December 20th, 2008 The heat was out in the backside of my home again all day yesterday and, now, today. The children pretty much avoided my office on Friday and for once did not dally in the bathroom--both freezing cold! And the landlady neglected to send over promised help.
After reading in the Akhand Paath last night I came home and bundled up in a down coat and comforter, as I am now, to read mail, meditate and sleep, and gladly woke this morning at 2:30 am to a warm bed, immersed in kirtan from the Golden Temple.
The only problem was, there was no incentive to get up! Finally at five thirty I decided to brave the cold and prepare for our Saturday Bhog ceremony at Hacienda de Guru Das.
Why ever is Guru giving me a repeat of this test on the first day of my Christmas vacation--the coldest time of the year, when my plan is to stay home and work on my website, book and taxes, in what is a freezing office?
The first thing I did was to drink my morning cup of cold Yogi Tea as a tonic. More cold! So I fired up a pot of Yogi Tea to warm my insides. It would be ready after my cold shower.
Cold shower? I put it off as long as possible, bundled up, doing a load of laundry, cleaning the bathroom, reciting Japji. The thought of showering in liquid ice in a very cold room was appalling, and I've taken cold showers every day for most my adult life!
Appalling until I remembered the true nature of cold-water showers--they quickly flush blood through the inner organs to surface capillaries. It is the body's natural defense. But you have to vigorously rub your body wherever the water touches until it feels warm. It sounds impossible, but it was the only way for me to insulate my body from the cold.
Normally I shower and massage my calves, thighs and back in quick succession, then my arms and hands before focusing on my face and front, spending a little extra time massaging sinuses and lymph nodes on my neck until they release up a glob of mucous, chanting "Wahe Guru" all along, which is said to burn off karmas when done in a cold shower.
This morning I stayed in the icey water a long time, massaging my body desperately, truly, until everything was warm and toasty. "Wahe Guru," the "Wow" realization of God, was never before chanted by me with such gusto!
ISHNAAN HYDROTHERAPY Staying Under Icy Water Until Your Body Feels Toasty!
The psychology of Ishnaan therapy is that if first thing in the morning--two and a half hours before sunrise, you can get your body up and out of a cozy warm bed and into really cold water against the powerful resistance of your body and mind—then you are coming from pure will power, which is the power of your soul. You have set your higher will and awareness to be the main player that day for your highest benefit. It is an experience that cleanses the body within and without, clears the mind and clarifies your connection to your higher self.
To best obtain the benefits, massage your body with almond oil and take a long cold shower--the colder the better, massaging your body wherever the water touches until the water no longer feels cold. Heartily chant "Wahe Guru!" as you go—cold showers with Wahe Guru burn off lots of karma!
Enter the water directly, except for optional shorts covering sexual organs and thighs, which regulate the production of red blood cells. First let cold water hit the backs of the legs and up the spin to the base of the skull, massaging everywhere you feel cold. Massage your scalp, pressing your fingers in, moving the skin over the skull, loosening unwelcome immobility.
Next, work down the front using sweeping strokes to massage the forehead, nose, cheeks, chin and neck, giving a natural face-lift and helping to relieve sinus congestion. Roughly rub your ears really hard under cold water—it hurts but helps the whole body. Use an upward stroking motion on the neck up to the base of the ears to relieve or prevent any swelling of lymph nodes there and deeply massage the breasts and under the armpits--massaging this area helps prevent colds.
Let the cold water hit the rib cage, abdomen, as well as the hands and arms, massaging as you go, stimulating meridians for digestion, elimination and the heart. Then go to the hips, the insides of the thighs and the calves down to the feet, using the feet to massage the calves and the feet over each other to massage your arches, everything. Stand on your toes and sit down over and over to avoid knee problems. It's fun to do in cold water--very refreshing!
If the water feels unbearably cold at any point, you can hold that part of the body under the flow of icy water and withdraw it to massage the area until it warms up. It may take many repetitions of this process before you can hold it under the cold water without discomfort. Going through this process serves to relax spasms and dis-ease and reconstruct the cells of the body.
When cold water hits the surface of your skin, all the blood from deep inside your body rushes to the surface in self-defense, dilating the capillaries so deposits can go, improving circulation and giving you a beautiful nervous system. When the capillaries normalize again, that excess blood goes back to your organs nicely energized and the glands immediately change their secretions. When your glands, the guardians of health and life, secrete correctly, you feel young and vibrant. This process helps relieve dullness and numbness in the body. It takes care of the skin and keeps it youthful—it is better than taking vitamin A, D and E!
As a final measure, take a wet towel and roll it and beat your back over your shoulders. It balances your sugar and salt and gets rid of edema. Spank your back--you’ll have fun and it is essential.
When you are done, briskly dry off with a rough towel and gratefully face your day with invigorated clarity. If you sit to meditate afterwards, be sure to wrap yourself in a blanket to retain warmth. Best is a blanket or shawl that will drape over your head and cover you in a cozy cocoon.
