the frozen experience of the cold festival in Cantal

From January 3 to 5, Lake Graves (Cantal) hosts a unique festival: participants embark on a cold adventure. Ice baths, yoga and breathing: trendy practices that are intriguing and whose benefits remain to be proven.

From January 3 to 4, Lake Graves (Cantal) becomes the playground of Cold Festival: a unique event that brings together brave people ready to dive into icy waters. Lake temperature: 2 degrees. There are 200 curious people from all over France, hoping to learn more about the effects of the cold. Sonia, a participant, testifies: “Physically, I felt an opening in my chest. On the other hand, it burns a little on the feet and hands. Mentally, I feel happy.”

Alternating cold and hot baths, breathing exercises, meditation… The festival offers a range of practices focused on well-being. According to Leonardo Pelagotti, a figure of these trends, everyone can adopt these techniques:“Beyond the transformative experience, it allows you to understand the difficulty or a stressful day, where you have to give a lot of energy. The goal is to have tools to deal with it and recover more quickly afterwards,” he indicates.

The cold, an ally for recovery. This method, used for a long time by many athletes, would be effective in reducing exercise-related inflammation. A benefit that is still controversial, as Ruddy Richard, sports doctor, explains: “Scientific studies on this recovery strategy are still very mixed, even if the physiological mechanisms are plausible”.

Before getting started, one last piece of advice: consult a doctor to check for any contraindications.

Comments collected by Mathieu Verlaine / France 3 Auvergne.

Tags France