As autumn season hits, and temperatures outside begin to dip, your inclination may be to turn up the heat. To increase the temperature inside your home and in your showers.
Warm rooms and warm water certainly feel soothing, especially in cold weather. But there are many benefits to cold water in colder seasons, a trend known as cold plunging.
On Thursdays at 5:30pm at Sol Yoga Collective, Jacob leads a Hot Yoga class. This class is designed to enhance vitality on every level, incorporating an invigorating hatha-based vinyasa flow in a hot environment. You will develop core strength, upper body strength, flexibility in the shoulders, legs and spine plus improved concentration.
After that Thursday hot class, many students join Jacob for a walk to Rapid Creek where they enjoy a cold plunge in the nearby chill waters.
Cold plunging, while trending, is not a new therapy. It’s been used around the world for centuries for a host of health benefits.
Cold plunging and winter swimming significantly decreases tension and fatigue, while boosting both mood and memory. It’s a great benefit for seniors, as cold plunging also has been shown to decrease the pain of rheumatism and to reduce inflammation.
And the benefits extend to swimmers of all ages. Cold plunging improves symptoms of fibromyalgia and asthma, and actually boosts your immune system by increasing white blood count and pumping more fluids throughout your lymphatic system, which triggers those white blood cells to attack anything harmful to the body.
But cold plunging also can provide relief to those battling depression. During the SAD (seasonal affective disorder) seasons in the late autumn and winter, sunlight deprivation has a profound effect upon our mood. Coupled with the changes in our lives in recent years, more Americans are being treated for depression and mood disorders.
Just jumping into those chilly waters instantly releases endorphins, and hormones like norepinephrine and epinephrine. Those feel-good hormones lift your spirits while also reducing inflammation and alleviating joint and muscle pain in the body.
So after your next hour of hot yoga here at Sol on Thursday evenings, we welcome you to walk a little further to Rapid Creek. Jacob will be there to guide you through your first cold plunge. And if you have already taken the plunge with us, be sure to tag us in your photos at Instagram.
Let’s Yoga and Chill this fall!