Hydrotherapy, Ishnaan or simply Cold Water Splashing

“Imagine that your body is an expensive car. You would probably fill it up with only the best fuel, visit the service station often for timely oil changes and preventive maintenance, love it and take good care of it. We should treat our body at least as well as we treat an expensive car. The body is the only means of transportation we possess, and it is meant to be used very efficiently.” Yogi Bhajan

Today we will consider one of the most ancient techniques of recovery, which is called Ishnaan, hydrotherapy or simply cold water dousing. The essence of this action consists in pouring cold water on the body according to a certain technique. In our culture, the benefits of this procedure are mainly associated with hardening the body to increase immunity to various colds. However, the positive effects of Ishnaan are much broader. Let have a look at what happens in the body when we perform this procedure.

When cold water hits the skin, the first thing that happens is that it irritates the receptors, which immediately transmit impulses to the brain, stimulating the hypothalamus. Hypothalamus is a tiny part of the brain, which is responsible for a number of important life processes: the work of blood vessels, heart, gastrointestinal tract, metabolic reactions, sleep, maintaining body temperature, emotional state. Thanks to such stimulation of the hypothalamus, the whole organism begins to work more coherently – there is literally a “restart” of the command center (which also helps to bring a person out of chronic sleepiness and fatigue).

Further, the organism fixes the risk of possible hypothermia (water should be below 18 degrees) and in contrast to this sharply increases the body temperature to 40-42 degrees. We almost do not manage to feel this difference, but it is enough for all sick cells and pathogenic organisms to be destroyed. That is the prevention of various diseases and inflammatory processes.

The next effective benefit of hydrotherapy affects the cardiovascular system. It is a real workout for it, both for the heart in particular and for blood vessels in general. The fact is that when we pour cold water on ourselves, the blood rushes sharply from the internal organs to the periphery, and then immediately back. As a result of this rapid movement, vessels are forced to sharply contract and unclench, pushing the blood forward, which has a positive effect on their elasticity. Such “vascular gymnastics” is especially important for those who are older than 30-35 years, because by this age small capillaries begin to die off, and this worsens the blood supply to the organs and accelerates the aging of the body. The heart at this moment, accepting the increased blood flow, stretches at the entrance and strongly pushes the blood, on the next circle of blood circulation, at the exit. That is, at this moment the heart, like any other muscle in the gym, is working hard (literally – pumping), building up its strength. The resulting accelerated blood flow, in turn, firstly, flushes out all the stale blood from hard-to-reach places, freeing the body from slags, toxins, pesticides, radionuclides, nitrates and other elements that are no longer needed, and secondly, supplies the internal organs with fresh blood, saturated with oxygen and nutrients.

As a result, we have elastic vessels and effectively functioning capillaries in all parts of the body, strong heart, clean body and, provided with nutrition and oxygen, internal organs, which of course positively affects their work.

In turn, the abrupt movement of blood from the center to the periphery and back, leads to a rapid change in the secretion and work of endocrine glands. The glands are reset, and the biochemical composition of the blood is fine-tuned as it is in youth, when all the glands work in a balanced way and secrete a sufficient amount of secretions. As a result, we are quite alert and positive, full of strength and determination. What is youthfulness? Youth is young endocrine glands. All neurasthenia and neuroses, all anger and rage will certainly leave you.

But the benefits of Ishnaan do not end at the work of our internal mechanisms, because they can be seen on the outside as well. For example, regular practice of hydrotherapy promotes weight loss (due to accelerated metabolism), getting rid of cellulite (improved blood circulation breaks the “orange peel”), as well as improving the quality of the skin (rejuvenates and tones the skin, improves complexion).

“ Someone might think of it as a kind of self-torture that fanatics engage in. Certain people go for deep massage sessions, others go for spa treatments. There are millions of different methods, but none of them can compare to this. Nothing heals like a stream of cold water causing heat in the body. Can you imagine a person standing under a cold shower for 2 hours? But there are such treatments too. Everywhere the cold water hits, blood rushes to the surface of the skin. Everywhere you massage the body is being cleansed and renewed. In this way the soul of all the cells that make up your bodies is rebuilt.” Yogi Bhajan

However, despite the fact that hydrotherapy has a wide list of positive effects, it is extremely important to carry out this procedure according to the technology prescribed by the masters of the past. Otherwise, you can only harm yourself. If you have never before practiced cold water dousing, it is better to start slowly. Below we give some sequence of actions that will help you to introduce this healing practice into your daily life.

First Step. The first thing you need to get used to is that your daily morning schedule will now include one additional routine. If your morning is calculated by minutes, and even more is in direct dependence on the schedule of other members of the family (cooking breakfast, line for the bathroom, hassles with the children, etc.), in order to carve out an extra 15-20 minutes, you may have to develop a whole strategic plan, showing (or developing) a lot of flexibility of mind. Most likely, you will have to get up 15-20 minutes earlier to get everything done and not forget anything. Therefore, the mastering of hydrotherapy start with planning your morning schedule in such a way that the new procedure is properly fixed in the daily routine, not to the detriment of other activities or relationships with loved ones.

Second step. Well, the plan is developed and you have time. Now we can proceed directly to the procedure itself. We start by dousing the feet. Only the feet and nothing else. Go into the bathtub or shower, turn on the cold water and direct the water jet to your feet. At the same time we massage one foot on the other, alternately changing them. It should not be long. Doused, felt the cooling effect, enough. We turn off the water, sit down, rub the feet with our hands (not with a towel), perform a light massage and wipe them dry. That’s it, Ishnaan is over for us.

Our main task at this stage is to get used to the possible unpleasant sensation that occurs when cold water hits the body. Usually a purely psychological reflex is triggered – we are uncomfortable with something that can be dangerous, i.e. cold water that can cause hypothermia. It is necessary to simply get used to it. It is really possible. If you pour cold water on your feet every day, after a while you will notice that it is not scary or even unpleasant at all. That’s it, now we are ready to move on.

Third Step. The next logical step in mastering hydrotherapy is to increase the area of cold water impact on the body. Accordingly, now we bring the water jet to the level of the knees ( moving from bottom to top). The algorithm is the same as before – water jet, one foot massages the other foot and calf, rub hands, massage, wipe dry. Done. We perform Ishnaan in this form until the discomfort of the procedure (or even the thought of it) is gone. It is important to remember that we are working for the future and there is no hurry. As soon as you feel that this is not enough for you (but not before a week), you can move on.

Fourth step. Now we perform all the same, but we go up to the level of the hips (without reaching the genitals). The procedure stays the same – moving from bottom to top. As soon as we have mastered this level (but again – not earlier than in a week), we move on to the next level.

Fifth step. Now we shower the entire legs, after which we shower the arms up to the shoulders in turn. First one, then the other. After the completion of dousing we perform rubbing of all involved parts of the body. In general, rubbing in this case plays a key role. Our task, after each dousing, is to rub the body with our hands so that we feel a rush of heat in this area.

Sixth stage. Perhaps the most difficult is this stage of mastering Ishnaan – pouring cold water all over the body. I must admit that it is the most frightening of all – to douse the torso itself, where all vital internal organs are located. But that’s okay, it is also possible, you just need to overcome your inner fear. So, let’s begin. We start with the feet, one foot massaging the other. Go up to the level of the hips (genitals do not touch). Then the arms. After that we turn off the shower and start rubbing legs and arms. It is convenient for me to sprinkle the torso sitting on my knees – so the water gets more accurately on the object of influence. You can try to do the same. Sit on your knees, cover your genitals with your hand, turn on the water and direct the jet first of all to the navel – here is the energy center (manipura chakra), which is responsible for thermoregulation of our body ( a well worked manipura chakra can protect the body from hypothermia in cold and from heat stroke in hot weather). Then we go higher to the shoulders (women need to be careful with the chest area, so as not to provoke inflammatory processes, so it is not recommended to overcool this area), then the back and finish with the face and head (at the first stages of mastering the whole body dousing can not reach the head, and include it later). At the same time I also perform fire breathing or kapalabhati ( hard exhalations through the nose and passive inhalations). This warming breath (pranayama) helps the body from the inside to resist the cold from the outside. After the cold water has been worked all over the body, rub and massage yourself with your hands. You should feel how the body literally pours heat. Then we wipe ourselves with a towel and put on warm clothes. This stage of dousing in this form can be practiced for quite a long time, until you are completely accustomed to this procedure. At the beginning you may really feel very cold (especially if you have a skinny body constitution). However, with some effort, you will definitely get used to it after a while, even if it takes a year or two. When you feel confident as an Ishnaan practitioner, you can start further mastering this technique. What do you mean by “further mastering”, isn’t that everything, you may ask? No, it is really not everything.

Seventh step. A complete variant of the hydrotherapy procedure is the repeating of pouring cold water on the body several times in a row. It means that after you have doused yourself with cold water, rubbed and massaged the body well, it is necessary to turn the shower back on and again pass the water jet from the feet to the head (this time you can not sit on your knees, but fire breathing is better to perform). Strangely enough, but now you will not feel as cold as before. Remarkably, the body is so warmed up from the inside during the repeated dousing (it is strikingly different from when you jump from a hot bath into a font, because there the body was warmed up from the outside, due to the temperature in the steam room), that you absolutely do not react to cold water. It is nice if at first there will be someone around to pull you out from under the shower. You will be in a completely different dimension.

At the end of the procedure, you should wipe yourself well with a towel, put on warm clothes and, if necessary, wrap yourself in a blanket. Your body will soon become very hot. The whole procedure in the original takes 12-15 minutes.

“Death will come – don’t worry! Wealth will come, poorness will come, sickness will come – don’t worry. Don’t worry about anything. If your body, mind and soul are strong, any trouble will come, but it will not affect you. In hydrotherapy there is an expression “to surround yourself with a shield”. Water is represented in hydrotherapy as a paternal shield “pani pita”, and anyone who can surround the body with such a shield, defeating the coldness of water, is able to defeat death. This is a very simple thing. If I can defeat the coldness of water with my body, then I can banish coldness from my life.” Yogi Bhajan