Dousing is the practice of pouring water over oneself.
Naturopathy would say that dousing is a part of hydrotherapy.
Cold water dousing
Cold water dousing is used to "shock" the body into a kind of fever. The body's reaction is similar to the mammalian diving reflex.
Steam may be seen to rise off of the body, especially when dousing in wintertime.
The effects of dousing are usually more intense and longer lasting than just a cold shower. Ending a shower with cold water is an old naturopathic tradition.
There are those who believe that this fever is helpful in killing harmful bacteria and leaving the heartier beneficial bacteria in the body.
Some consider cold water dousing to be a form of asceticism.
National traditions
The Canadian "Polar Bear Club" concept is an old tradition, which has participants jumping in a lake during winter, even to the point of cutting a hole in a frozen lake.
- Kamakura, Japan has a temple whose Nichiren Buddhist priests in-training practice a ritual of 100 days of fasting, meditation and walking which ends with stripping to loincloths and dousing with ice cold water.
- Thingyan (Water Festival) was celebrated from 13th to 17th April in 2001 and the rituals included dousing.
Jumping in freezing lakes is an old Russian tradition.
Some douse with a bucket of cold water. The bucket is filled with water and left out overnight. They then walk outside with it outside and spill it over themselves. Preferences include being barefoot outside on the earth, and performing dousing at certain times and more frequently when ill.
For some, dousing accompanies fasting (absence of all food and water) as an alternate means for the body to obtain water.
Some follow cold water dousing with air-drying outside or in wintertime taking a "snow bath" by rubbing handfuls of snow on the body or laying/moving in it.
- Porfiry Ivanov's health system "Detka" includes cold water dousing.
- Cold water dousing is practiced by some Systema martialists.
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