What cold showers taught me about suffering

[flume]

I've been taking cold showers every morning now for several weeks. Obviously, there's lots of physical benefits, as they apparently help fighting disease by strengthening the immune system. Personally, it helped me to feel more grounded in my body, as I live in my head quite a lot and as a result I don't really feel very connected to my body. If you're interested, check out this podcast: https://www.russellbrand.com/podcast/70-heal-yourself-with-the-ice-shaman-with-wim-hof/ This really convinced me to give it a shot.

Most importantly though, it taught me how pain in my daily life is self inflicted. It's a one minute shower. Yet my mind potentially makes it into hours of dread, moaning about it and trying to find excuses. Such a little thing - yet so much resistance. If you take a closer look though, I don't have a problem if I'm not standing in the shower with the cold water running over me. I set myself a challenge to see how little I could suffer doing something quite uncomfortable. Because, actually:

Going to bed the night before - no problem
Taking off my clothes - no problem
Stepping into the shower - no problem
Showering - the resistance usually goes away after 10 seconds.

So most of the time, I'm just anticipating something, that isn't even real yet.

Realising this really helped me to take a bit of that power that my mind has over those silly things away. I see it in other areas of my life as well. What's the gain from dreading something you know you have to do anyway? Why not dance through it by taking your resistance down?

And yes, I've definitely heard about the difference between pain and suffering before. It made sense in my head, but the experience of it drilled it into me much more efficiently ;-) Maybe this post can be of encouragement for some of you to try something new and uncomfortable.  Make it your yoga. See how you react doing the same thing everyday. Give it a chance. Be open and learn.

[Arnold666]

Same here. I done it for 2 and a half years and for the last year once a week the ice bath and  I'm literally panicking, my body thinks that this is it this is the end especially after 10 min of ice. So after a morning like this I'm so euforic and chill cuz my body thought that we nearly died so what can really bother me anymore later that day? We just escape death! 

[Knock]

Great post, I have been thinking about this idea too.

I believe that we need more intentional suffering in our lives to live fully. That is, purposefully putting ourselves in unpleasant situations of short-term discomfort for long term growth. Doing so increases our gratitude and contentment for the abundance we already have, as well as instilling courage and strength to do the things that are uncomfortable but necessary in life.

One of my friends practises a 36hr fast every month. Another practises the Sabbath every week (that is, no work or internet from sunset Saturday to sunset Sunday). My brother trains for triathlons every weekday before the sun rises no matter what.

And they all say that their lives are richer because of it.

Cold showers sound like a great way into introducing some purposeful suffering into your life to become a better person.

[Leo Gura]

@flume Great mindfulness.

[Forestluv]

@flume Nice insights. . . I lived in S. America for a few months with only cold showers. I never got used to it. It was a big deal at the time and caused a lot of discomfort outside the shower.

[DrewNows]

Great share! ?

? 100% for everyone giving the Wim Hof method A t t t try (teeth chattering)...q q q quick easy but you still gotta face your ego self (fear/pain) and the only way to truly...understand ittt is in learning to embrace it 

14 hours ago, flume said:

I don't really feel very connected to my body

It is so empowering 

[Shadowraix]

This post inspired me to take a cold shower next time. I'm someone who enjoys hot Temps that make my skin peel when I dry off so the cold has always been an enemy. I should face it. 

[dinone]

5 hours ago, Shadowraix said:

cold has always been an enemy

Cold is your warm friend.

[ValiantSalvatore]

@Arnold666 Do you go from warm to cold, when doing a "cold shower" or do you directly only use cold water for a cold shower? 

[Tetcher]

I've taken cold showers everyday for a year. I would generally dread for 5-10 minutes before going into it. In the beginning I thought I would get used to it eventually. I never got used to it and in the end I felt like a tyrant to myself. Nowadays I don't like taking showers and I take one only when I really need to.

A lot of people strived to become buddhas, walked the ascetic path and what not but most of them didn't get anywhere. They've tortured themselves and got nowhere anyway. Is there anything to say about them ?

Gautama the buddha is known to have made this famous decision about siting under a tree and not move until either death or enlightenment. This is now being taken as an example of the determination one needs to have to reach enlightenment. But how many very determined anons drived themselves to death on harsh spiritual paths and didn't reach a settled state anyway ?

Enlightened people are like the celebrities in the western society. For few to succeed an overwhelming majority of anons strive for nothing.

[Gabriel Antonio]

I've taken cold showers in the past, and I totally get what you mean about "anticipating the pain". The problem in my case was that I would prohibit myself from taking warm showers. After two years, taking shower became something unpleasant. I did get used to the cold water though. But I ended up realizing that I didn't need it. 

[Codrina]

I've been taking cold showers for half a year,now.

On 5/4/2019 at 7:21 PM, ValiantSalvatore said:

@Arnold666 Do you go from warm to cold, when doing a "cold shower" or do you directly only use cold water for a cold shower? 

I started with heating my bathroom well before I would go in. I would start with a worm shower, then I would go to cold. I did that for a few weeks, then I didn't feel the need to heat up the bathroom (I have no central heating and I started in January, in England). After another couple of weeks I just got under cold water. I would go under it; wet myself; soap away from the cold water, then get under again to rinse. After another couple of weeks I just got into the cold shower and stayed under it for the whole soap, rinse. I still kinda dread going under the cold water, but after the first few seconds it just feels so good. It is one of my favorite moments of the day. And I wash my head as well. No shampoo, just water. (I wear a shaved head)

I don't know how much it helped with my immunity, but I used to hate cold. I would shiver and my energy would be sucked right out of me in cold weather. I actually enjoy cold weather now, which is amazing. Pretty sure it had plenty of other benefits as well, I'm just too busy keeping myself together in my current job to notice  

Edited May 7, 2019 by Codrina

[DrewNows]

@Gabriel Antonio didn’t need cold showers? What do you mean? 

So my experience is related to muscle soreness and I quickly worked into taking ice baths. I got to full body and quickly realized what created fear, discomfort and pain. 

The mind likes to avoid pain but it can be easily tricked into identifying pain with pleasure. I used to first, focus on the benefits I’ll receive post ice bath, then if necessary, while getting in, I would trick the mind into seeing the cold sensation as the “natural, desirable  state” and then breath nice and easy (sometimes had to work to calm myself) 

@Serotoninluvwill you decide to give it a go again using the technique? It’s like 10x better than a hot shower post shower overall body alertness 

[Gabriel Antonio]

28 minutes ago, DrewNows said:

didn’t need cold showers? What do you mean? 

No, I didn't. I thought cold showers was essential for my well-being, and I'd demonize hot showers. 

I do like taking cold showers once in a while, but nowadays is not a neurotic thing I have to do everyday. It's definitely not a panacea. 

[DrewNows]

@Gabriel Antonio ahh gotcha. That kind of belief aye? Damn the ego always shooting for the extremes 

[Athena]

Lol in the north in Nigeria we took ice cold baths everyday in boarding school. You literally had to break the ice on the surface in the bucket. 

So funny how this is a thing over here.

[DrewNows]

3 minutes ago, Athena said:

Lol in the north in Nigeria we took ice cold baths everyday in boarding school. You literally had to break the ice on the surface in the bucket. 

So funny how this is a thing over here.

Cool how was the experience? Sounds like it was completely the norm. 

What is pushing your limits for discomfort? I’m curious 

[Arcangelo]

Cold showers are part of my life long rejuvenating process. Been doing them for 2+ years.

Now i don't like hot showers, they don't wake me up as cold showers do.

 

[ValiantSalvatore]

@Codrina That sounds rough. I never tried it with only cold water. Do you use some breathing technique like the wim hof method or anything like that ? I am curious. 

I always started to dance and tried to sing a little while under the cold water, to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of the cold. I warm to cold shower approx 3-5 times a week. 

[Codrina]

I do the breathing, always. I used to do jumping jacks and push-ups before I got under the water, now I just start by wetting my hands and feet and breathe deeply before going in. My breath goes naturally deeper and faster for the first seconds under the cold water, then my whole body, including the breath relaxes. I tend to listen to my body a lot and just go with it. The breath is a natural response at the shock of the cold water. I find it really easy now. I take a cold shower every morning. And, maybe once every two weeks, a nice, warm bath with essential oils 

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Codrina