It was a rather scorching day in the Maldives. I’ve just emerged from a cocoon of bliss—as part of the Four Seasons’ ‘Healing Tent experience’ —where my therapist took me through an hour of sound bath . But what waited for me outside the tent was another kind of bath entirely.
A wooden standing tub filled with water tempered at sub-zero to be exact. I was well-aware at that point of time that as far as first experiences went, popping my cold plunge cherry on an island that people deemed paradise on earth would probably be one for the books. Still, there was resistance from my body, as my kind therapist gently prodded me to step in the icy water.
With two feet in, lowering my body was undoubtedly the hardest to execute. The pain was numbing and the sensations were utterly unbearable. Repeated instructions of “breathe” and “focus on your breathing”, alongside more urging from my patient aide, and I slowly got myself to submerge down to my shoulders.
Nearing two minutes and I felt marginally better—in the sense that the panic and initial shock had worn off—as I desperately clung on to my deep breaths. The battering pain dulled to a numbing sensation, the internal screams eased into a calming void. As I hit the three-minute mark, I didn’t feel inclined to escape so I extended the session to five.
Post-dunk and my entire body was tingling, as if electric currents were rapidly coursing through in a very satisfying way. A full-body reset with my senses neve.