My Fundamentals — Cold Exposure
Cold is our friend, it’s deeply intertwined in our history.
Last week I mentioned my new appreciation for hydration but modern humans have a lot of other things to thank water for. We have amphibian-like qualities like webbed digits and our fleet flicks in the water like a “proto-cetacean”. Cultures around the world have adapted to eat fish; including mostly vegetarian Hindu coastal communities.
So humans evolved to swim, but what does that mean?
We evolved to tolerate bursts of cold exposure.
I’m aware of the fandom around Wim Hoff and rightfully so, there is evidence that some of his techniques are making scientists rethink human endurance. He tapped into an esoteric “power” about human potential that we need to learn more about.
Taking Hof’s example, I started taking cold showers and exposing myself to Canadian winters with less coverings on my slow meandering walks. Some swelling in my posterior tibialis decreased, my mood and breathing also improved. I’ve also noticed I’m more patient and tolerant of discomfort (as an aside, I’ve yet to apply Hof’s breathing techniques).
I don’t know what’s going on, but “reactivating” our built-in mechanisms for cold exposure designed for cold water for fishing or Siberian winters is doing something. I agree with Hof, cold is our friend, it’s deeply intertwined in our history.
Cold is an unexpected ally that I’ll remember every time I shower as I laugh and annoyingly force myself to turn the tap to blue.
Hey it helps… and comes with a cheaper water bill.
Word count: 247
Twitter: @bhavprajapati
