COLD WATER SHOWER

[josemunoz63]

Dear all;

I have started to practice Tummo, in order to condition my mind and body to the cold. I really think that have achieving a much better resistance, but I have a worry. After many years practicing Qigong , I feel that cold training can be harmful for the sensitivity of my vessels concerning Qi flowing.

Some advise ?

Best Regards

[Dvivid]

As far as I understand Tummo, the tibetan monks are not thinking about the cold, or training qigong to become hotter. They are meditating on compassion intensively, and the heat is a side-effect.

I would like to hear from an authorized teacher or read the theory on that training.

[josemunoz63]

Dvivid;

But forget for some moment what the monks do. My question would be a little more general: " after a complete Qigong training session, a cold shower would be harmful ?. Vessels can be blocked ? Qi flow can be restricted ?. It would be better to wait for some time before taking a cold shower ? "

Best Regards

Jose Munoz

[Dvivid]

Its an interesting question I have never considered.

If you practice qigong and increase your circulation, and then take a cold shower, I assume you'd bring more energy out to the surface of the skin.

It might be kind of aggressive, and you may cause too much energy to dissipate as heat very quickly? or maybe there is no negative side-effect? I don't know enough about this to answer, but it is a good question.

Cold water treatment is known to be healthy, so maybe it is a good idea?

Please report back with your experiments...

[joeblast]

As I've been taught, it is counterproductive to cool oneself after qigong practice, be it from cold food, drink, shower, or otherwise. Training in the cold is not the same concept, though.

I've got to go steal 6 yogas of naropa from my brother and read it - I've never gotten around to it.

[Sanfung]

This is something I've actually given a lot of thought to. I was going to start up my own thread, but found one to reply to. That being said, I admittedly feel a little weird. It isn't often that I see Dvivid say that he hasn't given much thought to anything. I mean that not as a jibe at all. I've been really impressed with all of the knowledge you've had to impart with us!

I've switched to taking cold showers after years of taking oppressively hot ones. Not only are these wasteful, but also they were making me quite sluggish. Perhaps because energy is being drawn out, as Dvivid said, I have been feeling much more energetic lately. Naturally, plenty of other Chi Kung practices have to do with this as well, and changing more than one variable is never a great way to do an experiment.

I've never heard that cooling off after Chi Kung practice is a bad idea, but I'll certainly look more into that Joe Blast. From a western medical perspective, drinking cold water after any kind of physical activity can increase calorie burn since your body has to heat up the substance to body temperature. Perhaps this can be related to energy flow as well.

I did have one question if anyone was familiar. I mentioned things about hormone levels and such in relation to showers before, but I've never gotten a clear answer. Ever since my switch to cold-water showers I've noticed that hair on my arms and legs is growing at an apparently faster and thicker rate. Is this a negative sign in any way at all? Is it related to the influence of cold water or perhaps simply a symbol of health since I've gotten very serious about Chi Kung techniques? I was originally concerned.

Thank you.

[joeblast]

I usually do a sort of...well, if there is time, of course...I warm up from the outside in with hot water and then turn on the cold and 'sear up the outside' (=close pores up a bit) with cold like you do with high heat on a steak Different techniques winter vs summer, of course. That also plays into the cold vs warm stuff - mammals expend a great deal of calories simply keeping the body temperature up, so naturally we can eat less in the hot months of summer and there will be more body heat for processing foods, so there is more applicability for cooler drinks in the summertime. In the winter I dont really have cold drinks much at all. Regarding meals, I think it depends on the composition of the meal - any fats or stuff if they are consumed hot, you dont want to douse that with a lot of cold liquid, mainly from an 'optimizing solubility' standpoint. Most stuff is simply going to be more soluble at warmer temperatures, so that has an effect on digestion overall.

Regarding after chi gung practice, it is better to wait for a time, just as one wouldnt want to urinate immediately after practicing so as to let the energies settle as much as possible (of course it helps if that sort of thing is taken care of before practice!) But mainly, be natural, best to settle smoothly.

Regarding the hair growth, it may be a combination of both, I dont think it is a bad sign at all.

[yeniseri]

JUST A FEW POINTS

1. By itself, a cold water shower is invigorating in summer (high heat)
2. After qigong, it is best to carry on wth normal tasks to allow for more 'centralized circulation'
3. Just as the effects of running can have benefits beyond the initial session (24-36 hrs), qigong practice has a similar effect beyond the ending routine based on the type, duration and intensity of said routine.
4. Most people who do qigong tdoay may not be as physically conditioned due to modern societal goodies and degree of activity so frequent cold showers will weaken them.
5. TIbetans are a tough bunch! Compared to pre 1930's Tibet (let's say Kham vs Lhasa), some groups, based on environment have been known to be more resilient than others. Less people today may even want to go through Tummo training as part of their normal meditation retreat practice so the people teaching today may have less experience than those of the past, who actually had legions of students

my friend stated

I've got to go steal 6 yogas of naropa from my brother and read it - I've never gotten around to it.

Which version are you reading? About 20 or so years, I attended a course of Naro cho druk (Naro's 6 Yogas) with Glen Mullin, as part of an Introduction and he may still be doing this today. You might have to use your own google fu. A good idea is to get the book, read the background by Glem Mullin, which is more than just TIbetan Yoga. Different levels of introduction are part of it.

[joeblast]

cool, thanks...my brother doesnt even recall me giving him the book and cant find it. so I guess I'll revisit it after some time