My Cold Shower Challenge

The Motive:

The benefits of cold showers are studied, shown, and written about in many places. I will not write of them here; instead I will write of my own experiences. Growing discipline, overcoming inertia, changing perspective...

The Challenge:

Thirty days of cold showers; first thing in the morning. If I skip a day's shower, the challenge duration is extended commensurately. It's the fucking cold season here in Boulder, the water is COLD; this ain't no comfy 60° F shit. Let's do this.

Day 1: 

AYYYYYYIIEEEEEEE!!!! FooFooFoo ahhhh-fucking FOOO! Wow that's cold. My heart rate gets elevated just thinking about it; that was yesterday! Barking like a dog, squealing like a seal; the vocals were something from a 70s psychedelic record. I lasted about three minutes; I was in and out just as fast as I could. I'm not even sure if I lathered the soap that was in my hand.

But wow, was that refreshing. And totally energizing. Like two cups of strong coffee all at once, instantly. Nice.

Day 2 (today): 

WOOOOOOO! WOW! FooFooFoo~~~~ okay, breathing. In through the nose, out through the nose, still breathing. Laughing. Okay, yeah it's cold, we're still here. Horse stance is more painful than this. Still going; still laughing. Soap's lathered, scrub scrub scrub, just some water. Shift position, oh that's cold, but hey, still here, still breathing. All's good. Feels good.

Refreshing. Energizing. Invigorating. And, wow, that's a warm towel. Nice. Totally ready for the day, whatever it throws at me.

Day 3:

It was easier than the first two days. The reward at the end also seemed lesser in magnitude. Still freaking cold.

Days 4, 5:

No easier, maybe even more difficult. Jumping up from bed into the cold shower is easier now; has become a "don't waste time, let's just get this over with" mindset. Definite improvement from my previous waking routine. Glad to see that I have the discipline to do it this way first thing in the morning.

Starting the cold shower in a low squat/crouch, then rising into the cold seems to help a bit. Breathing through the discomfort is easier now than it was in previous days, but now I'm wrestling with my mind-body connection. Rationally, I know that I'm fine, but my body screams otherwise. My extremities (fingers, etc.) scream at me that they're going to fall off and that this is terrible; no blueness or numbness sets in however--I feel every excruciatingly cold drop. This is like horse stance, in a way; strength of will is strength of mind.

I lather and scrub, and I'm thorough but I rush through it. I wonder: will I get to the point in which I "savor the texture of this moment", even when this moment is excruciatingly uncomfortable? That will be a zen moment. But, the moments that I experience as is are also zen moments. No one ever said this zen shit is easy.

I end the cold shower and towel off in a low horse stance. Muscle tension generates heat; I can't think of a better way to tense more of my muscles all at once than in low horse. Toweling off is nice, the cool ambient air seems warm by comparison. The experience is still very invigorating; makes me appreciate being alive and experiencing the thermogenesis of my body in this moment.

Rest is Important

I train five days a week. Last week, it was six. Every morning starting about 051x to 0630+ (incl. warmup/stretching). Then, MWF I attend class in the evening and train and learn some more.

Rest is important. Today is Saturday, and I realize that I've been training hard for six days. I still awoke at about 051x, and wanted to train, but realized that I should rest. Give my body a chance to heal and grow.

The martial body and warrior's mind are unified: and when I train my body I am indeed training my mind. Last night in class, my presence slipped for a moment and when Sifu directed us to change stances, I stayed in mine for a few moments too long. That lapse in presence could be expensive in another situation.

So today I trained my mind by engaging in some mindful meditation instead. 
Tomorrow, the same. 
Every week, the same. 
Let me not forget that one of my objectives in studying martial arts is to cultivate my spirit. Meditation is a complementary path to that end.

61° Clear
Boulder, Colorado, United States

Relax. Notice. Be mindful.

I have this tendency to tighten my shoulder high when doing the hook and intercept. This tendency, I realize, is coming from an innate awareness that this is a martial art–I'm defending, and getting ready to strike. Ironically, this tendency weakens my defense and strike because it only engages the muscles of the upper arm. Relax says Sifu. Lower the shoulder, stay loose, then strike! Engage the core muscles and legs too; that's where the power of the strike comes from.

Relax. This lesson goes well beyond martial arts. It applies to everything in my life: I tighten up when I need to defend or strike. The twig breaks when the boulder rolls over it, but the blade of grass bends, and springs back to its original form.

Exam day/night: relax and engage!
Disagree over something with somebody: relax and engage!
Hook, grapple, pluck: relax and engage!
Intercept and strike: relax and engage!

Even writing now, I feel residual tension in my shoulders. Sit up straight, keep good posture, breathe deeply; the shoulders lower automatically and so too do I release that tension.

Be mindful of your body. Be mindful of your mind. Be mindful of your spirit. Big things comprise small things. Small things comprise small things.

This photo reminds me to be mindful of both big and small things; it hangs above our entryway and my training space.

52° Sunny
Boulder, Colorado, United States

Salute

Welcome. I'm J+.

[ TLDR version: this is a place where I'll write about what I learn of life via traditional Chinese martial arts. Also includes a description of who I am and what my present situation is (engineering student, family man) ]

Mostly this is a place for kung fu. I mean kung fu in the classical Chinese sense of the term, mastery acquired through hard work and study, patience, time and discipline. Mastery of life.

I do study kung fu (Chinese Martial Art: Northern Shaolin Seven-Star Praying Mantis). I do enjoy (and I really mean enjoy) coffee. (But the term connoisseur is too snobby for me). I do meditate, and explore my consciousness. I have a lot to learn, in all of the above and in everything…

I also study chemical and biochemical engineering. Someday I'll graduate and make a career out of it. I believe in simple living and strive to under-complicate my life as much as I can. I was raised in, but despise, the utterly unsustainable American-consumerist lifestyle so I struggle in the battle between convenience and frugality. I drive a shitty-awesome car. I walk, ride my bike and failing those, the bus–instead of driving–whenever I can. I have two amazing sons, my lovely wife, and live in a magical place: the mountains juxtapose against the plains with 303 days of sunshine per year.

But for all I have, I have demons that I fight. These demons have names and they live deep inside of me. Some of them were given to me, by society and my parents, more are of my own creation. I don't mean to absolve myself of my actions, I claim full responsibility for them and the consequences of those actions. Still, when these demons emerge, they–I–cause damage to my family, to my–our–health and life.

Have I digressed? I guess I should answer the question: what is it that I intend to do here?

Kung Fu: I'll write of what I learn here. This won't be my training log; if you want to study martial arts, the Internet is not the place to do that and I am not a Sifu (yet? I'm getting way too far ahead of myself…) Rather, I'll write of how I learn to defend myself and my family from life's demons and of life-insights derived from this study.

Coffee: a metaphor for chi (氣), perhaps. I probably won't write of coffee directly; I'll defer that discussion to the experts. I train in the very early morning, and then reflect on my training over coffee before the rest of the day begins.

Consciousness: this falls under the Kung Fu category, so I'll bring it around full-circle. This is a place for me to write about kung fu: mastery of life through hard work, patience, time and discipline. Being present, aware and conscious, is essential in martial arts, healing arts, engineering…

Here's to learning and life. I'm grateful for the moment, for the experience, for being alive and present.

70° Nearby Thunderstorms
Boulder, Colorado, United States

Image credit: Alton Thorngage: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Salute-158528886. Used without permission, but believed to be “fair use" and out of respect for your art and understanding of the symbolism behind the salute. I mean no harm. :)