(people talking indistinctly)
- [Ivana] It started as a challenge, right,
it started more just kind of out of curiosity.
(snow crunching)
I get excited, I kind of picture myself
and just getting myself more in the mindset.
Okay like I am gonna be in it,
this is what I wanna, this is how I'm gonna do it,
this is what I'm gonna get out of it.
So there is definitely some enjoyable anticipation.
(ice clinking)
- [Narrator] A lot of outdoorsy folks
love to jump into a cold mountain lake on a hot summer day.
And some are even brave enough
to dash into cold water on a dare,
what some may call a polar plunge.
But getting into painfully cold water
has become a way of life for Ivana Maclay.
(Ivana exhales)
(people talking indistinctly)
The body's first reaction to icy water is called cold shock.
There's often an intense minute of hyperventilation,
and sometimes can even cause cardiac arrest.
But Ivana has trained herself to control her breathing.
- So like I would say
after 20 seconds of that initial shock,
it start feeling different.
Your body just creates this warm bubble.
And then it feels right,
like for few minutes I can just sit there
and the body feels actually really really good.
This is gonna be, oh steady here.
Woo!
And when I start feeling more cold again or shivering
I usually get out 'cause it seems,
you know, it was that was enough.
I like to discomfort and pushing my limits,
but when it gets too much I do wanna listen to body.
(people talking in foreign language)
- [Narrator] In icy water the body concentrates blood flow
to preserve its core temperature.
Arms and legs can go numb,
and muscles weaken after just a few minutes.
So as soon as she gets out,
Ivana performs what she calls her horse dance
to pump the warm blood through her body.
- Yeah!
(Ivana laughs)
(Ivana sighs)
(talking in foreign language)
- I feel really good.
(Ivana laughs)
I'm a mom, I work as a mental health therapist.
That's probably also like why I love nature as well
'cause I just need to get out and get my energy back.
I always enjoy sauna,
and you know going to hot springs and hot taps.
I'm still a pretty cold person,
like I have a cold hands and cold feet.
I'm not gonna lie,
I'm not like super comfortable to taking my clothes off
and just getting in the water,
there is always this level of discomfort.
- [Narrator] Ivana grew up with severe asthma,
and often felt her body was weaker than other people.
When her mom died of cancer, it deepened Ivana's fear
about her body not being strong enough.
- And yeah, I'm probably behind that story of it,
not trusting my body goes years of my life
that I was going through a divorce,
and times being a single mom, and struggling financially,
and not really knowing a lot of people here
and just being pretty new in Portland.
So I was seeking and looking
for something that would help me.
I have a way and a tool
that I am more confident about my body,
and I trust my body, and I know how to help myself.
(handle squeaking)
(water clinking)
(plastic rustling)
- [Narrator] Cold dipping has become
such a regular part of Ivana's life
she has her own backyard setup.
- I'm choosing the level of suffering.
I am the one in the control.
With the opposite way
of the things are just happening to me.
(Ivana exhaling)
- [Narrator] Professional athletes have long known
that ice baths can help reduce swelling and sore muscles.
But mental health professionals like Ivana
are especially interested in cold immersion
as a therapeutic way to reduce anxiety and depression.
(Ivana exhaling)
The discomfort of the icy water
seems to trigger the body's fight or flight nervous system,
releasing a rush of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.
Folks like Ivana who have incorporated cold plunging
into their weekly routine,
report elevated mood, energy, and focus.
- That's great.
It's just became, it just became my daily routine.
It's something that I do to get energy and strength
back to do the normal life,
and yeah face the normal stressors.
So this is the little training.
(Ivana laughs)
(people speaking foreign language)
- Each other right?
- We do. - We do.
- [Narrator] Ivana will invite anyone she meets
to come together to share a cold dip.
- What is this?
(women laughing)
- This is gonna be fun.
- [Narrator] One of the folks she's invited today
is her neighbor Priscilla.
- I think I'm doing it because I think Ivana
is just really got such good spirit,
and it's good to learn about what that's all about.
(people laughing)
- Okay.
(woman laughs)
- Ready?
- Yes!
(people speaking foreign language)
(people screaming)
- [Ivana] It's really inspiring, it's super non-judgmental.
I know sometimes we just meet with people
that they never done it before, a first timers.
(people talking indistinctly)
Some people just go in the water for a few seconds
and that's it.
- I'm done. (woman laughs)
- I'm out.
(people speaking foreign language)
- [Ivana] No one cares, right we all having fun.
(people talking indistinctly)
- Okay. - It's amazing.
(people laughing)
- Wonderful.
Okay.
(people shouting and clapping)
- It's amazing.
- [Ivana] Taking the cold dip with other people,
it brings me so much joy.
- [Woman] I just think it's good to know
that there are other people that can share this.
(fire crackling) (people talking indistinctly)
(people laughing)
- [Narrator] To help take the cold off
they've set up a portable sauna tent.
- It's way too hot. (Ivana laughs)
- Oh this is cool.
This is really nice and warm.
So we have what?
- [Man With Brown Hair] 200.
- 200? (man with brown hair laughs)
- [Man With Brown Hair] But it's only up there.
(people talking indistinctly)
- I mean some people know each other
and some people like never met right,
so we have like all this collection of people
that is just pretty amazing.
The laughter and the giggles and the happiness,
I mean it's pretty contagious right?
Cheers Noka.
- Cheers.
- Thank you, thanks for showing up and--
- [Narrator] Ivana hopes that she can make
these types of community dips a regular thing.
(people talking indistinctly)
- I can't wait to go swimming every day.
- And then it's time
to put the clothes on and (Ivana laughs) start hiking back.
(people talking indistinctly)
(wind whirring)
- [Ivana] When I get in the cold water
there is just no yesterday, no tomorrow, it's only now.
It's gonna hurt for a little bit but it will pass,
it's only temporary.
And that's probably what's been the most important things
that I learn from the cold exposure.
It's a good combination of the calmness
and feeling of being alive.
(upbeat acoustic music)
- Great people just doing their thing
in their own Northwest-y way.
We love bringing you stories like this.
Support what you love.
OPB.org/video.