become a neverending stream of comfort.
We live in climate-conditioned homes, wear plenty of clothes to keep us warm outside, and often don’t even have to walk up stairs anymore!
How many times have you found yourself lying in bed on a Saturday morning, just lounging under the covers instead of getting up to conquer the day?
Or how many times have you gotten sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram when you know you could be doing something more productive?
We’ve all had the experience of reaching for the chips when we know it will make us feel like crap afterward.
So, while it’s nice to be cozy sometimes, if it’s all we ever experience, it can become suffocating and limit our potential.
When we never face adversity, it becomes harder and harder to break out and do challenging things.
And a complete lack of discomfort can even cause us to become stagnant.
As a Yin Yoga and meditation teacher, I know all too well that learning how to safely work with discomfort is one of the most valuable skills we can learn.
Mindfulness is the secret that allows you to work with these challenges without getting stuck in them.
It’s also the skill that will help you to take the more challenging path in the moment of resistance.
And so, for me, my morning cold shower ritual has taken on an almost spiritual element.
It has become my morning practice of embracing discomfort, and you could even say it’s become my favorite life hack.
Lessons from the Cold
Having taken over 500 cold showers over the last 2 years, here are 5 lessons in mindfulness that I’ve learned:
1) How to Maintain Awareness Through Unpleasant Sensations.
When I’m first shocked by the cold blast, it is so tempting to try to distract myself.
I can start daydreaming or spacing out.
My mind wants to be anywhere other than within the bitter cold.
And yet, I can practice coming back. Noticing the sensations - noticing my breath.
Each time I come back, it becomes a little easier, and I stop fighting what is actually here.
This is a huge win when it comes time to go to the dentist or when I’ve fallen ill.
I am able to stay present, even when the going gets tough.
2) How to Stick With a Routine, Even When I Really Don’t Like It.
As I said in my introduction, making the shift to cold is one of the most challenging moments of my day.
Almost every morning, I try to talk myself out of it.
And yet, I always make that burst and take the plunge.
This dedication has reminded me that I can always stick with my habits, no matter how difficult they may seem at first.
By starting my day by doing something hard, the other little challenges throughout my day seem like far smaller obstacles.
This has countless downstream effects throughout my day. It becomes exponentially easier to do the more challenging option when I know it’s the right thing to do.
3) Equanimity With Discomfort.
This is where we start to get deeper into the mindfulness part of this practice.
The fact is, the cold water will always be unpleasant.
Even as I get a rush of endorphins, the discomfort is still there underneath.
So, I’ve made a practice out of just noticing what I am feeling.
I’ve learned to be there with the discomfort rather than trying to fight it.
I’ve learned how to see the changing flow of sensations for just what they are - momentary discomfort.
This is invaluable in my daily meditation and yin yoga practice and even throughout my day.
There will always be moments of unpleasantness, but now I am able to relax through them.
4) How to Clear My Mind of Negative Reactivity
As a compliment to the last step, I also practice noticing the reactivity in my mind.
The conditioned response to discomfort is resistance and the flight response.
Most of the time, this reaction is a valuable instinct to keep us from harm!
But within this controlled setting, I know that the shower will not actually harm me. So I can practice letting go of these reactions. I can practice relaxing and softening the tension in my body.
These skills are identical to those I teach in my Yin Yoga classes—the ability to work safely with discomfort and to lesson reactivity.
(If you’d like to explore this idea in more depth, please check out my 8-Week Course Embodied Mindfulness.)
5) Greater Appreciation For Life’s Comforts
But this practice isn’t purely masochistic.
By working with controlled doses of negativity, I have found a new appreciation for the more pleasant parts of life as well.
Even when first drying off after the cold shower, I can feel the pleasant sensations of the towel on my skin, and the shift back to warmth.
As I go into my day, the normal twists and turns don’t disrupt me so much, and I’m better able to enjoy to splendor of the world around me.
It’s all about the contrasts.
That is why inviting periodic doses of deliberate discomfort into your day can actually make it even more enjoyable!
Embracing the Chill: Your Own Personal Guide to Cold Shower Practice
Are you ready to take the plunge and give it a try for yourself?!
Here is a simple process to help you get started:
1) Commit to just 1 minute of cold
Start with warm water. Wash your hair, body, etc., as you normally would.
But then, for your final minute, turn the knob all the way to cold!
These are called “Scottish Showers,” and I’ve found them to be the most sustainable way to begin the habit. Trying to go fully cold is often too challenging at first, and you might end up rushing at the expense of your hygiene. (Nobody wants that…)
Be sure to face your back to the shower first, and then slowly move around to expose the rest of your body—even your head and face—to the cold.
At first try to go for one minute. As you get more attuned to the process, you can consider adding more time, but start small. In the beginning, the important thing is just to get started!
2) Work with the experience with mindful awareness.
As I said above, it’s not going to be pleasant at first!
There will be a lot of reactivity, and you will try to rush out. Try your best to resist these temptations.
Take slow, deep, steady breaths. Try to relax any tightness that shows up. Know that this is temporary and that you are doing this intentionally.
Try to feel into the experience on a sensory level and let go of reactivities.
Remember, it’s all just sensations, and we are practicing working with them with a sense of equanimity.
It may take several sessions to reach that point, but with practice, you will be able to make the shift.
3) Commit to the practice for at least one week.
Like so many habits, it will take time to really see the benefits. Try to give it at least one week to see how things unfold for you.
4) Notice how you feel throughout the rest of the day.
As we often say of Yin Yoga, this is a bitter practice with sweet results.
Notice how the cold showers affect your energy levels and how they may affect your interaction with the rest of the day.
It may take some time, but as I said earlier, they can start to feel like a superpower!
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Once you’ve completed your 1-week cold shower challenge, please drop me a line to let me know how it goes!
And if you enjoyed this post, please be sure to share it on social media.
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Mastering comfort with discomfort is the ultimate skill to master, and a deeper practice of Yin Yoga and Mindfulness is the perfect place to do it.
Are you ready to fully immerse yourself in these practices?
Please join me for my new 8-week course, Embodied Mindfulness.
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