The Power of Water
We explore the power of water; From white water rafting in Costa Rica to Wim Hof 20-day cold shower challenge in Berlin, from a yogic perspective on drinking water to purification ritual at Buddhist temple in Japan.
White water rafting
It was a warm day on the Sarapiqui River near Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna district in Costa Rica. We had little idea what we were getting ourselves into as we wore the mandatory life jacket, helmet and sat in an inflatable raft with our raft guide. What then started as a smooth cruise down the river soon turned into the raft guide shouting, “paddle, paddle, paddle!” The freezing cold waves hit us hard while our raft was barely avoiding the large rocks. Then the raft guide shouted “duck down!” and our raft fell to a considerable drop in the river. After over 2 hours of paddling and ducking down, we felt like river warriors who had battled more than 20 continuous, class III & IV rapids. What a massive adrenaline rush and what respect for the power of water!
20Day Cold Shower Challenge — Wim Hof Method
Having heard tons about the benefits of cold showers and especially being interested in increasing my level of alertness throughout the day, I decided to go for it. I committed myself to a 20-day cold shower challenge, part of the Wim Hof Method. With extra challenge added, as winter had almost arrived and my Berlin flat was barely well isolated. The idea with the 20-day cold shower challenge was to gradually build up the duration and intensity. As I had no prior experience with cold showers, I decided to start with a normal shower and finish off with a colder one. As the days went by, so did my cold tolerance. My mornings started to feel far more alive with a cold shower. As I approached the end of the challenge, I not only looked forward to my showers, I was addicted and decided to continue beyond the 20 days. So whenever you’re feeling in need of a natural energy boost, why not have a cold shower?
Cold shower — yogic perspective
Cold showers are highly recommended before practising yoga. They say that with cold water the pores between the skin cells open up. That’s important for practising yoga because you want the cellular structure of your body to be charged with a different dimension of energy.
Drinking water — yogic perspective
According to yogic science, it has been known for years that water has memory. So water that has come in contact with higher energy will carry that quality. As such, how drinking water is stored will have an impact too. For instance, it is recommended that storing drinking water in a copper container will benefit your health and energy in general. If a copper container isn’t at hand, next time you are about to drink water, take a moment and send positive thoughts or energy to the water before consuming it.
Purification ritual — Buddhist temple in Japan
When you visit a Buddhist temple in Japan, you may find a purification fountain near the entrance. Visitors are encouraged to perform a purification ritual, by taking one of the ladles provided, fill it with fresh water and rinse both hands. Transfer some water into their cupped hand, rinse their mouth and spit the water beside the fountain. The ritual is a reminder to purify ourselves to reveal our innate Buddha-nature.
About the author
Many thanks to Dr Mehmet Yildiz for interviewing me as a new creative writer of ILLUMINATION
Further reading
As a new writer, I’ve been keen to explore various topics and writing styles. Have a look at some of the other articles I’ve published recently and please feel free to share your thoughts! It’s always great to learn from feedback
