Hello, my loves. Just wanted to tell you about my biohacking experiment.
I don’t remember how cryotherapy entered into my consciousness, but perhaps it was through various podcasts I was listening to. I was vaguely interested in it, but didn’t pull the trigger until I was talking with my soft tissue specialist/injury recovery specialist (it sounds stupid, but I don’t know how else to say it). His name is Scott.
Back story here, I mentioned I sprained my ankle in early September, and it’s been a big mystery what’s going on, I’ve been in a lot of pain, I’d tried tons of things, TONS OF THINGS. Like, all the things. I dare you. Ask me if I’ve done something. Acupuncture? Yes. Reiki? Yes. Cold laser. Big Yup. Chinese herbs. Chiropractic. Physical Therapy. Supplements. Meditation. Activity. Rest. Seriously. We could go on and on. Anyway, my birthday was approaching and I asked Scott if he had any ideas on what I could get that might help me toe over the line to recovery. He suggested cryotherapy. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where it began.
Alleged benefits are: reducing inflammation, enhancing recovery, improved sleep, endorphin release, fat burning, hangover relief, mood elevation, etc.
I went to the spot in La Jolla and that was cool, but I liked Chill N Out better because the price was nicer, the vibe was chill, and I like the full body immersion chamber that they have versus the kind where your head is sticking out, that they have in La Jolla (and at most spots). Plus, at Chill N Out they have other biohacking shiz like a vibration plate, infrared sauna, and soon a red light bed. So, I chose Chill N Out and at first I went dailyyyyy to see if it would help my ankle.
Approaching the chamber…bwahaha!
right before hopping in… you take off your robe, put on the ear muffs and the gloves (pictured) and some shoes they provide (unpictured)
I didn’t notice a difference in my ankle, honestly. But I did notice more energy immediately after the session. And perhaps there were other benefits that were imperceivable. (I mean if you sleep a bit better, how would you know if that night you would have slept a bit worse if it wasn’t for the cryo?) I did enjoy going into cryo as part of my daily routine, and I used it also to build mental strength. I mean, this shit is cold. yeah, it’s not deathly, DESPITE BEING -124 DEGREES OR WHATEVER THE FUCK IT IS. IM SERIOUS!!! It’s not that bad, though. But I do have to steel myself, and many times I’ve done breathing exercises to get through it.
Observe: Kristina is not lying…….It is C-O-L-D. oh yeah!
But then when one of my physical therapists had told me to avoid cold and just stick with heat, I’ve been reducing my visits per week and now just go like once a week instead of everyday.
It’s fascinating to see, the place I go to is very busy! It’s right across the street from a fight gym so a lot of professional fighters go to this spot (hello, handsome) and there are actually a lot of gyms in the area so lots of other random people just pop in too. It’s a cool little “recovery haven.”
I have heard that cold water immersion beats cryotherapy though, so I actually went to the ocean a few days ago and jumped in the ocean when it was cold but the funny thing is that it didn’t feel that cold because of my experience with cryo. But yeah, there was not another swimmer to be found. That’s fine. More ocean for me.
In conclusion, my friends, cryotherapy is an interesting technology that has taken off. I can’t say I’ve seen a drastic change in my ankle, but I don’t regret my participation in this trend.
Love,
Kristina
FEB