The Secret to Russian Health?

The Secret to Russia’s Power

By Hamish Macdonald February 20, 2014 1:45 AM dotWorld

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During the long, cold and dark days of winter in Russia, not everyone is concerned with staying warm. In fact, we found one group that takes advantage of the icy, bone-chilling winter. And why not?

Every weekend, they practically bare it all to take a refreshing, cool dip in a frozen lake. That’s right - so frozen, that they have to cut out a huge block of ice just to make the pool. The weekend devotees claim that the cool dip improves circulation, detoxes the body and increases energy and vitality.

This weekend ritual isn’t for the faint of heart. Irene, a regular ice-swimmer credits Russia’s power to the extreme activity. “That’s why we’re powerful,” she says with a laugh, “because we’re crazy.”

It took some coaxing for ABC’s Hamish Macdonald to bare his swim trunks and take the plunge. A few seconds later, he turns into Michael Phelps - doing the butterfly, showing off for his new Russian friends. But a second dip? Not so fast…

ABC News' Stefan Doyno and Maurice Abbate contributed to this episode.

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When I lived in the mountains around Mt. Shasta I had friends who believed in doing this in the winter too during the 1970s and 1980s (I haven't lived in Mt. Shasta since about 1992 but I still visit and ski several times a year). I more liked to jump in ice cold lakes and streams when I would already be very hot from a Sauna or Sweating in a Native American Sweat Lodge. I can remember one time after Sweating with a large group with Charlie Thom A "Karuk medicine man" when he was still alive at Stewart Mineral springs and we got out of the Sweat Lodge (50 or 100 of us) and broke through the ice in the nearby stream while it was snowing. The only problem for me really then was not getting injured slipping on icy snowy rocks barefoot on my way to the frozen river to take a dip in. I thought at the time how much more amazing people actually are than most of us give credit to. Humans are really amazing! We are capable of so much more than we ordinarily put ourselves through. Afterwards I felt alive and strong in a really amazing empowered way!

 

Karuk people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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According to Powers, the Karok (Karuk) were one of three groups living on the Klamath River (the others being the Yurok and Modok). He also noted that there ...

‎Name - ‎Language - ‎Population - ‎Culture

Karuk language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Karuk or Karok is an endangered language of northwestern California. It is the traditional language of the Karuk people, most of whom now speak English.