Cold Plunge & art

Probably a paradox for many, but there are: artists who use Cold Plunge to create their works in the water. Such a talent is Luisa Püschel, who always impresses our community with her photographs and works of art.

Luisa in self -portrait

My name is Luisa Püschel. I live in the Czech Republic in the varied landscape of the Czech low mountain range, where there is a beautiful and wild nature in northern Bohemia. The place is called Valkerice and is located at Děčín. I live there with my husband Jakub and we are currently building a 250 year old farm - if possible in a natural way.

I am 28 years old. I have been painting since childhood and have always loved water and nature. I studied at a graphics school in Prague, which, however, was more likely to distract me from creative work. My life process of change, healing and awakening has a long history. I had a bad relationship with myself and also bad relationships with other people.

I have been creating pictures in the ice water for five years

I usually create pictures of lifestyle in connection with nature and earth, especially in the Bohemian low mountain range. I paint them directly on the hills of this landscape, every hill tells its own story - his tree of life. I also paint life tree paintings for families, couples and rooms.

In 2017 I started with the Cold Plunge . At that time I was in health and energetically bad, and I was looking for answers by deeper into myself and looked at my soul.

Together with my husband Jakub, I discovered that walking barefoot and the connection with the earth brought us improved immunity and answers to health issues as well as changes in our patterns. Suddenly we met like -minded people, including people who also go barefoot.

In 2017 we dealt intensively with our health and immunity. We also came across a documentary about Wim Hof, which deals with general health and body strength. Jakub was attracted to the idea of ​​hardening because he prepared for a hike to St. James and wanted to sleep in nature instead of being dependent on pilgrimage accommodations.

After Jakub was plagued by a virus or a cold every year and constantly frozen, he decided to gradually harden his body by showering and began to go to the lake and walk barefoot. That inspired me and we started, go barefoot together. For me, the result was a connection to an energy source. Hardening was also advantageous for Jakub, because it perceives them as self -care and self -love. He has been healthy since he hardened his body.

What made me go into the ice water?

Although I ran barefoot, I still had poorer thermoregulation and occasionally had flu, bladder infections, but I also suffered terribly from asthma and other health problems . In summer I was overheated and in winter I had icy limbs and a hot umbilical area, so that I had to struggle with many inconsistencies in my body that were related to my blockades and blocks.

So in winter 2017 I started not only looking for a relationship with myself, but also to accept the cold. It was also the year I started to eat differently. I chose a vegetable diet , got to know it and associated it with the wild herbs of our nature, which were good for me and are still good for me. Although I had asthma, paradoxically supported wild plants.

I felt in the water that Cold Plunge has an activating force

I felt the activating power of water in winter and felt the call to connect with its purity and strength. As a fish, I always felt a connection to the water and started running barefoot in the snow barefoot and taking cold showering. These experiences activated me and helped me find answers and heal myself. In spring 2018 I dipped into the water for the first time in nature and have not got rid of it since then. The water gives me strength and positive energy.

I realized that nobody can give us health or happy life. It is up to us to take responsibility for our health and our happiness. There are many ways to return to holistic health, and one of them is the connection to nature and water.

When we started to tackle our health in a different way in 2017, everything started to change. The connection to the earth without shoes and the ice water was part of this change and helped us to solve many problems.

The creations that I share were created by the connection to the water. Every place of water has its own history, energy and mission, and I visit it to create pictures.

At the end of November 2019 my first painting was created on Cold Plunge

It started at the end of November 2019 the emergence of the first painting made of water. I never know what will appear on the canvas, I always let the water speak.

It is difficult for me to put it into words, but water is a living being that drives people to truth and vitality.

How did you get to Cold Plunge and how did that change you?

In winter I create the most with water because it is particularly active at that time. In summer I am more likely to move to the mountains and sources with a lively, clean water. I particularly like to paint in the Ore Mountains, where the water is soft and crystal clear. My family also comes from there. I also painted in other places such as the Adriatic in Croatia or the alpine turquoise ice lakes in Austria.

Every body of water, be it a pond, a river or a waterfall, calls me, and I immerse yourself in this water to paint. I paint on small screens over a tray and create the water of the place with acrylic paints. The colors are selected by the location itself, and I always take some water from this place to paint with it.

How long do you need to paint a picture in the ice water?

I can't say exactly how long I am in the water when I paint a picture. My husband Jakub sometimes films painting and then tells me the time. The average time is about 40 minutes, but it can also be longer or shorter. The longest time I spent in the water was 1 hour and 20 minutes.

I can be guided by the water and always end the painting in the water without harming my health. At the request of the water and with its permission, I paint to pass on his healing strength.

Since 2019 I have painted almost 40 pictures of different waters and I will continue to work as the water wants and how it allows our connection. There is humility, mutual love, understanding and care in dealing with the water.

Do you have tips & tricks for other cold plunger ?

I initially tried ice showers, the Wim-Hof method and the Buteyko method, but they didn't do anything to me. However, when I accepted the water as it is, my body no longer needed artificial stimulation. On this day I really wanted to go into the cold water, so I avoided breathing exercises or warming up.

The truth is: when we go into the ice water, it forces us to breathe more consciously and help us to find peace, balance and warmth. If we want it and feel like it, we can really accept the cold as a warm friend.

Everyone can try ice water, but you should be careful with kidney problems. Thanks to the ice water, I have no more bladder infections or other inflammation that I used to have, but this may not apply to everyone.

It is important to listen to yourself and perceive your own body to find out what is good and to be friendly to yourself. There is no general rule for everyone. Everyone is individual and there is no patent recipe for health. Some people prefer regular dives in the water, but I go into the ice water whenever I am called.

What other "hacks" do you do except Cold Plunge ?

Everyone should take responsibility for their life and health without seeing themselves as a victim. If we appreciate nature, we also appreciate ourselves because we are inseparable from each other. Our humanity is often influenced by non -helpful beliefs that we have to question to make room for new things. Nature and life around us show us that regeneration and vitality are possible when we live in harmony with nature.

In recent years we have moved away so much from nature that we even get sick. It is important to restore the connection to nature and to take responsibility for our lives to heal ourselves. If someone is often sick, it indicates a great separation from the nature of life. It is time to take measures and gradually put together the puzzle pieces to enable healing.

What kind of projects have you planned for the future?

I continue to paint pictures of water and living trees that embody the energy of nature. In 2020 I started to connect with people, and so the motif of the water expanded with trees that symbolize life itself. I mainly paint trees in nature, often in the landscape of the Czech low mountain range. When a hill calls me in the low mountain range, his tree of life is created. If someone wants to paint a tree according to their wishes, I create a tree that supports it and whose story I feel.

I use these paintings of water and trees at exhibitions, creative festivals and discussions in the Czech Republic. I also work with friendly shops to make gift prints. However, it is not my intention to only create prints, but to give joy in the form of postcards, magnets, greeting cards or canvas prints. At the end of the year I also create a calendar for the coming year.

It would fulfill me if there was interest and the opportunity to share my creations abroad at exhibitions or friendly creative festivals. I am open to tips and invitations! I would like to exhibit my pictures of water, trees or a combination of both outside of the Czech Republic, in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. My pictures can be bought and each tells a story about water, landscape, event, space or person.