Ice Bathing as a Means for Internal Transformation
I’ve started REALLY diving into all things cold exposure (pun intended) and I’m excited to share a little bit about my experience as an ice bath facilitator.
In the middle of 2021, I was experiencing extreme panic attacks.
I had just come out of a plant medicine experience and was processing a large teenage trauma, among other things. My body was feeling a lot of mixed energies and didn’t quite know what to do with it.
I was diagnosed with panic disorder with the help of a therapist (and my brother-in-law’s expertise) after waking up at the peak of a panic attack nearly every night for weeks on end.
I found safety in meditation, breathwork & cold exposure. I would run a cold shower, or walk to the San Diego bay & take a dip, or fill a bowl with ice water and submerge my hands & face in order to relieve panic symptoms.
With each cold dip (coupled with other healing modalities), I began regulating my nervous system.
Each cold dip brought me closer to the present moment & gave me precious moments to connect with my breath.
Photo: Damon Mahon (instagram @spokenwithoutwords)
Flash forward almost 2 years. I’m now living in Tulum, MX and haven’t experienced a panic attack for close to a year. My daily breathwork & meditation practices remain very sacred to me.
I’m a trauma & anxiety coach who offers virtual, 8-week containers so that I can share the methods that allowed me to discover peace in my internal world.
Just over a month ago, as many coaches & creators do, I had a “social media burnout.” My content was feeling forced and I was losing touch with my true purpose, internal transformation & meaningful connection.
I wanted to explore opportunities for coaching in-person, and in perfect timing (as most things seem to happen in Tulum), a space opened up for ice bath facilitation with a company called Ice Bath Mexico. I reached out quickly and began working with the team 2 days later.
From my first event, I knew that my external path was aligning & shifting in a positive direction.
I knew how the cold helped me, but seeing others work through fear, mental blockages, & physical pain to find bliss is a truly powerful experience.
Coaching people through 3-10 minute experiences in nearly freezing water is allowing me a chance to witness a wide range of human experiences.
Some need to release tears, some need to look into my eyes as a reminder that they are safe, some look for others' gaze to affirm their doing a good job, some need quiet in order to turn inwards.
SIDE NOTE: I’m talking more about emotional & spiritual shifts in this writing, but just so you know, here are some of the benefits from a 3-5 minute intentional cold exposure session in water 60F(15C) or below:
2.5x increase in dopamine (as much as caffeine, cocaine, & nicotine) BUT it lasts for 3-4 hours
Serotonin release
800-1000 calorie burn 1.5 hours after exposure
Epinephrine & cortisol reduction
Norepinephrine increase
Oxytocin increase
Reduces inflammation & swelling
Brown fat activation which helps keep the body warm and helps it control blood sugar and insulin levels
I mean come on… who wouldn’t want to give that a try?!
This last weekend, I hosted an ice bath pop-up at a beach club in Tulum.
A woman from Germany watched her friend take the plunge and I could tell she wanted to do it, but there was hesitation in her eyes.
Her friend decided to go in for a second time and I could see the desire grow stronger.
Her heart was racing and she admitted to me that her body “shut down” on her when it was 4C outside in the past. She described that she had fainted from being too cold and she held a lot of fear around her body meeting those temperatures again.
But she wanted to go in.
So… she asked me to go in with her.
To hold her as she confronted trauma. To support her as she pushed through a mental barrier.
As a coach, I couldn’t have been more thrilled at the opportunity. I’m typically in the realm of virtually holding others through their release, but to physically hold someone was new & exciting.
We sunk in together and I held her heart & continued guiding her back to her breath. I felt her body relax & her heart rate slow as she followed my voice for guidance.
At the 3 minute mark, as most people do, we broke into laughter as we felt our dopamine levels rise together.
She was able to stay in the ice for 6+ minutes.
In this 6 minute session, I felt something remarkable. Something that I had felt for myself, but I was finally able to feel and witness in someone else.
An ice bath isn’t only about the aforementioned benefits…
It’s about surrender.
It’s about pushing through fear.
It’s about trust (in yourself & your guide).
It’s about intentional relaxation while you push through discomfort.
It’s about creating a deep connection with the breath & your inner world.
I feel honored to be guiding people through their encounters with the ice. It’s allowing me to explore a new side of my coaching and opening my eyes to the possibilities for cold exposure to aid in internal transformation.
Just as breathwork & meditation are practices for hard moments, jumping in the ice is too.
When we intentionally stimulate our fight or flight response, connect with our breath, & calm our heart rate, we start to slowly gain back control over our own nervous system.
This training brings us one step closer to discovering what “home” is in our body. Those moments give us the chance to create a regulated “home” that brings us deeply into the present moment so that we can experience true freedom.
Cheers to internal discovery.
Cheers to nervous system regulation.
Cheers to the ice!
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I offer 1:1 trauma & anxiety coaching, as well as private & public ice bath events in Tulum.
References:
Huberman Lab Podcast on Deliberate Cold Exposure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno
Ice Bath Mexico website: https://www.icebathmexico.com/
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