Cold showers first thing in the morning at the end of January leading into February, madness?! I know. This is what I have been doing and I look forward to cold showers, now don’t get me wrong they’re not ice cold yet and I’m not ready to jump into an ice cold bath, but they are getting colder that’s for sure and I am staying in longer.

I get up at six, have a coffee then get ready for my cold shower by doing some breathing techniques to saturate my body with oxygen. I feel excited about experiencing the rush of cold water hitting my head and body. It takes my breath away but through controlled breathing and BELIEVING that I can withstand the cold I become more comfortable with the cold; then I make the shower colder.

After a run today I had a cold shower and for the first time I experienced a rush, head rush, adrenaline perhaps. I felt great, funny really because I was shouting out, “Wow!”,as the cold water was hitting me, that was when the head rush hit me, felt great.

So before the run I did a five minute warm up brisk walk with very deep breathing, concentrating on more inhaling than exhaling, the run was comfortable, I am doing the NHS couch to 5k app, which is simply fantastic. Years ago I use to do lots of running and thoughrouly enjoyed running but I stopped running about, umm, about 10 years ago, this app is brilliant as it is introducing me back to running in a very controlled manner.

So I have started learning Usui Reiki and here is a little information I found interesting in reading about the history of reiki. I find this very interesting because Wim Hof talks about cold shower technique and how this releases adrenaline and other feel good chemicals from the brain.

There is a small waterfall on
Mt. Kurama where people stand under to meditate. This practice is
believed to activate the crown chakra. Japanese Reiki Masters think
that Usui may have used this meditation as part of his practice. It was during the Isyu Guo training that Reiki energy entered Usui’s crown
chakra. He became aware of his ability to use this life force to heal
himself and others with immediate results.

Wim Hof also believes that the mind can heal and fight viruses by activating the right chemicals in the brain.