To be immersed in something powerful and wild is often a humbling experience, Solari says.
The water demands your respect, but it is nurturing too.
It helps me to reconnect with the nature within myself.
MAKING A SPLASHRalph Lauren Collection dress.
Its true, my curiosity is awakened, but its a little more pedestrian than Solaris.
What on earth will they think of this flimsy-looking thing?
Ice bathing, cold plunging, deliberate cold exposure, call it what you will, isnt new.
And, truth be told, its not entirely new to me.
Last summer, I swam in the wild in a lake in Wales.
I thought to myself, I could get into this.
It seems there is nothing a cold plunge cannot do.
Remind me why this is good for me?
In short, its all about slowing down the progressive loss of cellular efficiency.
Would he cold plunge?
Others arent so positive.
For starters, women have slightly more brown adipose tissue than men, which is activated in non-shivering thermogenesis.
Women dont need ice for cold plungesa cool water temperature of around 56 degrees is ideal.
But back to the blow-up ice bath.
You might as well get one of those green wheelie bins and fill it with ice.
Gavin Teague, the founder of the patented Lumi portable cold plunge before me, begs to differ.
Does he have any tips for me and my guests?
Yes, he says.
Take a deep breath, and as you exhale, drop down to your shoulders as quickly as possible.
For the next 30 seconds, continue to take deep breaths, and then breathe normally.
And dont share this tip with your guests.
Let them all panic.
The guests arrive and obligingly assemble the bath for me.
The six-foot-two boyfriend struggles to get his shoulders underwater.
She pops in and out, as casually as if its a bubble bath.
Well, that was a bit…boring?
It turns out shes been swimming in icy lakes since she was 10.
Leave your ego on the shore, she says.
Its my turn, and 30 seconds into the plunge, my body says: I am not Norwegian.
How about a nice long, hot bath?
