The growing cult of cold plunge has its fans by the emotions

Last spring, Marco Baltazar walked into a Sound Immersion at Othership on Adelaide St. W. and pretty much never left. He started attending multiple classes a week, becoming more and more obsessed with the invigorating effects, eventually applying to work at the space a few times a week, despite the fact that he’s a full time employee for Microsoft.

“I’m now far better at taking a space between life’s events, observing and responding versus just reacting,” he said. “I enter a very deep state of meditation in that water every time because in there I am so insanely present: gone is thinking of the past and worrying about the future.” He said participants in his Loving Kindness class are frequently moved to tears.

Baltazar is just one of Toronto’s rapidly growing number of cold plunge devotees who submerge themselves in ice water on the regular. As a result, the city has seen a boom in stylish facilities catering to them: Othership recently opened a second, 5,000 square foot location in Yorkville with eight deeper, longer jetted baths set at a bone chilling one degree (drop in classes are $55, a monthly four visit membership is $156).

A new facility, Alter, opened last month, offering ice baths set at two to five degrees or eight to 10 degrees, plus cold shower buckets (drop in classes are $45, a monthly four visit membership is $150). They join Stay Unbounded, which offers guided and the “urban outdoor wellness experience” Unbounded Well at Stackt Market (not yet open this season).

The small scale Element Outdoor Sauna on the Danforth boasts a Morozko Prism Forge ice bath that uses microfiltration and ozonation to keep the water clean and clear ($69 per private session; a four pack for $236). The new Yorkville location of Othership is part of the city's ice bath boom. Some locals have balked at these price points; Reddit has numerous threads on how expensive people feel Toronto’s options are.

Alter deliberately set its pricing to be lower than the city’s existing facilities, and its co founder Melissa Donato suggested you could also just DIY. “You can elicit the benefits of cold exposure through a cold shower or bath at home or even a walk outside in your T shirt when the weather is 10°C or less,” said Donato.

“In that sense, cold exposure is an extremely accessible practice.” In an effort to provide more access to guided cold plunging, Othership offers an energy exchange program where you can trade front desk shifts for classes, as well as a monthly free night for BIPOC community members, and free access to its breathwork app for low income folks.

For skeptics wondering if an ice bath is worth their wellness dollars, there is some to support the effects of cold exposure on health. Greg Wells, a performance physiologist and senior scientist emeritus in translational medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children, has studied cold water immersion in athletes post workout and found that there were improvements in muscle power the following day versus using neutral temperatures.

But that isn’t what many find most rewarding about cold plunging. “We generally don't talk about health benefits and focus more on emotional exploration in a group,” said Othership co founder and CEO Robbie Bent. He says they had two goals with the space: offer a social experience designed around connection — and no phones — instead of alcohol, and a place to process emotions through guided classes that incorporate meditation, breathwork and psychotherapy techniques.

At the end of each class, people are encouraged to share their experience with the group. Bent recalled participants who’d moved to the city alone and met an entire network of friends in the ice bath, who made peace with the death of a family member, who have used regular ice baths to aid their sobriety journey, who say that their depression, social anxiety and chronic pain have been eased.

Acceptance themed classes, like the one Baltazar leads, are popular for helping people extend forgiveness to those who have wronged them. One of Othership’s top “journeyers,” Brandon Farmer has done over 200 cold plunges; the Honeycomb Hospitality CEO and co founder goes five days a week. “My mental toughness and strength has built up drastically,” he said.

“I stopped negotiating with myself and just do things now.” Ziad El Shourbagy goes about once a month and waxes just as poetically about the effects of the ice bath. “Surprisingly, following the period of initial discomfort, bliss. Then afterwards, the feeling of victory, followed by calmness,” said the marketing manager.

“It helped me enhance my focus, but also learn to disassociate from external circumstances in my life that are out of my control. In a way, surrender. If I can stand plunging for two minutes, I can certainly breathe through a long elevator wait.” He feels it has made him more empathetic, especially plunging alongside others.

Recently opened ice bath facility Alter. Alter founder Donato has dealt with anxiety all her life. She’d tried float tanks, meditation, gratitude journaling. Then she tried cold plunging. “It was the first time I was able to wholly focus my attention on my breath, clear my mind and stabilize my emotions,” she said.

Alter designed its ice baths to fit four people. “We found it’s much easier to get through a cold plunge, like many other stressful experiences, with support from those around you. I think we all know and have experienced the fact that hard times make for stronger bonds. The cold plunge represents that common challenge, that difficult barrier, and it’s remarkable to see how our instinct is to encourage and support each other through it.” This may be more important than the cold.

“Research shows that social connectedness can lead to longer life, better health and improved well being,” said Wells. “When people are socially connected and have stable and supportive relationships, they are more likely to make healthy choices and to have better mental and physical health outcomes.” He reeled off a list of conditions that social connectedness can help prevent: heart disease, stroke, dementia, depression, anxiety and death from chronic diseases, as well as helping to promote healthy eating, weight, physical activity, sleep and quality of life.

Alone or together, cold exposure can take some getting used to; it’s common to see someone step into an ice bath and right out again. Donato remembered one session where Alter class facilitator Christine Huynh got into an ice bath and said, “I have to get out” 30 seconds in. “They helped her get out of the tub and celebrated her achievement,” Donato said.

“Even just a toe dip is an achievement.” “Normally that would be a loss for me. I’m very hard on myself and seeing everyone stay in and having to get out is a huge blow to the ego,” Huynh said. But those 30 seconds stuck with her. Three days later, she did the full two minutes for the first time.

“There is no ego for me anymore. Sometimes I do two minutes, sometimes I still just do 30 seconds, but I remember to celebrate every time.”.