Group practices cold exposure for heath benefits

Mar. 11—An Owensboro group, dubbed the Ice Bath Posse, has been participating cold exposure and breathwork to aid in health.

Jennifer Francis-Gehring, Jan Alvey, Bret Maynard, Ken Caselden and Clark Pelphrey, members of the Ice Posse, are traveling to Lake Cumberland today to participate in their first Polar Plunge, an international event hosted by the Special Olympics.

Francis-Gehring has been ice bathing for almost a year and said that during the summer, the group likes to get together to participate in ice plunging.

"I think the lowest we have ever gotten down to was 38 degrees," she said. "The more you can give your body positive stress, the more you can see that it can adapt and it can change. It creates a mind-body connection."

From a mental health perspective, Francis-Gehring said cold exposure puts a person's mind in the present.

"You are here instead of in your head," she said. "You can't think of anything else because you have to focus on breathing through the cold. It's when we're present in our body, that's when healing happens. It's a time to release trauma that has been stored."

Jan Alvey has been ice plunging since June after watching Maynard's journey on Facebook.

"He looked so happy and every time I saw him post, he looked happier and happier," Alvey said. "It was something I had heard about for a few years and how it was potentially good for your health but I didn't understand the benefits."

Maynard began his journey in cold exposure and breathwork last January by sitting outside with shorts on in cold weather.

"I learned about the Wim Hof Method and I was doing cold showers, but I had never cold plunged until I read about a Wim Hof instructor in this area doing a seminar," he said.

The Wim Hof Method is a breathing technique that is supposed to help with "mastering" the nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems.

"There have been a lot of people that have studied (the Wim Hof Method) and found that it lowers your resting heart rate by 10 to 15 beats a minute," Maynard said. "It lowers your blood pressure. Many people talk about the benefits in reduction of anxiety and depression. It helps convert white fat to brown fat."

Since beginning the Wim Hof Method, Maynard said he has seen many health benefits within his own body.

"I've had reduced inflammation, a quicker recovery time from working out," he said. "It's been amazing."

Maynard said that it doesn't matter what stresses a person brings to the ice tub.

"When you get in that water, all you can think about is coping and what your body is experiencing," he said. "It focuses your mind so dramatically. It's unreal that you feel so calm and relaxed after that initial shock."

Caselden said his first experience with ice plunging was last May.

"I didn't realize it for about a month but I realized I went into that plunge as one person and came out completely different," he said. "The best way I can describe it is that after 15 years as a therapist, it taught me how to get out of my head and into my body."

For the first time in decades, Caselden said he experienced being "truly present" in his own body.

"Breathwork for me started two years ago with a physical therapist that gave me a recommendation to breathe a certain way for an ailment I was struggling with," he said.

Clark Pelphrey started plunging with the Ice Bath Posse last May after seeing a post made by Francis-Gehring on Facebook.

"It looked terrible and I wanted to do it," he said. "I was too afraid to go by myself so I brought my 8-year-old daughter with me and I've been doing it ever since."

Pelphrey had the idea for the group to participate in a Polar Plunge event, and they had found a local plunge, but Francis-Gehring said it was not outdoors and the water was not cold.

"The Special Olympics is a beautiful mission for everyone to be able to experience what it means to be an athlete," Francis-Gehring said.

So far, the group has raised $1,600. Pelphrey said the members topped out their personal goals and the group goal has been raised to $5,000.

"When we do it in community and connection, it's so much more powerful," Francis-Gehring said. "I can have had the worst day ever and come here and I know I'm going to get some breathing in, some laughter for sure, my body will be taxed and stressed in a positive way and I leave here feeling amazing."

The group said they would like to challenge other community members to try cold exposure and breathwork, and think about creating their own "Ice Bath Posse" groups.

Each member participating in the Polar Plunge has individual donation pages set up that can be found on their Facebook profiles. Donations are accepted through March 17.

___

(c)2023 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.