Cold water immersion - Resetting my nervous system.

Awaken your senses, strengthen your body.

Photo: in my backyard, Jorpeland - Norway

For me, stepping into cold water is medicine for the nervous system. The initial shock of icy water instantly awakens my body and mind, but when I stay with the breath and soften into the experience, something deeper happens. The cold stimulates the vagus nerve, helping to activate the parasympathetic system – the body’s natural “rest and digest” mode. It becomes a direct training in regulating stress, calming my heart rate, and finding balance within intensity.

I prepare with pranayama and visualization, so my body and breath work together. The practice turns into a dialogue with my nervous system: each inhale strengthens, each exhale teaches release. In those moments, I feel more connected, grounded, and present than almost anywhere else.

Photo: in my backyard, Jorpeland - Norway

Even when I travel to tropical places, I find myself hungering for ice-cold baths. I seek out ice baths wherever I can, craving that moment of clarity and reset. It is as if my whole system longs for that deep grounding – the cleansing shock of cold that clears the mind and anchors me back into my body.

Photos: ice bath in Bali, Indonesia

Cold immersion also surrounds me with negative ions, the natural particles found in abundance around oceans, waterfalls, mountains, and snow. Research suggests these ions can elevate mood, reduce oxidative stress, and create a sense of mental clarity. It feels like a natural reset – a cleansing from the inside out.

And then there is the landscape itself. To dive into a winter scene, where nature is raw, crisp, and magical, is to meet the earth at its most honest. In the silence of snow and water, I find both power and peace. Cold water immersion is not just exposure to the elements – it is a ritual of returning home to my body, my breath, and my nervous system.

Photo: in my backyard, Jorpeland - Norway

Photo: when in Voss - Norway