Cold Comforts

We were reminded this week that cold can kill as we learned of the death of Cape Breton youngster James Delorey. Many of us are also outwardly or privately grumping about how miserable we feel when cold dominates our weather, so I thought I would bring a little balance to all this. Yes cold does have benefits so if you want to become more accepting of it and less whiny about it keep on reading.
In Wellness traditions cold is recognized as having energizing, invigorating, blood pressure stabilizing, immune enhancing, pain reducing, and mood lifting powers – it has the ability to help the body balance and heal itself.
Many of you do understand how cold can wake you up in the morning when you crawl out from under the warm blankets and into a less than warm shower – beats caffeine every time! Feeling sleepy at work and unable to get things done because you are sequestered in a warm still air environment? Take a five-minute break and stick your body outside and breathe in the fresh cold air.
High blood pressure can be a silent time bomb ticking away threatening to blow a gasket in our cardiovascular or circulatory system. Cold-water therapy (hydrotherapy) can help to strengthen the autonomic nervous system over time so that our body's ability to normalize blood pressure increases. Cold-water applications can also improve the release of cytokines, which in turn can improve our immune function.
Cold sensations can override pain sensations to give temporary relief of pain. Acute injury protocol uses the RICE method – Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. In this case the immediate application of ice can help to reduce internal bleeding and the swelling that causes additional stress to the traumatized tissues. Regular interruption of chronic pain signals with cold energy can help to build new, more harmonious pain free patterns.
Body wide endorphin release can accompany cold-water baths or showers as sensory nerves are activated. This can lead to feelings of optimism, comfort and preparedness for facing challenges. Those polar bear swimmers can probably tell you great stories about this effect.
For additional information about cold therapy and hydrotherapy there are many online resources and print resources to study. It is best to consult your personal Physician, Massage Therapist, Chiropractor or other professional for advice before using heat or cold treatments.
If you are like me, born in the summer months, love your sunshine, warmth and warm fuzzy things, the above information probably does not appeal to you all that much, and you are still thinking about how you can curl up like a cat on a windowsill in the sunshine. So I have one more bit of information to share with you about the benefits of cold. I have shared this story with only a few understanding folks since I first experienced it in November of 2006, and this morning as I was preparing myself for writing I understood that I needed to share it with others through this column today. A few years ago I was studying Celtic Shamanism with several wonderful classmates and an inspiring teacher, Tom Cowan, and I became aware of how helpful the power of extreme cold energy can be for helping to encapsulate and transform destructive energies. Tom was sharing stories of the Wild Hunt ritual that many ancient communities practiced every fall to maintain a healthy balance between creative and destructive energies. We prepared to conduct or own contemporary version of this powerful ritual with specific journeys, powering up exercises and role selections. As the weekend progressed it became clear to me that I was one of several who needed to be at the front lines of this process while others held the space with drumming and a few others acted as keeners. One of my classmates, Peter, an engineer from Wisconsin, who, unlike myself, continues to ride his bicycle right through the winter months (he’s a very healthy guy!) journeyed the previous day to gather a power animal to specifically assist me with my role in the Wild Hunt. Raven came forward to lend wisdom, power and strength to me for what was to come. In non-ordinary reality I did battle with several types of destructive energy that night, but it was the spirits responsible for alcohol addiction that caused me to call out to the cold powers of the North for assistance. The alcoholic spirits were particularly challenging to deal with (is this why we call alcoholic beverages “spirits”?). They were black, sticky, elastic and tarry, and as soon as I tried to gather them in to give to my power animals for transformation to less destructive forms, they would spring back to their original place, form and way. When it became clear that I was out powered I called in the help of my power animals to guide me. They suggested that I call on assistance from allies in the North, which I did so immediately, and I very quickly found myself standing in a circle with many other white clad beings. They showed me how to sing to these spirits and breathe out onto them to freeze them deeply and solidly. This process took quite some time because the energy of these spirits was being changed from a plastic state to a crystalline state. Once they were in the crystalline state, my spirit allies reminded me of the big stick that I had brought with me this weekend and prepared for the hunt. With the allies help I raised the stick high above my head and brought it down on the newly crystallized energy and watched it shatter into billions of tiny crystals. As I recall this I remember that as I watched the crystalline explosion it seemed to happen in slow motion – very cold matter usually moves at very slow speeds. After the dust had settled we all swept them up with brooms and dustpans that my northern friends had brought along for just such a purpose. As I was sweeping I wondered what we were going to do with them next so that they didn’t just find their way back to one another and return to their original form. The answer to my query came quickly. My northern friends led the way, and one by one the pans full of crystals were carried over to the water’s edge and gently sprinkled into the water as food for the salmon. In Celtic lore salmon is one of the oldest and wisest creatures, and I had no doubt that as salmon consumed these crystals a transformation to a more balanced state would occur. That part of the battle was over and I bid farewell and great gratitude to my northern allies for the smart strength that they shared with me.
Cold can kill. Cold can restore balance. It can be an enemy or an ally. If you have a monkey on your back that you want to be rid of you could consider calling on the energy of the cold to help you return to a more balanced state. Just be sure that you are ready to make the lifestyle changes that this will require before you ask for help, because Grace is generous and hears even the faintest call for help.