Author: marisavictus

The power of a somatic practice:

Cold Water, Part 2

Do you find yourself stuck in rumination, repeatedly worrying about a past that you can’t change and a future you can’t guarantee?

Finding a way out can be hard.

Our brains are imagination machines.

Read, “Pink elephant,” and POOF! There it is.

Maybe it looks like an African elephant straight out of National Geographic, except its skin is pink.

Or, maybe it looks like a Saturday Morning cartoon. And its skin isn’t the only pink you see. It’s wearing a matching tutu. Yeah, it’s a bright bubble-gum pink.

See that?

That’s all it takes to get you picturing two entirely different images, using just a few a simple words:

“Pink elephant.”

Now, try to ERASE the image — completely from your mind.

Try NOT to picture them.

Try your very best.

Feel that resistance?

In the resistance, you can see how hard forgetting them can become.

That’s precisely how hard it can be to force our minds to do our bidding.

And, it’s a million times harder when it’s not some innocuous, silly mental exercise.

When we combine our negative thoughts with powerful, negative EMOTIONS, it supercharges the fear (amygdala) and memory (hippocampus) centers in our brain.

Left unchecked, we’re ruminating, stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of negative feelings, thoughts, and memories.

Cue the suffering. We lose our focus. We lose our joie de vivre. We feel helpless. We want to escape, but we don’t know how.

For years, I used the VICTUS Method (in particular, the THINK-DO-BE practice) to THINK my way out of it.

Because I’m an Attorney and a Writer. I believe wholeheartedly in the amazing power of WORDS.

And I still do.

Using positive Self-Talk, you can CBT-your-way to a fruitful mindset, one that talks down the Inner Critic and gets you from “I can’t” or “It won’t work” to “I CAN!” and “Of course it will!”

But, what if there were a FASTER way to get you there? A way to 10x the power of those WORDS and make them work like MAGIC?

There is!

You can use The VICTUS Method to DO-THINK-BE instead: Reprogram Your Brain, using the POWER of SOMATIC Practice!

Did you know that when you DO first, you can free your mind to THINK differently or THINK less?

Sometimes that makes all the difference.

Case in point:

In these two stories, I describe how I discovered the power of two somatic practices:

• YOGA — to silence rumination, treat migraines, and achieve freedom & flow.

And,

• COLD EXPOSURE THERAPY — to enhance my immune system, reduce inflammation, improve blood circulation, raise dopamine levels, boost energy, reduce stress, and enhance metabolism, among a whole host of other benefits.

(1) For both of these somatic body-based practices, I focused on the DOING first.

With yoga, I forced myself to focus intently on my body: instead of worrying about my migraine, which comes with excessive rumination, I had to listen carefully to my yoga teacher’s instructions and move my body to match.

With cold exposure therapy, I had no choice but to be present in my body, given the frigid cold water; and, I focused on the slow methodical counting, because that signaled how much longer my cold shower would last.

(2) DOING creates space for Better THINKING:

With yoga, my mind entered a state of flow to such a degree that there was no room to ruminate.

And in the cold water, my mind emptied. The initial shock jolted my body, bringing me straight to the present moment. And in that space, I could remind myself, “This is it. It’s not going to get any more uncomfortable than this.” That realization allowed me to relax. At first, mentally. Then physically, when my brown adipose tissue switched on, thermogenesis kicked in, and my body found warmth in the cold.

This DO-then-THINK practice has Reprogrammed the BE of my Brain AND my Mind.

I’ve learned I don’t have to THINK my way out of every difficulty.

I can DO my way to better thinking.

In other words, my body isn’t the only thing that’s gotten stronger.

My mind’s benefited — permanently.

✅The emotional turmoil of my migraines is not the source of fear or pain, like it used to be.

✅ I’ve found a repeatable way to escape my rumination, whenever I sense it starting to get a grip on me.

I was over the moon.

I thought that’d be it.

Then, I discovered something even better:

You Can Reprogram Your Brain: When you Shower, DO the Cold, THINK Better Words, and you can fast-track who you want to BE.

Entrain your brain?

Like, program in new neural networks in the middle of an insanely cold shower?

Yes!

I’m telling you, it’s possible.

You see, when you DO something engrossing, like taking a super Cold Shower, your entire body becomes fully present, your brain becomes laser focused, and your mind has an automatic emotional reaction to it.

This is significant for two reasons:

First, our brains are evolutionarily programmed to attach greater significance to and remember what’s more emotionally charged.

And, second, our brains will give us the strength to do difficult tasks when we have a strong emotional reason for doing them.

When we combine the two, many times, our brains will wire stronger neural pathways because we have an emotionally charged WHY attached to the task or belief.

Apply this to taking a Cold Shower, and you can DO+THINK your way to embodying the BE you want to be, so much faster.

When I first decided to try Cold Exposure Therapy, it took me a while to overcome my resistance to taking cold showers. As I’ve said before, I’m someone who loves to be warm-and-cozy. Hygge’s my jam. So, I had to ease myself into the idea.

In other words, when I first started out, I couldn’t jump into the DOING. I had to THINK my way through it first. Which is no surprise to me, because that’s my default: to take the cerebral approach.

So I reminded myself of all the gains I’d discovered with yoga, my other somatic practice. I researched the physical and mental benefits of cold exposure. And I decided the potential benefits far outweighed the discomfort of a brief 15- to 20- to 30-second bout of cold.

Then I eased myself into the practice. And the DOING was slow, at first. I started my showers at a lower temp, to make the contrast between hot and cold less pronounced to begin with. I reserved my favorite, most luxurious body wash to ease my way down. I gradually dropped from my usual 90+ degree showers, down to crisp, cool 60.

And, two weeks later, the Proof was evident. I could see not only the temperature shift, but the shift inside of me: I was like a swan, arms open wide, my chest rising up, eager to meet the steady stream of icy cold water.

I thought that would be it. I doubted it could get any better than that.

But, then I saw the notches still left on that dial. The water could drop another 10 degrees.

“But how can I do it?” I wondered. Nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened next…

You can DO+THINK your way down those last 10 degrees: My FAST fall from 60 to 50.

I was already confident I could comfortably DO. After all, I’d already dropped my original 90+ temp by 30 degrees.

But, that had taken weeks.

I was curious.

“What if there were a way to combine DO + THINK, to drop those last 10 degrees, faster than before?”

I decided to put my love of Betters Words to the test:

I dropped that temp, turning that dial as far as it would go, not in small incremental steps like I’d done before.

But, in well fell swoop.

And it worked!

I was shocked. That I didn’t do it with my body. There were no tricky breathing tricks. And no quick bodily movements to warm me out of the discomfort.

I did it, using my mind.

Using just the Power of WORDS:

But not in some longwinded pep talk. Not even one of the “Flip the Script” sayings that I love so much. (Apparently, I reserve those longer phrases for warmer moments.)

Because when it’s suddenly that freakin’ cold, something primal takes over.

My brain could barely count those 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-Mississippi’s.

I could only think of ONE thought, ONE word.

So I maximized it with a mindful choice. Just one Better Word, like:

• Love (as in, love for myself);

• Strength (as in, a stronger body);

• Youth (as if the cold water’s shocking the skin and blood vessels in my body to tighten, so I’m getting younger, I’m aging backwards).

Other times, wordless aspirations came to me, like:

• Resilience (the feeling of it, ’cause it was too cold to think of even that level of vocabulary).

And it worked!

Far faster than I ever imagined it could.

Unlike my journey from 90+ to 60-degrees, I didn’t need weeks to nudge my way down, degree by degree, to get from 60- to 50-degrees.

I was able to jump there. To twist the dial as far left as my shower would go.

And, I felt COMFORTABLE doing it!

Invigorated, even.

But, it felt different this time.

As before, I found warmth in the cold.

Except, this time, my mood soared sky-high.

Because my WORDS were my WHY.

My WORDS worked like magic.

And, most importantly…

My WORDS felt like they were hard-wired, embedded deep within my neural circuitry.

Better Words work more efficiently, depending on when you say them to yourself.

And where.

It’s all about the context: not just your mood’s, but also your body’s.

And I can say with certainty that, for me, Better Words that are repeated in multiple Cold Showers are wired better — permanently.

I can tell, these Better Words stay with me, long after the shower’s over.

Not just for the day, but for days, weeks, and — I hope — for many months and years to come.

Cold Showers Are My New Regular Routine

What started out as a little experiment to satisfy my curiosity has morphed into a new way of life for me.

Because the gains are too powerful to let this practice go.

The gains are miraculous.

Because I’ve always had a very pronounced Inner Critic. I’ve always called myself a “Recovering Perfectionist.”

But lately I sense my identity is changing. I’m seeing myself less and less like a “Recovering Perfectionist.” And that Inner Critic’s not piping up like it used to.

It’s all because I can crank that water to 50 — right from the start now! — and when I think that Better Word, I BELIEVE it, wholeheartedly.

It’s given me…

A new level of Confidence that’s spilling out of the shower.

I start out each day, PROVING I can do hard things.

You know what I mean: as many a Productivity Guru will tell you, “Do the Hard Thing, FIRST! It sets you up to win your day!”

So, they say things like, “Set your alarm. Don’t hit snooze!”

And, when you wake up, “Make your bed!”

Why?

Because it’s the little things that show you how much you value your commitment to yourself.

Well, committing to this Cold Shower Experiment has been far more than a quick start or tidying up of my day.

A Cold Shower + A Better Word = The BEST Somatic Practice that’s completely transformed how I see myself.

The benefits are spilling over into every area of my life:

Most notably, it’s helping with my Creative Work.

You see, since I committed to prioritizing my Creative Self, to make space for it in addition to my identity as an Attorney, so much uncertainty and negative feelings have bubbled up to the surface.

It makes sense. Our brains love certainty, and publishing my writing, artwork, music, and videos in public has provided anything but that.

I discovered so much that was new to learn and practice and do.

So, of course, that caused anxiety and self-doubt.

But, since I started this journey, of taking that step into the shower and feeling the immense cold wash over me…I’ve come to realize:

“Yes, there’s discomfort — but only in the beginning.”

And I can reassure myself by saying, “This is it. This is the most uncomfortable it’s going to be. It will pass.”

And I do it Every. Single. Day.

Every shower’s a rep. One more data point that proves, “I CAN do this!”

And there’s plenty of certainty for my brain to relax in that.

I knew it before, theoretically.

But, I think my body needed to experience it, to prove it, somatically.

And that somatic knowledge has broken the floodgates of my mind. The doors are wide open, to all sorts of possibilities.

My Inner Critic’s drowned, in the depths of the water somewhere I can’t see.

Nowadays, I feel far more relaxed, like I’m chilling on the dock, pondering all the ways I could DO-THINK-BE to be happier, more content, and more successful in every area of my life.

What do you think? Trust me, the water’s ability to heal is inviting.

Inviting you to DO the cold plunge, then THINK, “I can do this! So, of course, I can do that!”

Are you intrigued enough to give Cold Showers a try?

If so, I’d love to hear about your experience.

I’m loving my results so far.

Particularly, in my mind:

It’s shown me the power of DO–THINK-BE, especially when it comes to doing the uncomfortable.

There’s strength in DOING what’s hard and THINKING your way to success.

Give it a try. See what your discomfort can do.

The Icewoman in me honors & respects The Icewoman in each of you,

Marisa

🎤 📺 🎤

If you love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

Marisa