Excerpted from Dr. Berkowsky’s At-Home Health And Beauty Spa Bruce Berkowsky, N.M.D., M.H., HMC Copyright ©2006 by Joseph Ben Hil-Meyer Research, Inc. 1 ALTERNATE HOT/COLD SHOWER Important Note: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant as a prescription. Each person is unique and advised to seek the advice of a qualified health-care practitioner to determine relevance in a given case. It has been my e xperience that the integration of my Vital Chi Skin-Brushing System with strategic hydrotherapies and essential oil selections creates powerful healing synergy for both body and soul. The Alternate Hot and Cold Shower forms a particularly powerful synergy with Vital Chi S kin-Brushing. While this shower therapy has been used to treat specific health conditions, it has also served well as a general health-maintenance procedure. Of all the various hydrotherapies, this “unequal periods” Alternate Hot/Cold Shower (with the emphasis on t he former) is one I suggest most commonly as an overall tonic treatment. It’s an invigorating procedure which vitalizes circulatory, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, nerve and skin functions. One of the best features of this shower procedure is its convenience. Unlike several other hydrotherapies, it does not need to be followed by a period of covering-up or rest. Thus, it’s well-suited for tightly schedul ed workdays. The Alternate Hot/Cold Shower (preceded by the Vital Chi S kin-Brushing routine) employed three to four times weekly has proven to be wonderfully restorative. Hot and cold water can be used in alternation to prolong the initial tonic-stimulant effect of hot water. The heat (e.g., a hot shower) is applied first for 2- to 3-minutes; then, instantly, before the sedative reaction of prolonged heat can take place, a 15- to 20-seconds short, cold treatment (shower, in this case) is taken. Next, a second heat-application is used, and the body responds with new vigor to the tonic-stimul ant effect of the hot water. This is referred to as contrast treatment during which the heat magnifies the stimulating effect of the cold, and vice versa, providing a powerful gymnastics workout for the blood and lymph systems. In general, two to three alternations between hot and cold water are used. The first contrast cycle is always the most intense. The following ones are less so since the bo dy’s ability to react progressively declines. Excess (more than three) hot and cold alternations is depleting which defeats the treatment's purpose. Remember, that the greater the temperature differences between hot and cold applications, the greater the effect. For maximum benefit, the contrast between the two temperature extremes should be to the limits of comfortable tolerance. Always finish a contrast treatment with cold to ensure that the desired warming reaction takes place. Note: “Hot” and “cold” are relative terms, meaning that each person must use good sense in deciding a comfortable tolerance level regarding temperatu res. One should not be heroic and overtax the system. Be conscious of your relative state of vitality on a given day and adjust the temperature of the water and duration of each shower phase accordingly. INSTRUCTIONS: ALTERNATE HOT/COLD SHOWER 1) First, perform the Vital Chi Skin-Brushing System routine (for a detailed discussion see http://natural healthscience.com/vi tal_chi.htm). 2) In a pre-warmed bathroom, begin with a 2- to 3-minute hot shower. The water should be comfortably hot. Be judicious in this reference. 3) Follow with a cold shower of 15- to 20-seconds duration. The water should be cold to a comfortable tolerance. Hand-rub your skin throughout this cold-water segment of sho wer.
