Hey guys! I'm sorry it has been some time since I last connected. A few months ago, I sent a shout out to everyone as we continued our way through the the pandemic. As an artist and musician, I asked you guys how I might be able to help you during this time. And many of you simply asked for me to share more. To be honest, that was a lot harder than I thought. It is a difficult time to be vulnerable, especially online. There are just so many hot topics going around that every time I started writing, I found myself on another potentially polarizing subject.

I decided to write about the small things in life that help shift my perspective toward life and hope. I've found it to be true that our perspective is greatly impacted by our choices. It is comprised of a thousand small, very practical decisions in our day. Let's dive in to one perspective-changer that has made a difference for me…

Ice baths. If you are not familiar with this practice, you might be asking why in the world I would want to do that.

There's a long list of great results from cold water plunges such as:

• Improving lymphatic circulation

• Improving cardiovascular circulation

• Reducing inflammation

• Reducing pain swelling

• Improving skin

• Improved sleep

• Quickening the body's cooling response

Although these benefits are great, there is one main effect that motivates me to force myself (often against my own will) into cold water on a weekly basis… My daily work consists of making music of some sort. It involves writing, arranging, producing, recording, mixing, etc. All of these stages take a good measure of creative effort. I've noticed over the years that my mental and emotional state greatly affect these processes. If I'm in a negative state, these tasks end up being major fails. I might as well stop and watch a movie instead of ramming my head against a wall. Because being in a positive state is so important, I've had to explore ways to get there. For me, this year has been a rollercoaster of despair and hope. Meanwhile, I'm fighting to stay positive, fighting to stay in the game. If I don't pay attention to my emotional and mental state, before I know it, I've slipped off the hope train and dug myself into a hole that will take a lot longer to get out of. When I feel myself starting to get in the negative zone, I pull out my list of things that will help.

Ice baths don't fix my problems. But after an ice bath, it's pretty much impossible for me to be in a bad mood. I'm not exaggerating. This is tried and true. After an ice bath, even if I can think of a lot of horrible circumstances around me at that moment, I still feel amazing, energized, and on top of the world. I suddenly feel like I can do anything. It wipes away the negative thinking I was in just 10 minutes before.

The bath I use is actually a feeding trough, but you could use a regular bath too. I bought mine at a farm feed store where you feel out of place if you're not wearing boots of some sort. A nice young gentleman working there took the time to show me a variety of feeding troughs. I could tell from the expression on his face that he had never had anyone insist on climbing in and sitting in each one to see how comfortable the ride was. I found one that would allow me to be submerged while in a nice relaxed seated position.

Though I call it an ice bath, mine is technically a cold water bath. Cold tap water is usually around 55 degrees. If you live in a warmer climate, your tap can be a lot warmer, so it can require the use of ice. I often warm it up a little to a targeted 57 degrees. I fill the tub with cold water, enough so that it's up to my neck, and I can also sink down all the way to submerge my head when I want to. In case you’re wondering, air that is 57 degrees doesn’t feel very cold at all. Water is a whole different story. To give you perspective, the average temperature of a swimming pool is 87 degrees. So this is 30 degrees colder than a pool.

If you're interested in trying it out, please join me in the fun! A cold shower is also great. Fair warning… it's not enjoyable at first. I've probably done it several hundred times, but every time in the first 10 seconds or so of getting in, I still hear myself inwardly saying "This is horrible! Why am I doing this?" But then once my body adjusts, the answer comes, "Because this makes me feel awesome!" If you want to try it, here are some tips:

• Taking a cold shower cold-turkey might be tougher than just slowly notching the water down from hot to cold. You can even take a really hot shower to the point where you're actually relieved to get cooled off. Then crank that knob to cold. I prefer doing a cold shower this way.

• The important thing is that you stay in the cold long enough to get your body's warming mechanisms to flip into action. If you get out of the shower and 2 minutes later, you feel hot again, then you probably didn't stay in the cold long enough. I usually target around 7 minutes in the cold. If you're starting out, you can try less (maybe just one or two minutes) and work your way up to 7 or all the way up to 10 or more.

• After your minutes, DON'T get back into warm water or any type of heat! The whole point is that you're giving your body an internal workout. Since you are warm-blooded, your body will be working overtime to create its OWN heat. If you put yourself under a heat source or bundle up in a ski jacket, you're stopping the process. 

• DON'T do this while you are possibly sick or have a weak immune system. Remember when mom was always saying, "Put a jacket on or you'll get sick!" That’s partly true. If your immune system is compromised, diverting your body's energy to keeping you internally warm instead of fighting a cold can actually just lead to getting a full-blown cold. Only do this when you are feeling well.

• DON'T do this for long periods without gradually adjusting to it over awhile… especially if you find yourself profusely shaking. A little shivering is normal. However, I wouldn't push it if you're having serious cold convulsions. Since I've adapted over time, I don't really shake from the cold anymore.

• Be easy on yourself if it's not easy. I used to be afraid of the cold, to the point where people would be jumping into the pool while I stood on the side, trying to pep talk myself into going in. Feeling this way about cold water is normal. Just don't give up, and enjoy the process of practicing some determination. I feel like getting better at plunging into cold water makes me better at tackling the greater things in life.

Lastly, I'm not a medical expert and this isn’t medical advice. I'm just sharing something that really makes a difference in my own life in 2020. Please use wisdom and talk to your doctor before starting a new health practice. I'll share more random 2020 life hacks soon. I would love to hear about yours too.

Enjoy your life… today is what you got today!

Eric Owyoung