How to plunge into the ice hole for baptism correctly. Where to swim on Epiphany - Western District of the Joint-Stock Company

According to beliefs, on this day the water in rivers and other bodies of water becomes miraculous power and can even heal. It is not surprising that such a healing bath is becoming more and more popular every year. If you decide to plunge into the ice hole this year, prepare for this event.

To dive or not to dive?
Every person, before “tuning in” to diving in an ice hole for the first time, asks more than one question: is it possible for me to dive? what is needed for this? won't this harm your health? Do I need to somehow prepare for this in advance? It is these questions that we will touch upon today, because Epiphany is just around the corner, which means we need to “arm ourselves” with the knowledge necessary in this matter.

Everyone who has wet themselves once cold water or have taken such a shower, they know the feeling of an incredible surge of strength. Diving into an ice hole gives the same effect, only ten times greater. And this is not just a feeling, but has a well-founded basis. scientific fact: during times of stress (and diving into ice water is precisely stress for the body), the adrenal glands “release” anti-stress hormones into the blood in a sufficiently large quantity, unusual for the body, while activating all systems of the human body and maximally mobilizing its protective functions .

It has been proven that people who engage in systematic winter swimming get sick much less often and even in old age are quite energetic and cheerful.

Due to the dilation of blood vessels, blood circulation improves and, accordingly, “delivery” is accelerated nutrients to the cells of the body, which increases the possibilities nervous system, muscle tone is strengthened, and toxins are quickly “released” from the body.

10 tips for preparing for swimming in an ice hole

At proper preparation to immersion in ice water and in the absence of serious contraindications, a person with “average” health can endure a one-time immersion without much difficulty.

Of course, it is very advisable before this “extreme” procedure to consult with your attending physician and adhere to 10 basic rules.

In 2-3 days, begin to accustom your body to the cold: take a contrast shower for several days, and then douse yourself with cold water, but not in the shower, but from a basin or bucket.
3-5 days before diving, minimize the consumption of foods containing vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, rose hips, and greens. These products quite strongly stimulate the human immune system, and diving into an ice hole is one of the most powerful “stimulants”, so if you overdo it, it will have the opposite effect and your immunity will begin to decline. This nuance must be taken into account for several days after diving, since the adrenal glands continue to release potent anti-inflammatory hormones for another couple of days.
Prepare comfortable clothes that can be both easily taken off and put on quickly. It is advisable that there are no buttons on it (at most an easily fastened zipper), or laces, so that when you get out of the water you can easily get dressed without having time to freeze. You can also bring a mat with you to stand on while you dry yourself.
Two hours before diving, you need to eat a hearty meal (but not before the dive itself), since during a dive the body will begin to consume your “fuel” as much as possible to heat itself, taking over all the body’s resources.
If you are new to this business, then you should not start diving into the ice hole at a temperature of -10°C - this is quite dangerous. It is better to experiment at temperatures from 3 to 5 degrees below zero. If the air temperature drops below - 7, you shouldn’t plunge headlong into it.

An ice hole must be chosen that is properly equipped, with a reliable ladder or with a shallow shore.
Before diving, you need to thoroughly warm up, using squats, arm swings, and jumping - this way the body will better tolerate immersion in icy water.
You should not go into the water too slowly and not too quickly - try to make the dive as smooth as possible.
In no case should you drink alcohol before diving, as it will be more difficult for the body to warm up after this, and blood vessels may also rupture. “After”, if you really want it, you can take it to warm up - take a couple of sips.
After diving, dressed in dry clothes, it is best to warm up with hot tea.
It is not recommended to “overdo” swimming in the ice hole, otherwise the body will begin to become hypothermic. Optimal time to stay in ice water- 10 seconds. This applies to “non-professionals” in this matter. During this time, you can just have time to plunge according to tradition three times - and this will be quite enough. And your friends or relatives will also have time to take photos :)

Who shouldn't take a dip?

Not everyone can be involved in the “holy” diving:
due to the increase in sugar levels by the adrenal glands, such bathing is contraindicated for people suffering from diabetes;
hypertensive patients and people suffering from arrhythmia should also not take part in diving, as they can provoke a hypertensive crisis, heart attack or stroke due to increased pressure;
Diving is not recommended if you have kidney disease or genitourinary system;
Ice diving is contraindicated for expectant mothers, as vascular stress can trigger premature contractions.

The choice is yours - and whoever is ready mentally and physically, enjoy the dive and holy ablution. Be healthy!

January 19th is one of the most significant Christian holidays, and many cannot imagine it without personal participation - that is, immersion in icy Epiphany water in special ice holes. In Russia, on Epiphany, it is customary to bless water, including in natural reservoirs, for which a cross-shaped hole - a Jordan - is cut in the ice. Previously, those who took part in the ice-hole plunged first of all Christmas fortune telling and dressing up - to wash away sins. It was also believed that evil spirits, who freely walked the earth all Christmastide, were leaving for the Jordan. Water consecrated at Epiphany is considered healing. The clergy wear white robes for this holiday.

It is believed that Epiphany water brings spiritual and physical health; V Epiphany bathing In Russia, about 600,000 people take part in the afternoon on January 18 and 19.

The “great consecration of water” takes place in all churches. According to church canons, on Epiphany Christmas Eve a believer must come to church, stand for the service, light a candle, dial blessed water. But no one demands to plunge into ice water, especially if a person is not ready for this.

There are no strict rules on how to bathe at Epiphany. But, according to custom, bathing involves immersing your head in water three times. At the same time, the believer is baptized and says “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!” Usually, long shirts are sewn for swimming, in which immersion is performed, similar to baptismal shirts. They are the same for men and women. It is believed that if parishioners wear swimsuits, then the bodies on display are dissonant with traditional Christian decency.

Immersion in ice water is very stressful. The adrenal glands react sharply and powerfully to it, releasing into the blood a large dose of potent anti-inflammatory hormones, which are normally released a little at a time. They suppress all inflammatory reactions by simply “suppressing” the immune system, helping to withstand cold, and adapting the body to withstand stress.

If you properly prepare for a dive, a person with average health can easily endure a one-time dive. But if he is even slightly weakened, in three or four days he will have to pay for his courage.

Before diving into an ice hole, you should not drink alcohol - alcohol will only help with rapid hypothermia and put extra strain on the heart. You should not swim for more than one and a half minutes, or dive headlong.

Before diving, you should definitely consult a doctor. People with diabetes, arrhythmia, kidney problems, women with gynecological diseases It’s better to forget about the ice hole. Hypertensive patients may have a stroke.

A week before diving, it is better to start preparing your body for the cold. For the first 3-4 days, it’s enough to go out onto the balcony for a minute in shorts and a T-shirt. In the remaining days, add cold water dousing. One or two (in the last two days) bowls of cold water will be enough.

Also, a week before swimming in an ice hole, you need to exclude citrus fruits, greens, rose hips and other foods rich in vitamin C from your diet - it stimulates the immune system, but it is not necessary to stimulate the immune system more than the act of immersion will do: it will be too much, the immune system will “fall” greatly . Two hours before diving, you must eat a hearty meal, that is, provide the body with “fuel”. In cold water, the body will quickly begin to spend all its resources on heating, and not a single kilocalorie will be superfluous.

Clothes and shoes should be easy and quick to take off and put on. Dress appropriately. Ideally, clothes should not have fasteners at all, in extreme cases - a zipper. Fastening buttons in the cold, much less tying shoelaces, will be problematic. In addition, you should take a mat. You can stand on it while drying yourself and changing clothes. The hat must be put on immediately after leaving the water.

Immediately after ablution, you need to rub yourself with a terry towel and hurry to a warm room. You cannot be on the ice in front of a large crowd of people, and it is strictly forbidden to drive a car onto the ice.

Not all weather is suitable for swimming. The ideal temperature for beginners is 2 to 5 degrees below zero. You can risk diving into even colder temperatures, but –10°C is a dangerous threshold for a person trying to dive into an ice hole for the first time. You should enter the water warmed up and gradually. This makes it easier to bear the cold. To warm up before the procedure, you can run for a few minutes, do squats, and do active movements. You need to enter the water slowly, at an average pace: if you go slowly, you may have time to freeze, but if you go quickly, you may become frightened, severely stressed, your pulse and blood pressure rise sharply, and you can take your breath away. Having reached your knees, you need to rinse your face with water and wash your face. This will also prepare the body for complete immersion.

You should swim in specially equipped ice holes near the shore, preferably near rescue stations, under the supervision of lifeguards. The ice hole should be well cleared of ice fragments to prevent slipping and injury, and to make getting out easier. It is advisable that it has a ladder or a shallow area for easy exit from the water. You should never dive alone in case you need help. Avoid swimming if you have a heart condition. Remember that staying in ice water for unhardened people can lead to general hypothermia of the body. At its first signs - chills, trembling, cyanosis skin, lips, pain in fingers and toes - the person already needs help. No need to sit in the hole until you get goosebumps. Chills are a sign that the body has begun to become hypothermic. As soon as you feel this, you should immediately get out of the water. On average, it is enough to stay in the water for 10 seconds - you can just plunge three times, as required by tradition.

At mild degree In case of hypothermia, it is enough to dress the victim warmly, give him hot tea and force him to perform intense physical exercise. For moderate and severe hypothermia - rub woolen fabric, do a full body massage. Then dress warmly and put her to bed. Warming should be gradual so that there is no sudden temperature change.

Do not go out onto the ice unless necessary, do not leave children unattended near a river or pond, make sure that the ice you are going out on is strong enough.

It is customary for Orthodox believers to celebrate the holiday of Epiphany on January 19. Most traditions on this day are related to water. On Epiphany Eve, many believers want to plunge into an ice hole to cleanse themselves spiritually and physically. But desire alone is not enough. It is necessary to prepare for such a ritual in advance so as not to cause harm to health.

How to swim properly at Epiphany - preparation

This Orthodox holiday has its own traditions and customs. The most important thing to remember when bathing is spiritual cleansing, not entertainment. Therefore, ablution must be approached with all seriousness and faith.

On Christmas Eve it is customary to fast and visit church services and read prayers.
But at the same time, we should not forget about the rules for hardening the body. The church and doctors are united on this issue. Before plunging into an ice hole, it is necessary to take a number of hardening measures 3 months before this event. Do them regularly, 2 times a day. Gradually reduce the water temperature during the procedure and increase their duration.
You should also ask your doctor if you have any contraindications for immersing yourself in ice water. In addition, you must evaluate not only your capabilities, but also your desire. If you are afraid to dive into an ice hole in winter, then you should not do it.
Before ablution, do not eat heavily; you can only have a light snack. Doctors recommend consuming 1 tbsp an hour before the ceremony. l. fish oil. This will increase the body's resistance to frost.
But alcohol should absolutely not be consumed before swimming. Alcoholic drinks will increase the load on the heart. In addition, visiting a consecrated place under the influence of alcohol is unacceptable.
Choose specially equipped places for the ceremony where rescuers are on duty. The depth of the ice hole should usually not exceed 2 meters and have guards to prevent people from accidentally falling into the water. And remember - safety comes first!
A bathing suit is not the correct attire for wudu. According to Orthodox tradition, you should swim in a long, light-colored shirt made of natural fabric. Religious morality should not be violated.
You should not visit the sauna or bathhouse in the evening before the ceremony. A sharp change in temperature can lead to vasospasm.
Undress gradually, allowing your body to get used to the low temperature. First, take off your outerwear, then your sweater, and after a while, take off everything and put on a shirt.

How to bathe correctly at Epiphany - the process itself

The water in the ice hole is blessed by the priest after the service. Only after the ceremony can you start bathing.

Before diving, do a short warm-up. It will allow the body to warm up. To do this, jump in place and rub the muscles well with the inside of your palm. If you wish, you can rub yourself with snow. This procedure will not allow the body to quickly cool down in the water.
The sacrament of ablution begins with prayer. If you don’t know the special prayers for this day, then read the “Our Father.”
It is necessary to dive into the ice hole gradually, allowing the body to get used to the decrease in temperature. If you are new to swimming, then do not make sudden movements and do not stay in the water for more than a minute.
The presence of even slight chills indicates the onset of hypothermia. In this case, you must immediately get out of the water.
They don’t swim in the ice hole, but plunge three times and cross themselves. Then slowly get out of the water while trying to hold on to the railing.
Whether to plunge headlong or not is up to you to decide. But doctors do not recommend doing this, as cerebral vasospasm may begin.
As soon as you get out of the water, you should dry yourself and rub your body with a terry towel or soft cloth. These actions will make your blood circulate faster, allowing you to warm up quickly.
Then immediately put on dry clothes and don’t forget a hat. Do not stay undressed in the cold for a long time, otherwise your body will quickly become hypothermic.
After ablution, it is recommended to drink a cup of tea or coffee. Drink warm drinks in small sips, allowing your body to gradually warm up. Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking for an hour after the ceremony.

How to swim properly at Epiphany - what to take with you

To perform the ceremony, make sure that everything you need is at hand.

Dress warmly, but at the same time, clothes should be easy to take off and put on. This will allow you to quickly put it on after swimming. You will also need a linen shirt.
Additionally, take a large terry towel or warm robe with you. After leaving the water, you need to dry yourself and rub your body.
You will also need shoes with non-slip soles. Since ice may form near the ice hole.
If there are no tea sales points at the ceremony site, then take a thermos with you.

Swimming in an ice hole at Epiphany will bring cleansing from sins if you follow it correctly. Orthodox rituals and traditions. Also, do not forget to properly prepare for it so as not to harm your health.

A few more tips from rescuers on how to dive correctly cold water look at the video:

Diving into an ice hole for Epiphany is an act that not everyone can do. Firstly, it is very difficult to withstand frost and icy water, even from a psychological point of view, and secondly, some believers are prohibited from doing this for health reasons. How to plunge into an ice hole at Epiphany? This procedure means washing three times, not necessarily with the head. Before this, you must cross yourself and say a prayer, traditionally this is “Our Father.”

If you properly prepare for a dive, a person with average health can easily endure a one-time dive. But if he is even slightly weakened, in three or four days he will have to pay for his courage. According to Boris Skachko, the effect of adrenal hormones continues after the release for a maximum of two days. After this, their deficiency occurs, and the body sharply weakens and becomes sensitive to any infections.

Run before the shower, and after leaving, warm up with tea. And if the thermometer is below ten, it’s better to reschedule the session for next time.

1. Before diving, you should definitely consult a doctor. For people with diabetes, arrhythmia, kidney problems, and women with gynecological diseases, alas, it is better to forget about the ice hole. Hypertensive patients may even have a stroke.

2. A week before diving, it is better to start preparing your body for the cold. For the first 3-4 days, it’s enough to go out onto the balcony for a minute in shorts and a T-shirt. In the remaining days, add cold water dousing. One or two (in the last two days) bowls of cold water will be enough.

3. Also, a week before swimming, you need to exclude citrus fruits, greens, rose hips and other foods rich in vitamin C from your diet. After all, it stimulates the immune system, and it is not necessary to stimulate the immune system more than the act of winter swimming will do: it will be too much, the immune system will drop significantly "

4. Your clothes and shoes should be easy and quick to put on and take off. Dress appropriately. Ideally, clothes should not have fasteners at all, in extreme cases - a zipper. It will be problematic to fasten buttons with fingers that don’t obey after the frost, and even more so to tie shoelaces. You will only waste time standing in the cold. Also, bring a mat. You will stand on it while you dry yourself and change clothes. Don't forget your hat - put it on as soon as you jump out of the water.

5. Not all weather is suitable for swimming. The ideal temperature for beginners is 2 to 5 degrees below zero. You can risk diving into even colder temperatures, but -10 is already a dangerous threshold for a person trying to dive into an ice hole for the first time.

6. The ice hole should be well cleared of ice fragments so that you do not slip and get hurt and to make it easier to get out. It is advisable that it has a ladder or a shallow area for easy exit from the water. Never go swimming alone, in case you need help.

7. Two hours before the dive, you must eat a hearty meal, that is, provide the body with “fuel”. When you find yourself in cold water, the body will begin to frantically spend all its resources on heating and not a single kilocalorie will be superfluous.

8. Enter the water warmed up and gradually. This makes it easier to bear the cold. To warm up before the procedure, you can run, squat, or do active movements for a few minutes. Enter the water slowly, at an average pace: if slowly, you may have time to freeze, but if quickly, you may become frightened, severe stress, pulse and blood pressure rise sharply, and take your breath away. Going up to your knees, rinse your face with water and wash your face. This will also prepare the body for complete immersion.

9. Do not drink alcohol before swimming, otherwise the freezing after going out will be much stronger. In addition, there is a high risk of rupture of blood vessels. You can warm up after diving a small amount alcohol (vodka is best), but regular tea is also perfect for warming up.

10. Don’t sit in an icy pool until you get goosebumps. Chills are a sign that the body has begun to become hypothermic. As soon as you feel this, immediately jump out of the water. On average, it is enough to stay in the water for 10 seconds - you will have time to plunge three times, as required by tradition.

Doctors categorically prohibit children from swimming in the cold. Young children, especially infants, have an imperfect thermoregulation system. Frostbite can happen very quickly and parents simply do not have time to notice it. The consequences of such bathing are the most serious: the child may get pneumonia, meningitis, or another disease of the central nervous system.

Swimming in an ice hole in Rus' is an ancient activity. But in lately not only the ritual in the baptismal font, but also the movement of walruses in general began to expand and multiply in its composition. And thus forced specialists to think about the benefits and possible harm pagan action.

There were few arguments in favor of swimming in ice water. Honestly, just one. The body really gets a hardening effect. Nobody argues with this. But, having calculated how much harm such hardening causes to the organs and systems of the body, the doctors quite rightly decided that we don’t need such goodness for nothing. And here's why.

Everyone has long known that even in summer you need to swim carefully. Most often, sudden cardiac arrest occurs while swimming due to temperature changes.

If you immediately plunge into water, there may be a spasm of blood vessels throughout the body, muscles, skin, and subcutaneous tissue. Because of this, blood circulation increases, and the heart simply may not be able to cope with this flow. And then a disaster occurs in the form of an angina attack, a heart attack, and some may even have cardiac arrest. In such cases, it can be very difficult to start the heart again. Any ambulance paramedic will confirm this to you. But if during summer swimming we're talking about about the difference in temperature of only a couple of degrees, and above zero, then what can we say about swimming in ice-cold water, and even in the cold?

Moreover, if you consider that the cold does not encourage long waits, but encourages you to quickly take a dip and instantly get out of the water. The load on the body is enormous. And the stress is the strongest.

Cardiovascular accident is not the only danger that awaits divers in icy water.

Big problems occur in winter divers with ARVI and other diseases. In general, in recent decades, domestic researchers have been monitoring the health of “walruses” quite closely in order to understand how exposure to cold affects the body.

After swimming in an ice bath, you can become infertile. And this is not a horror story, but a scientifically proven fact. Moreover, this problem can occur in both sexes.

Due to the stress that the body experiences in ice water, men's sperm count decreases. This has already been proven. This was reported at the time by American doctor Moskowitz, Russian scientists also confirmed this. Moreover, domestic andrologists believe that in general it should be placed in first place among the causes of infertility.

It is a scientific fact that the sauna is harmful to the reproductive organs. Moreover, interestingly, I literally took a steam bath once in a steam room, dangled in an ice hole, and the deterioration in the formation of seminal fluid continued for another 2 months after the dubious pleasure. Then comes the peak of deterioration in spermatogenesis, after which the recovery process begins. And normal sperm formation will be restored only 3 months after the peak. That is, at least in 5 months!

The next argument against swimming in ice water also applies to men, and it was already expressed by urologists. The prostate is a very delicate organ, fragile, and therefore brittle. And it can break from any sneeze. The prostate is especially afraid of hypothermia. An inflammatory disease that can be caused by hypothermia is a prelude to impotence. Now, in my opinion, even schoolchildren know about this. Chronic prostatitis in an ice hole can easily be obtained.

“Walrus women” also have the same troubles with the reproductive organs: inflammatory diseases of the ovaries or appendages, obstruction of the tubes. And in the future - long-term treatment with an unpredictable outcome. True, women are a little luckier in this sense than men. Their bodies are stronger and they recover more successfully.

However, if you decide to swim in the Epiphany ice hole, keep in mind 10 safety rules:

Rule one: test your body for medical contraindications.

Inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx, paranasal cavities, otitis;
- cardiovascular diseases;
- epilepsy, previous skull injuries; cerebral vascular sclerosis;
- neuritis, polyneuritis;
- diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxicosis;
- glaucoma, conjunctivitis;
- pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, emphysema;
- nephritis, cystitis, inflammation of the appendages, inflammation of the prostate gland;
- peptic ulcer stomach, enterocolitis, cholecystitis, hepatitis;
- sexually transmitted diseases.

Rule two: to swim in an ice hole on Epiphany, you need to choose the right place.

The ideal ice hole for swimming in an ice hole for Epiphany is:

Verified place. Preferably an organized one, not a rural pond at midnight.

The depth of the font should not exceed 1.8 m.

The font must be fenced to prevent accidental falls into the water.

Rule three: don’t forget about your uniform!

You will need: a swimsuit or swimming trunks, a towel and a terry robe, a set of dry clothes.

Take some shoes with you so that you don’t have to walk on the ice barefoot - not everyone can do this. But keep in mind that slippers should not have rubber soles - they slip.

You can take thick woolen socks, walk to the ice hole in them, and swim in them.

After swimming you need to change into dry underwear.

Rule four: Before swimming, warm up slightly, but not to the point of breaking a sweat. After undressing, swing your arms, do a few squats and bends. The body should be hot, but not sweaty.

Rule five: Orthodox tradition involves dipping your head into an ice hole three times. But keep in mind that swimming in an ice hole on Epiphany is not a canon, but a tradition. That is, it won’t be a sin if you take care of your head, knowing that having wet hair in the cold is not a big gift! Especially if you go to the other end of the city by public transport.

Rule six: Beware of euphoria! Many people, having plunged into the water, experience a surge of uncontrollable joy, which provokes them to linger in the water for about five minutes. Keep in mind that this attack of joy is not the grace of God, but a consequence of the most difficult chemical reactions occurring in the body under the influence of cold. By staying in the water under the influence of endorphins, you risk your health.

Rule seven: warm up after swimming! Rub yourself with a towel, quickly get dressed. And drink something hot: tea prepared in advance, for example.

Rule eight: no alcohol before swimming! And the most you can afford afterwards is a little church cohors. It is widely believed that alcohol warms the body. But this is only in the first half hour after taking it! Then the opposite effect occurs, fraught with serious colds.

Rule nine: trust your body! And, if looking at cold water fills you with horror, think again – is it worth it?

Rule ten: do not go into the water without prayer. Let it be short (“Our Father,” for example), even in your own words, but turn to God on this day with words coming from your very heart.