Bob Charron is a dear friend of mine and one of the many people who I have helped in some small way to improve their lives through the Natural Health lifestyle. Nothing makes me happier than to help out a buddy and to share something good with them.

Well, this time Bob is the one sharing something good with all of you out there in this photo sequence!
Bob and I have written back and forth scores of times on the topics of cold water dousing and physical culture. Each time he would ask a question, it showed that not only had he been practicing but he'd also really been paying attention to the experience and thinking about it.

While working on the cold water article for this year (now an annual tradition on the site) I asked Bob if he would be keen to add a dousing photo to it. Well, lo and behold he sends in not just one picture, but a sequential series of the dousing process! Great stuff, and it got me thinking...why not use 'em all and write descriptions to make the process clear and easy to understand? So here we go!

Fill your buckets and head outside. Clear a space in the snow so you can stand on the bare ground.	Spend several minutes outside before you douse. Relax and breathe deeply. Do not rush this part.
Rub water on your legs, body, arms, face, and all over.	Pouring the first bucket. Pour smoothly but not too slowly. If you pour too slowly it can at times be painful ("brain freeze").
Breathe deeply again and enjoy the sensation!	Pouring the second bucket
Inhale, hold the breath, tense the body, relax, exhale. Repeat three times and then breath normally.	The glow of radiant natural health!

Some of Bob's Comments on Cold Water Dousing:
The first couple of times I doused I found it mildly uncomfortable, but after about a week it began to get easier. Then it began to get colder at night and I thought to myself, "Oh man, if 40 degrees was mildly uncomfortable, what's the Wisconsin Winter going to be like?" Much to my surprise, it got easier. The 10 degree nights were not as bad as the 40 degree nights (just be careful not to let your feet or hands freeze to anything ;-).

I also began to realize other effects.

I found that I had more energy. I discovered I was viewing the whole discipline through different eyes. I began to look forward to what I would experience with the next dousing session. I was learning - about nature, about myself, about my perceptions of what was uncomfortable and about how to deal with it - and it was beginning to have influence in my daily life. By having the discipline to do it regularly, by learning to give up fighting it and instead to pay attention, I was making progress.

Now I knew what Pete had been talking about...