Today there are various types of hardening. Hardening is a system of preventive measures that are aimed at increasing the body's resistance to harmful factors of the surrounding world. People who are tempered can hope that even with significant fluctuations in ambient temperature, their body will quickly respond to such changes and will maintain the temperature of internal organs within fairly narrow limits.

That is, with a sharp change in air temperature, a hardened body will quickly increase or limit heat transfer. In the same situation, an unhardened body is likely to receive overheating or hypothermia. Hardening can be useful in that it increases the body's endurance, strengthens its central nervous system and has a beneficial effect on immunity. That is why experts advise not to neglect this procedure. It is no coincidence that it is considered one of the best ways to maintain your health.

Water hardening

As mentioned above, today there are many ways to temper your body. Water hardening is extremely popular.

1. Rubdowns.

The essence of this procedure is to wipe all parts of the body with a terry towel soaked in water, the temperature of which should not be higher than 34-36 grams. The towel needs to be squeezed out well. Immediately after this, it is necessary to rub the skin until it is red with a dry towel. Such rubdowns should be carried out once every 5 days. Each time, you need to moisten the towel in cooler water (1-2 ° C). This procedure should be carried out for 2-3 months. Ultimately, the temperature of the liquid used should not be higher than 10-12 ° C. Experts advise wiping down at an open window. So they will be more useful.

1. Dousing.

This procedure is considered to be more effective. Pouring over with water most often begins 1-2 months after the start of rubdowns. Start preferably with warm water (36 ° C). First you need to pour over your head, arms, shoulders, and only then other parts of the body. Immediately after that, experts advise you to do a few simple exercises or conduct a self-massage session. As in the previous case, over time, the water temperature should be reduced to 10 ° C.

1. Cold and hot shower.

This procedure has been known to everyone since childhood. The essence of this preventive measure is the alternation of hot and cool water for pouring. The maximum water temperature should be 36 ° C and the minimum 14 ° C. A contrast shower is very effective after any physical activity.

1. Water baths.

Another type of water hardening. In the first week, take a bath with warm water (36 ° C). Over time, its temperature should be slightly reduced. After a while, the water should already be cool. The lower temperature limit for the fluid used should be 12 ° C.

Foot baths for hardening are considered no less effective. Pour cool water (no more than 20 ° C) into the bucket. It is necessary to keep your legs in it for 1 minute. After 5-7 days, the nose should already be kept in the bucket for at least 3 minutes. At the same time, it is necessary to reduce the temperature of the water. Ultimately it should be 13 ° C. Immediately after such baths, you should thoroughly wipe your feet with a dry towel and massage the calf muscles.

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Swimming in open water

It is advisable to start swimming in reservoirs in summer. Bathing should be systematic (at least 2-3 times a week). This is the only way to achieve positive results. The best time for such procedures is from 9:00 to 11:00 or from 14:00 to 17:00. You need to actively move in the water.

Bathing time directly depends on the temperature of the water and the degree of fitness of the person. If, after such a bath, a pleasant feeling of warmth appears, then this is a clear sign that the hardening is proceeding correctly. If, after such procedures, a feeling of chills appears, then the next time you need to be in the water less time. Chills are very dangerous, as it is a consequence of hypothermia of the body. In such a situation, you should thoroughly rub your arms, legs and torso with a soft towel, drink a large cup of hot tea and do a little exercise.

Water types of hardening, namely swimming in open reservoirs, implies, over time, a transition to the highest form of hardening: winter swimming. Swimming in cold waters in the winter season is necessary only under the guidance of an experienced specialist. Often, winter swimming due to uncontrolledness leads to very serious ailments. For example, to the development of cold allergies.

To improve immunity, experts advise walking barefoot on wet grass or stones. Walking barefoot is also beneficial in that it is an excellent way to prevent flat feet.

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Air hardening

The main types of body hardening also involve aerotherapy. This is about . Aerotherapy means long walks in the fresh air. Fresh air not only hardens the body, but also raises immune forces, normalizes the emotional state of a person, due to which the work of all internal organs is normalized. The hardening process is carried out by cooling the receptors of the skin and the nerve endings of the mucous membrane. Due to this, the body's thermoregulation is improved.

Doctors advise to get out into nature and breathe fresh air at the first opportunity. You need to walk both in summer and in winter. We must try to walk near water bodies, parks and forests. Aerotherapy is considered the most affordable preventive procedure.

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Hardened by the sun

Few people know, but you can temper your body with the sun's heat and light. This procedure is called "heliotherapy". Heliotherapy accelerates the metabolic processes of the body, makes the nervous system more resistant to external factors, increases the body's resistance, and has a positive effect on the work of muscles and blood circulation. In addition, it has a tonic effect on all organs and functions of the body.

Doctors advise sunbathing in the morning or late afternoon. It is at this time of the day that the air is as clean as possible, and the sun does not fry too much. It is necessary to start hardening with the sun at an air temperature not higher than 18 ° C. You should stay in the open sun for about 5 minutes. Further, the duration of such procedures must be constantly increased and brought to 1 hour. Experts warn that during heliotherapy, in no case should overheating or the appearance of burns be allowed. Improper sun hardening can cause the development of quite serious ailments. Before starting such procedures, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

Precautions to be followed:

1. It is undesirable to take such baths immediately after meals or on an empty stomach.
2. Eyes must be protected with sunglasses.
3. A headdress (hat, cap, panama) should be worn on the head.
4. Children are not recommended to completely undress immediately, the baby starts 15-20 minutes in clothes, and only after that it can be removed.
5. Elderly people are recommended to sunbathe in the shade for 30 minutes (no more) at a safe time of the day.

In order to fully work and actively spend your free time, you need to monitor the health of your body, regularly undergo medical examinations and lead a healthy lifestyle. The hardening of the body in this chain plays an important role. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time and willpower to follow these principles and keep the body in top shape.

Preventive methods and regular training of the body's protective functions cost a person much less than treating diseases. Regular exercise, tempering treatments and regular walks in the fresh air will help you save money on treatment and feel healthy and vigorous.

Benefit

Body hardening is an effective technique known to mankind since ancient times.

The method is based on procedures that:

• mobilize the internal resources of the body;
• help to increase the resistance of immunity to external environmental influences.

The procedures aimed at hardening the body can be different: from the most gentle to the extreme. It is necessary to start hardening carefully and it is important to remember that procedures must be carried out regularly. Hardening is a whole complex of various procedures, which, in fact, are simple and straightforward, but give remarkable results.

Depending on your preferences and individual characteristics of the body, you can:

• take contrast showers;
• douche with cold water;
• take air baths;
• walk barefoot;
• to engage in winter swimming.

A combination of hardening, exercise and massage will help your body function normally, resist seasonal viral diseases, and significantly slow down the aging process. Hardening procedures normalize the functioning of the immune and lymphatic systems, improve metabolic processes, tighten the skin, relieve insomnia and reduce the negative effects of stress.

To achieve the maximum result from the procedures performed, it is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle and eat right. But, even if you have bad habits and proper nutrition is not for you, health-improving methods of hardening will contribute to the rapid removal of toxic substances from the body, thereby reducing the negative effect of the decay products of alcohol or tobacco smoking.

Methodology

Before you decide to start hardening procedures, you should consult with a therapist, get tested and undergo other examinations. After making sure that there are no chronic and viral diseases, you can start sparing procedures.

Remember the three main postulates of the technique:

• gradualness;
• systematic;
• moderation.

Based on these principles and the time of year, you can start hardening the body, for example, in the spring-summer period - it can be sunbathing, swimming in a pond or rubbing with cool water.

The best way to start exercising is with air baths or aerotherapy. Be sure to accompany the decrease in your usual ambient temperature with active movement, but do not overdo it: if it is raining and windy outside, then you can work out while standing in front of an open window or on the balcony.

It is also necessary to sunbathe according to the rules: start with 15 minutes a day and increase your session time daily.

By adhering to this rule, you will not only train your immunity, but also get an even and beautiful tan. An additional benefit of sunbathing is the synthesis of vitamin D, which is rarely found in food, under the influence of sunlight in the human body. Vitamin D promotes the absorption of calcium in the human body, therefore, you will have healthy teeth, nails, bones and hair, as well as skin.

The second stage of hardening procedures can be hydrotherapy.

Water procedures are considered the most effective for mobilizing the body's hidden internal reserves. We all take a shower every day, so that it becomes not only a hygienic, but also a healthy procedure, you can wipe your body with cool water after taking a shower. After wiping with a wet sponge, rubbing with a dry towel is unlikely to give anyone unpleasant sensations, and the reward will be a surge of strength, vigorous and high spirits.

The direction of rubbing should coincide with the direction of movement of blood in the body: chest, neck, back, arms, then hips and legs. But know when to stop, five minutes is enough for the entire procedure.

After wiping with water has become a habitual procedure for you, you can proceed to contrasting doused feet. First, alternate exposure to hot and cold water, increasing the temperature difference daily. This procedure will greatly help people who are involved in hard physical labor and women, as it prevents the development of varicose veins and atherosclerosis.

After six months of regular training to temper the body, you can start the contrast shower procedure. The alternating change in water temperature has a tonic effect on the body, activates metabolic and other processes in the body.

Try decreasing the water temperature by one degree once a week. As you get used to it, increase the temperature difference by one degree every few days. In a few months, you can reduce the temperature of cold water to 15 degrees.

You can read about the rules for taking a contrast shower and its effect on the body in our article "- health and beauty".

Experts disagree on whether it is beneficial to harden in the evening. For some, water procedures can cause unnecessary vigor before going to bed, for others, on the contrary, they will give relaxation. You need to decide the issue based on the reaction of your body to a specific procedure. After the body has become accustomed to low water temperatures, one can proceed to an even more intensive method of hydrotherapy - dousing, and, if desired and possible, to winter swimming.

The question of the speed of the transition from simple rubdown to extreme water procedures is an exclusively individual matter. Listen to your body, control your condition and well-being. You yourself will feel when you can plunge into the ice hole after the sauna or run in the snow. Observe moderation and avoid hypothermia. This can lead to colds and disrupt the hardening schedule, after which you will have to return to the original temperatures and go through the process again.

Remember, the effect of hardening will last for a month and in the event of a long break, you will have to start everything from the very beginning. Therefore, the regularity and continuity of classes is the key to success and excellent well-being.

Views

The hardening technique is based on the impact on the body of cold or heat, as well as the alternation of these effects.

The main charm of the technique is its availability. The sun, air and water are available to everyone. All you need is desire, adherence to the recommendations of doctors and a little free time. Having started to exercise, a person not only becomes healthy, but also trains willpower, character and learn to enjoy the simplest things.

Regular classes will help you avoid expensive spa treatments, and you will look better than after a course of beauty treatments.

Since ancient times, man has been familiar with artificial sources of high temperatures - baths and saunas.

In addition to the hardening effect from a temporary increase in temperature, a healing massage with brooms has a good therapeutic effect. Those who, for any medical reason, are contraindicated in exposure to extremely high temperatures, can go to the hamam or infrared sauna.

Believe me, you will get pleasure, get rid of stress, and gentle soap massage will take care of your body. The health-improving effect of these procedures is not as obvious as from a bath with bathing in an ice plunge pool, but it is stable and pleasant.

In addition to all of the above, measures for hardening the body include proper nutrition, daily routine and good rest.

Principles

There are several important points to follow when hardening.

• Gradualness is one of the most important principles. In order not to harm the body, it is better to start with small temperature fluctuations and accustom yourself to the cold very gradually. It is better to lower temperatures by a degree in a week or more. You also need to treat physical exercise, gradually increase the load, focus on aerobic exercise. High loads on untrained muscles will have no effect other than pain and can harm the body.

• Individual approach- an equally important part of hardening classes. Each organism has its own characteristics and they must be taken into account in order to achieve the best performance. You can consult with experts about the recommended loads and hardening methods.
• Consistency. Failure to comply with this rule can nullify all hardening efforts. Since the body gets used to a certain discipline in behavior, it is not recommended to interrupt classes for more than a month. An unaccustomed organism can give unpredictable reactions. If such a break occurred, then it would be more correct to return to the beginning.
• Complexity... This concept includes doing not only one type of hardening, but a number of exercises and procedures. A positive attitude can significantly increase the effectiveness of healing and rejuvenation.

Contraindications and restrictions

Hardening is contraindicated for people with chronic diseases from the side:

• cardio system - valve defects, ischemic disease, hypertension, angina pectoris, after a heart attack or with coronary cardiosclerosis;
• respiratory tract - sinusitis, asthma, tuberculosis
• vision - conjunctivitis, glaucoma
• organ of hearing - chronic and inflammatory otitis media
• endocrine system - diabetes mellitus, thyrotoxicosis
• reproductive and urinary system - cystitis, pyelonephritis, prostate pathology, adnexitis
• nervous system - neuritis, polyneuritis
• gastrointestinal tract - colitis, peptic ulcer and cholelithiasis, hepatitis and cholecystitis
• some skin conditions
• after suffering craniocerebral trauma, in the presence of extensive scars and burns.

As you can see, the list of contraindications is extensive and not all diseases are indicated here, so be sure to first contact a specialist and check your health. There is no age limit for hardening. Naturally, the system of training and loads will depend on age.

Hardening is the best way to keep the body young and healthy. In the modern world, more and more negative factors affect human immunity - ecology, stress, viruses. Increasingly, the body cannot resist the harmful effects of the environment and the number of allergy sufferers and asthmatics is growing.

Therefore, the question of strengthening health and immunity and otom what methods of hardening exist today is more relevant than ever. The hardening method gives the best results for strengthening the body. There are a lot of hardening methods. The most popular are the following methods:

Traditional hardening options

1. Air baths
In summer, the air, penetrating the lungs and skin, saturates the body with oxygen, rich in active substances of flowering plants. If there is no allergy, it is helpful to take daily walks in the park or forest.
Winter frosty air is practically sterile. Active oxygen, penetrating into the bloodstream, promotes increased cholesterol burning. Such hardening will be of particular benefit in the presence of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

2.Air hardening
A regular home fan is fine for this purpose. The principle of operation is based on the fact that the flow of cool air, acting alternately on the back or front surface of the body, cools it. This effect prepares the body for temperature extremes and contributes to the development of immunity to colds.

3. Sunbathing
The sun provides energy for the life of all organisms on our planet. Ultraviolet rays help to improve metabolism, kill microbes, have an invigorating effect and activate the cells of the central nervous system.

4.Walking barefoot
This method is useful for everyone, both adults and children. When walking on a bare foot, there is a massage effect on active biological points, the subcutaneous vessels are trained, the soles of the feet are cleared of calluses, and sweating of the feet decreases.

5. Sports activities - skiing and skating
With this method of hardening, three beneficial environmental factors act on the body at once: movement, sun and air. Such exercises help to strengthen immunity to colds, develop coordination of movements, increase lung capacity and improve breathing, strengthen bones, musculoskeletal system.

Water hardening

Water has been used as a source of healing for centuries. Water quenching is more effective than air quenching. Water has several beneficial effects on the body at once: heating, cooling and mechanical influence. Water hardening should be started gradually - from wiping with a wet towel to pouring water. As a method of hardening, a contrast shower is very useful.

1. Swimming in the sea
Sea water is good for the skin. The sea wind has a beneficial effect on the mental state and physical well-being of the body. Therefore, sea holidays are always popular - you can have a good rest and strengthen the body.

2. Swimming in the ice hole
An extreme way of hardening, suitable only for well-trained people. It helps to strengthen the whole body, activates all processes in the body.

3.Snow hardening
It causes the production of natural hormones that help to strengthen the immune system and the body's resistance to colds, activates endocrine processes. It is especially useful to wipe it down with snow after a bath or steam room.

High temperature hardening

The bath has a beneficial effect on the entire body: the skin begins to breathe better, the skin is cleansed of fat and dead cells, sweat and sebaceous glands are cleared, blood circulation improves, muscles relax and fatigue passes. After the bath, the body is full of strength, health and good spirits.

Thus, the methods of hardening are varied, and everyone can choose what is right for his body. Hardening is good for everyone, the main thing is to take action and strengthen your immunity.

This is an attempt to bring a person's way of life closer to the natural one and not let the body's adaptive abilities fade away ”(doctor E.O. Komarovsky).

That is, the closer we are to nature, the more natural conditions for our body we are. In the conditions of modern society, it is not so easy to be closer to nature, especially when living in a city. It is possible to use only some natural elements for healing.

In this article, we will talk about this method of healing and how to harden. The types of hardening are also determined by nature, and this is mainly air and water. Therefore, we can say that this method refers to healing. Let's consider in more detail these types and methods.

Water hardening

There are the following main methods:

1. Rubdown.

The meaning of this type of hardening is wiping with a cold, damp towel. This is the most gentle method and can be seen as a preliminary step before more serious methods. However, it can be skipped, but simply other ways to start at more comfortable temperatures.

2. Dousing.

Pouring is one of the most common and simple types of hardening. at the initial level, because it is the easiest to start with and easy to use. Dousing is a preparatory step before a cold bath.

The meaning of this type of hardening is to pour cold or cold water over the whole body or part of it. Either a bucket or a bucket can be used for this.

It is necessary to start with a cool water temperature that is comfortable for the body. Typically, this temperature corresponds to a room temperature of 20-22 degrees. We often swim in open reservoirs in such water without any health problems. But everything is individual, so you first need to focus on your own feelings. The easiest way to achieve room temperature of water is to pour water in advance and it will heat up to the desired temperature by itself. For example, if you take a shower twice a day - in the morning and in the evening, then after each procedure you can collect a bucket of water for the next procedure and it will heat up over the course of the day or night.

It is necessary to ensure that the body gets used to the selected temperature for at least 1-2 weeks, depending on personal feelings. Then you can try to lower the water temperature by 1-2 degrees. It is advisable to have a water thermometer on hand.

The water temperature can also be adjusted by the volume of water in the bucket, which is collected in advance (subject to the difference in the temperature of the water in the water supply network and the air temperature in the room). For example, first you fill a bucket full, and the temperature will be about 20 degrees. Then you collect the bucket by 3/4, and before the procedure itself you add colder water from the water supply system and you get water about 18 degrees and so on until you completely stop filling the bucket with water in advance, thus bringing the temperature of the water for pouring to the water temperature in the water supply network, for example, 12-16 degrees (depending on the season).

If you need to get water colder than in the water supply network, then you can use ice, previously frozen in the refrigerator.

Over time, one bucket may no longer be enough for you, then you either need to start another bucket, or double the existing one. Or, if there is such an opportunity, go to swimming in cold water.

In practice, it is convenient and pleasant to take a shower, to cheer up in the morning before breakfast as part of washing and in the evening after a warm shower, relieving the fatigue of a day at work.

The good thing about dousing is the fact that there is some fixity in the duration of the procedure - the water in the bucket ends in a very definite time. This is psychologically easier to perceive than when a shower is used, when everything depends on the will of a person, and you can get carried away and overdo it.

At the same time, the volume of water poured out (water flow) when pouring is greater than when using a shower for the same time, which gives a stronger cooling and tonic effect.

Is dousing with cold water good or bad?

It all depends on how you do it. If you do it right, and you have no contraindications, then it is definitely a benefit, otherwise there may be harm.

We will consider this type of dousing as a contrast shower in a separate article.

3. Swimming in cold water.

This type of water hardening is a continuation of dousing, but only at a higher quality level.

The effectiveness of bathing is far superior to the previously described types of water hardening.

Bathing in cold water has a much stronger effect on the body, therefore, it is necessary to approach it with caution. You need to start with a short stay in the water - plunge in and out, but all according to your own feelings. If you feel that you cannot immediately get out of the water, then take your time - the body itself will tell you when it’s enough. At the same time, it is advisable to actively move in the water - this allows you to both warm up and escape from the thrill.

After the procedure, it is advisable to warm up properly. A hot shower or sauna is best. In their absence, you need to rub yourself dry with a towel, dress warmly and actively move around, for example, run. If possible, bask in the sun. It is advisable not to bring the cooling to trembling and hypothermia.

One of the benefits of bathing can be an incomparable feeling of freshness throughout the body and a pleasant tingling sensation under the skin. This can be said to be an expression of gratitude to your body for taking care of it.

The temperature of the water in the reservoir is difficult to control, unless, of course, this is your pool, so you need to control the time spent in the water based on your own feelings.

Another way to prolong bathing without hypothermia is to divide the procedure into several stages - approaches. First, you plunge or swim some distance until the desire to get out appears. Then you get out and walk along the reservoir - during this time the body gets used to the new temperature regime and slightly warms up. Then you repeat the bath. And this can be done 2-3 times. This improves the efficiency of water quenching and prevents hypothermia.

4. Swimming in ice water or ice swimming.

This is an extreme and extreme type of water hardening, which requires a very serious and lengthy preparation and the absence of health contraindications.

Our bodies are so unique that they can adapt to a very wide range of living conditions. This allowed humanity to settle from the far north to the hot deserts, it also allows yogis to walk on coals, and "walruses" to swim in icy water. But all this adaptation takes a long time and gradualness.

For most people, dousing and bathing in cold water is sufficient to achieve the desired health and wellness result. Winter swimming is more suitable for people who have a personal inclination for this.

Air hardening

These are the so-called air baths and walks (activities) in the open air.

In this case, we are talking about the effect on the body (skin) of cool and preferably fresh air. Heat transfer in air is much less than that of water; therefore, the effect at the same temperatures is much weaker, and the duration of exposure can be longer.

But there are a number of caveats:

• Air movement (wind, draft) causes additional cooling, so this must be taken into account when air hardening.
• Exercising or working in the open air, you can sweat, and in the presence of air movement and depending on the speed of its movement, additional cooling of the body may occur due to the rapid evaporation and cooling of damp skin (clothing).

Therefore, in order to avoid unpredictable hypothermia, it is recommended to use thermal underwear made of synthetic fabrics. Such thermal underwear fits the body, absorbs moisture, but without delaying it, brings it to the surface of the clothing, where it already evaporates. If you use cotton fabrics, they absorb and retain moisture. Such damp clothing cools quickly and transfers the coldness to the body.

That being said, wind and draft are not something that must be avoided. These are common natural phenomena that can also help us become stronger and healthier. But at the same time, being without clothes or in light clothes, it is necessary to actively move in order to compensate for heat loss from cooling the body by producing heat from muscle work.

Walks and outdoor activities are close to the natural essence of man and therefore, in most cases, in addition to the healing effect, they are even more enjoyable.

Walking barefoot is a kind of hardening procedures that can combine hardening with water (walking in dew), and air, and from contact with cooled surfaces of the earth, floor, etc.

At first, nature created us naked and barefoot, and only then many centuries later people invented clothes and shoes, which, on the one hand, expanded the possibilities for the spread of mankind, and on the other, due to the widespread and daily use, torn away from nature and muffled the instincts of thermoregulation.

In addition to the hardening effect, walking barefoot on the ground and grass more effectively stimulates the acupuncture points of the feet, which can have a beneficial effect on the entire body.

In fact, we gladly go barefoot when the opportunity presents itself - on the beach or on the lawn, sometimes at home, but since it is mostly customary to walk in shoes, we need to specifically remind ourselves to walk barefoot at the first opportunity.

Walking barefoot in the dew has an indescribable pleasure and hardening effect, but for this you need to get up early in the morning and have a clean lawn nearby.

A more extreme option is walking in the snow, but it requires preliminary preparation.

As with any form of hardening, gradualness is important. You should not rush to extremes and start living in a new way, deciding to walk only barefoot in the snow without prior training.

Of course, it is easiest to start walking barefoot from birth, as a significant part of the world's population does, but then it’s not too late to develop this adaptive ability. The main thing is to pay due attention to this.

For example, seven children of the famous Russian educators Boris Pavlovich and Elena Alekseevna Nikitin happily ran barefoot and in the same panties both at home and in the yard, despite the season. But it must be borne in mind that parents instilled this ability in children from birth. As a result, their children almost never had colds.

As a result, we can say that when choosing the type and method of hardening, the optimal solution for recovery will be the maximum combination of water and air species in compliance with the fundamental principles.

The article was written based on many years of personal experience. The methods and methods of hardening given here can be applied to both adults and children.

Hardening is usually understood as training the body's resistance to cold.

Justification. In accordance with the theory of stress by G. Selye, in order to be healthy, the body must periodically experience loads that are greater than the normal mode of functioning. Selye called these loads stresses.
Stress trains the body, increasing its adaptive capacity. In terms of strength and duration, they can reach the limit of these possibilities at the moment, but should not exceed them.
Loads exceeding this limit destroy the body - they were called distress by G. Selye.
The stronger and longer the stress load, the longer the recovery period should be.
Hardening the body is the use of temperature (in this case) stress loads.

Methods and methods of hardening

A method of gradually increasing the cold load.
When quenching with cold water, it is recommended to start by wiping the body with a damp towel. Proceeding to douches, start with water at room temperature and reduce it by 1 ° every other day. This hardening method can only be recommended for people weakened by a long-term illness (especially with cardiovascular diseases).
To the rest, I recommend another way is a strong, but at first short-term load... With training, the exposure time increases. When hardening becomes a way of life, the strength of the load can also be increased.

You can choose any method of hardening, but it is better to use all of them to create your own.

Air hardening.

It is recommended to start with a fan blowing over the naked body, gradually decreasing the distance to the fan and increasing the duration of the procedure. Start with 5-10 minutes. daily.
I am using a different method. From spring to late autumn I wear a T-shirt or shirt. I don’t wrap myself up in winter either. The weather sets the strength of the impact, and I regulate its duration.

Water hardening

Can be used two ways of hardening: cold water and hot... Yes, yes - hot. Enough hot water (just don't overdo it, we don't need burns) - this is also stress for the body. Exposure time - until heat penetrates into the body. Do not pour on the forehead, on the head you can, but a little. Finish by pouring cold water over. Moreover, it is advisable (if you are using a shower), in advance to pour cold water into a bucket (basin). First, pour over the chest and stomach, then the head and back. You can continue under a cold shower. It is necessary to stay in cold water so much that the cold does not penetrate inside. At the end of the procedure, the skin should be cold, but inside the body there is a feeling of warmth, which, as it were, expands outward, warming the whole body. Rub the body with your hands, especially the feet and ears (accumulation of biologically active points), and wipe the hair with a towel.

Quenching with cold water can be done in different ways.
If there is a pool suitable for swimming next to your house, just swim in it every day, at least all year round. Winter swimming is not only useful, but also pleasant.
Swimming in the hole is the lot of healthy people. You should start swimming in winter, when the “Fire” element is activated in the body.
If you can douse yourself with cold water from a bucket while standing barefoot on the ground - it's also a great option. Finally, a cold shower is a less pleasant way to harden with cold water.
I must say that dousing with large streams of cold water is more enjoyable than showering.

For the maximum healing effect, the following rules must be observed:

1. Pour cold water immediately. Warm water does not transmit any information to the body, while cold water immediately causes the mobilization of protective forces.
2. Do not drag out the drenching procedure for more than a minute. After the body has received the information, the effect has already been achieved. Prolonged cooling can drain the body's defenses and lead to colds.
3. Immediately after pouring, you should concentrate on your sensations, try to feel the movement of energy.
4. If the body is not dry within a few seconds, dry yourself off, dry your head and dress warmly.

Head douches are especially powerful. Our body constantly radiates heat from the surface of the skin. When a person pours cold water over his head, his energy returns inside. Subjectively, this is perceived as "fire from within".

Good hardening method - walking barefoot, especially in winter on snow.
Another great method - a sharp change in temperature... This is either a contrast shower or a sauna next to the reservoir, where you can plunge into cold water after the steam room.

Physical activity (gymnastics, for example) is a good addition to any hardening method. Move more!
Any stress is useful, for example: periodic oxygen starvation in high mountain conditions - for the inhabitants of the plains (and vice versa).

⇐ And this is me on the western summit of Elbrus.

The choice of the hardening method depends on the characteristics of the organism and living conditions.

Remember the difference between stress and distress!
How to define the border between them? Feels like the body. Hardening should be fun. Of course, this is not the pleasure you get from a warm stove. It takes some experience to feel it. Listen to your body! If, dousing with cold water or standing naked in the cold wind, you are cold, but comfortable enough (you do not have to endure through the force) - this is good. But if the body “groans”, then the limit of its capabilities has been exceeded.
Do not do anything at all through force, through a struggle with yourself! Overcoming laziness - YES, but even in this case it is better to first create the right attitude, state, desire to do.

Don't be afraid of the cold. When there is a strong cold wind outside, when there is frost, do not "shrink". The more you close, the more you chill. Relax, open up to the wind and frost, straighten your shoulders and you will feel how the cold, penetrating into your body, gives you pleasure.

Quenching reactions.

Since hardening increases the overall tone of the body, the healing process can begin with an exacerbation of your chronic diseases. This is normal, continue tempering by listening carefully to your body.
The processes of cleansing the body can go through the symptoms of a cold. If there is an elevated body temperature, exclude hot procedures.
But this is very rare.