While it was a cold winter day in February outside, for some it was even colder inside at Three Sheets Brewery in Port Elgin (Saugeen Shores) when Gillian arrived on Saturday, February 18th, from ‘For the Love of Ice’ in Walkerton.
A certified cold immersion specialist, Gillian owns and operates an ice-bath and breath-work studio in Walkerton where she shares the benefits of deliberate cold exposure.
“Cold exposure therapy has been proven to offer many mental and physical benefits,” says Gillian. “Among them are that it eases symptoms of depression and anxiety; helps with weight loss; reduces muscle aches and joint pain; strengthens the immune system; helps in addiction recover; improves alertness and energy; helps in times of trauma and PTSD; regulates hormones; improves sleep and … more. I have several EMS, Police and Firefighters who use the therapy it offers.”
Gillian says that she first began using cold exposure therapy when she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her third child. “My husband gave it to me as a gift and I couldn’t believe the difference it made so I decided to look into it very seriously. There are many on-going scientific studies that support the benefits of cold exposure therapy.”
On the Saturday afternoon, several took the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and into the ice. At the Brewery’s Tap Room, a bath was filled with cold water and ice and, one by one, each took the three-minute plunge into the ice filled bath.
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At the end, all said that it had “definitely been a different experience”.
