Extreme and glamorous: for health - go to the hole!

When most people escape the cold with a hot cup of tea or aromatic coffee, some extreme sports enthusiasts ignore the peculiarities of the climatic conditions of our vast homeland, arguing that “cold and hunger” are man’s best friends in the fight against disease and old age. They are called “walruses”, and these people have become a real legend of the city of Lviv. With the onset of winter, every Sunday they carry out their traditional ritual - swimming in an ice hole in one of the local lakes.

Early morning. The thermometer shows minus ten. Sparkling snow creaks underfoot, frost stings your cheeks. I try to hide my face in a warm scarf and move as quickly as possible - this is not Rio de Janeiro, especially if you like to spend your weekends on the couch in the company of books and TV. Near the lake it is almost deserted, only two people - a woman and a man - go to the ice hole, and, a little later, the man disappears into the cold water of the frozen lake. This means that this is not the imagination of dreamers: you can not only survive in such extreme weather conditions, but also have fun (judging by the smiling face of the local “walrus”).

To be honest, I was once very skeptical about hardening, because I was convinced from my own experience that with an inexperienced approach, it could be dangerous to health. Either I was tempered incorrectly, having heard from a friend about the followers of Porfiry Ivanov with his “Baby” and the commandments of health, or it’s not my thing... But the “effect” of the tempering was immediate: pneumonia with all the ensuing consequences... “Probably everything “We were tempered incorrectly,” Evgeniy Chekh, an “experienced walrus,” shares his thoughts. - After all, you can’t become a “walrus” in a week or two - this is a long process, you need to start hardening in the spring or summer, and besides, you need to carefully listen to your body. For example, I’ve been hardening for eight years now - and I’m not complaining. But it all started trivially: I was worried about high temperature, muscle pain, and the doctors I contacted could not help. Therefore, I decided to try a radical way to improve my health. I met the followers of Porfiry Ivanov’s teachings and read a brochure on the topic of hardening. And I decided to act. “I didn’t join the Ivanovites - I don’t share their views on the personality of Porfiry Ivanov - they consider him almost Christ.”

Evgeniy Chekh’s wife also tried to harden herself, but she didn’t like it: probably, most women are heat-loving individuals. “She doesn’t need it, she’s already beautiful and healthy.” Evgeniy’s daughter Marta also supports her father only morally - she accompanies him to the lake, but jumping into icy water is a no-no... “Fear prevents many,” says Evgeniy. “Honestly, for me too, when I dive into an ice hole, my emotions go through the roof, it’s real stress.”

As my interlocutor said, hardening alone is not enough to keep your body in good shape. Treatment should be comprehensive: healthy food, sports, and fasting. “Regarding the latter, I was able to survive without food for twenty days. The result was that I lost fifteen kilograms of excess weight. How do you feel from such a tough post? At first - weakness, drowsiness, then - real euphoria. Of course, I reached this record gradually: first - five days, then more. When I didn’t eat anything for twenty days, none of my colleagues even knew about it. I was able to work adequately."

According to Evgeniy Chekh, the main thing in healing the body is the ability to listen to it and moderation in everything. And if you choose exactly your method of healing, you can forget about medications. After all, the saying says correctly: “Our health is in our hands.”

A few tips for those who decide to harden themselves:

1. Hardening should begin in spring or summer, and this process should be gradual.

2. You can walk around barefoot first