THE PROCESS OF PUTTING ON THE “NEW MAN” PHYSICALLY.
By David Paulson
THERE are many who enjoy taking hot baths because of the immediate pleasant sensation; but afterward they generally feel weak and relaxed. God’s plan is for man to do something that, altho it may not be so pleasant at the time, will have good after results. A cold bath may seem depressing while it is being applied, but it arouses every part of the system, and is a real physiological tonic. Who has not experienced the delightful sensation resulting from bathing the face in cold water on a hot summer day? If a cold application to one square foot of body surface is so agreeable, what might be the result if the entire seventeen square feet of skin was likewise treated? The brain is in close nervous communication with the face, and the pleasure received from bathing the face is simply the brain manifesting its appreciation. Every organ in the body has a similar territory on the skin, altho it may not always have the same power to express its thankfulness. When the skin over the liver is treated with an application of cold water, the liver enjoys it just as much as the brain does, altho it has no nerves which enable it to say, “Thank you.” When the skin is treated to a short, vigorous application of cold water, made in such a way that a good reaction is secured, every organ of the body is lifted, for the time being at least, on to a higher plane. The stomach is prepared to produce more efficient gastric juice, the liver pours out better bile, and the nerve-centers are capable of originating brighter ideas and more harmonious impulses. When a man knows that he can have such a pleasant sensation by merely bathing his face in cold water, what right has he to ask God to give it to him just to save him the inconvenience of wetting his face? So when God has indicated to us how easily we may arouse a perfect storm of healthy impulses in every part of the body, what right have we to ask Him to give us such an abundant harvest just to save us the trouble of sowing for it? It is true that “no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Heb. 12: 11. This principle is just as true in physical things as in spiritual. It is a blessing for the spiritual man to begin the day with prayer; it is likewise a blessing for the physical man to begin the day with a cold bath of some kind. The man who neglects to pray in the morning will have spiritual languor; while the man who neglects to begin his day with some thoro-going application of cold water can not possibly experience the degree of physical exhilaration that it is his privilege to enjoy. It may be stated as a general principle that a person who is unaccustomed to taking cold treatments should begin with the water at a temperature somewhere near that of the skin, lowering it day by day as the body becomes used to the cold. Another way to secure this same graduation is to make the application to only a limited area of the body at a time drying this portion before proceeding to another. An admirable way to accomplish this is to wring a towel out of cold water, apply it to an arm, rub it vigorously and dry it; then take the other arm, then the limbs, chest, and back. In this way only a small portion of the body is called upon to react at a time, but the benefits arising from such an application are secured. After a time a sheet may be wrung out of the cold water and wrapped around the entire body for a moment; then dry quickly, and follow by vigorous friction. After this has been practised for a few weeks, a moderately cold full bath may be taken, the bather remaining in the water a few seconds and yet having the satisfaction of a prompt reaction, often before there is time to step out on the floor. The same power that gives a person ability to react from these cold applications enables him to react against the inroads of disease. The best way to get accustomed to winter is not every time there is a “cold snap” to put on a lot of extra wraps to be worn more or less during the intervening warm days. Such a course weakens and debilitates the system, making it necessary to add additional wraps at the approach of the next cold weather. It is better to secure winter on the instalment plan by taking a small edition of it every day in some form of cold bath, allowing it to become a little colder each day, until finally a person can react from a very intense application of cold. Thus the body is naturally prepared for the winter. Hot applications are serviceable to relieve immediate pain and remove internal congestion; but to arouse the healing forces of the body, cold is the treatment par excellence. If there is difficulty in securing a reaction from cold applications, it is very helpful to apply first a short application of heat in some form, as this will tend to promote a more vigorous reaction from the application of the cold, which should follow immediately. Chicago, Ill. DAVID PAULSON, M. D.