THERAPEUTIC CONTRAST SHOWER
After every
shower, turn down the hot water, as low as you can tolerate (eventually you may
be able to turn it off completely, and comfortably)
Cover every inch of your body with the cooler water, including the
bottoms of your feet. Focus the
cold stream on affected areas - scalp, back, joints, pelvis, etc.
If you prefer, you may even alternate hot and cold, as long as you always
end with cold. This should take
only one to three minutes, in entirety. Then
dry yourself off quickly, rubbing briskly.
This may sound barbaric, but this causes your body to react in an
exquisitely healthy manner, you will warm up quickly and turn pink afterwards.
It is important to feel very warm internally before beginning the cold
phase.
This therapy
helps strengthen and normalize the nervous, circulatory, endocrine (hormonal),
musculo-skeletal and immune systems, and is excellent for helping the body cope
with stress. The more you challenge
yourself with cold, the more you will notice these effects, sometimes even a
subtle healthy “high”.
There may be
times when your responsivity is decreased and you should either temporarily
decrease the intensity (i.e. not as cold) or discontinue this treatment:
·
When you are
acutely ill or injured and do not feel strong enough
·
When you are
under treatment for chronic illness and are undergoing an aggravation which
weakens you.
·
You are
menstruating and do not feel strong enough.
·
You know
that you are overstressed and are planning to deal with your stresses but
haven’t started doing so yet.
·
When you
feel chilly
In
addition, this therapy may be contraindicated in the following conditions;
consult with your doctor:
·
vascular
insufficiency or stasis (the extreme of “poor circulation”)
·
cardiac
insufficiency (from heart disease, etc.)
·
some anemia
or blood dyscrasias
·
pregnancy
·
certain
kinds of chronic infections
·
malnutrition
·
some joint
diseases
·
diabetes
