In August 2011, I began taking cold showers, by “cold shower” I mean a shower where not one drop of hot water is used. The only time I have used hot water in a shower since I started taking cold showers was when I’ve been in hotel rooms in which there is no option for cold water only in the shower, and in November 2013, I had a relapse and began using some hot water in the shower because I was unable to identify the value derived from the discomfort I was experiencing, but one year later, in November 2014 I started taking cold showers again and have been keeping it up ever since.

While the obvious disadvantage of the cold shower is that it is uncomfortable (and sometimes even painful, for example, in the winter when I'm sick with a sinus infection, and I rinse the shampoo from my hair with ice cold water, my head gets numb from the cold and it hurts), there are many hidden advantages.

The cold showers make me more accustomed to cold water and enables me to more easily tolerate cold water that I swim in throughout the year (streams, rivers, pools, lakes and the ocean).

Hot showers dry your skin more. Cold showers reduce itchy, flaky skin that tends to occur in the winter.

Cold showers help to reduce or alleviate stress because they are grounding in that they jar you out of your thoughts (including any anxiety producing thoughts), and bring you into the present, the here and now.

Taking cold showers make the showers very quick because I get in and out as fast as I can. This has a twofold benefit, 1) it saves water because the showers are quicker than they would be, and 2) it saves energy because I’m not using any of the hot water from the hot water heater.

The bathroom doesn’t get steamed up. This has a threefold benefit, 1) the steam accelerates the deterioration of the paint on the ceiling and walls of the bathroom and the sheetrock near the tub, 2) if the bathroom doesn't get steamed up then the bathroom fan will not get turned on to get the steam out (this saves energy because the bathroom fan takes heated interior air and blows it outside), and 3) the steam doesn’t cover the bathroom mirror. This last benefit is especially helpful since I am currently living in a two-bedroom apartment with a family of four and oftentimes after I finish my shower or during my shower other family members come into the bathroom and use the mirror.

Because cold showers are so unpleasant all winter long, the cold showers in the spring, summer and fall are perfectly pleasant. I no longer experience discomfort when I take cold showers in the non-winter seasons.

People are addicted to comfort. Everyone has a comfort level. Cold showers are a way to lower the comfort level bar. With a lower comfort level threshold, there is a wider variety of environments that I am comfortable in. Many people believe that they are entitled to the comforts that they enjoy and they are oblivious to the consequences of those comforts. Many of our modern comforts rely on the use of fossil fuels i.e. cooling our homes in the summer and heating them in the winter, or going into town in the car to buy a loaf of bread. We should change the paradigm and assume that energy is more precious than comfort.

People who stay addicted to comfort run the risk of increasing comfort level thresholds, and if left unchecked, this malady could spiral out of control and leave one in a condition where they can only feel satisfied in an air conditioned environment with a television. Remember, life begins at the end of your comfort zone!

Other good shower habits: only turn on water for the initial dousing of water and to rinse off soap; when soap gets small enough, stick it on to a new bar of soap so that the small pieces get used up instead of being thrown out.

Here is a passage entitled "Embrace Discipline"

Your body is a repository of knowledge and techniques. Remember the tea ceremony, with its focus on the learning of forms? Through discipline the practitioner achieves release from material comforts and physical laziness, and attains a state of perfect tranquility. We should also assiduously and consistently devote a portion of our time to meditation, reading, music and walking. These disciplines should be self-imposed, and practiced with pleasure and conviction.

In the West, ‘discipline’ suggests hardship, effort, suffering. In Asia, it is understood a priori as beneficial to the body, mind and spirit. The geniuses of the European Renaissance used repetitive practice and technical exercises to elevate painting and sculpture to new heights of creativity, celebrating the culture of ‘mind and hand.’

Imitation and emulation are important when acquiring new skills and faculties. Eventually, one day, they become second nature, we are no longer copying, but have made the skill our own. By practicing discipline in the service of beauty, we find a thousand ways to perfect ourselves and become more radiant.

Five minutes of concentrated discipline can deliver better results than forty-five minutes of superficial dabbling. When we know the power of discipline, we understand its benefits more fully. Set yourself small personal targets and challenges, eat little, get up at dawn, take a cold shower. Make them part of your lifestyle. You will develop greater strength of character and stamina for things that matter. The twilight, peace and calm of early morning help transform these ascetic disciplines into precious rituals.