Cold water swimming is booming as people look for ways to shock themselves out of pandemic fatigue Feb 28, 2021, 08:45 AM
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Sara Worden
Enthusiasts report feeling alive and socially connected after a year feeling dull and isolated.
The practice can be dangerous, and benefits may be tied to other factors, like being in nature.
Jake Panasevich stood on his open-air porch wearing nothing but boxer briefs in less than 10-degree weather.
The yoga instructor, who s spent the pandemic with his dog in a Cayuga, New York, family lake house, called it cold therapy. His neighbors, he presumes, called him a loon.
ITHACA, NY So far this February, Ithaca has been pummeled by snow and frozen to the core as temperatures have routinely been well below freezing. But that hasnât stopped Hospicare co-workers Sara Worden and Laura Ward from swimming in Cayuga Lake. Yes, swimming.
âThe rest of our co-workers think weâre crazy,â Worden laughed.
Ward compared it to Hospicareâs annualWomen Swimminâ fundraiser event, during which women swim the width of Cayuga Lake.
âItâs wonderful to feel a part of something,â she said. âThe camaraderie, the women factor and just community.â
A quick Google search shows you that cold water swimming isnât anything new, as itâs been gaining traction through articles written in The New Yorker and the New York Times, and has long been popular in the U.K. and throughout Europe. But unlike swimming laps at the YMCA, cold water swimming isnât so much about focusing on your physical health as it is about w