Open Heart Surgery And Contrast Therapy: Facing Adversity With Dom

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Plunge Contrast Therapy

Life is riddled with anxiety and fear inducing events, however our mentality plays a massive role in the way we face these events. When Dom was faced with the reality of undergoing open heart surgery, he was likely flooded with mixed emotions. However, Dom was able to face the surgery head on, while keeping a strong mindset throughout the recovery process as well.

In this episode Dom, the director of community experience at Plunge, shares his experience in preparing mentally and physically for major life events that might be shrouded in fear and anxiety. He also shares his contrast therapy experience and practice with us, as well as the role that it's played in his life. Evan and Dom also share their personal experiences with using wellness tracking devices such as the whoop band and oura ring.

This episode will provide you with tools to strengthen your mindset, explain some of the less tangible benefits of contrast therapy, and shed some insight on the health and wellness practices that both Evan and Dom utilize.

As always, do everything with good intentions and connect to your elements.

Dom's Bio:

Dom Cianciotto is a mindset coach who curates wellness experiences based on science backed protocols. He’s also the director of community and experiences at Plunge. By sharing the mental frameworks and practices that have helped him overcome his own challenges - depression, financial hardships, open heart surgery - Dom guides different modalities like heat, cold exposure, and breathwork to help you unlock your power.

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is for educational purposes only, it is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Evan Roberts is not a medical professional and this podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Statements and views expressed on this show are not medical advice, this podcast, including Evan Roberts and any guests on the show, disclaims responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained in this episode. If you think you have a medical problem please consult a medical professional.

Hey, what's going on, everyone.

2

Welcome to the elemental Evan podcast.

3

This is your host, Evan Roberts.

4

And on this show, I break down

health topics from a holistic

5

and simplified perspective.

6

So you can walk away from these

episodes with some very actionable

7

steps that you can apply to your life

8

right after hearing this episode.

9

And on this episode, I'm joined

by a really good friend of mine.

10

His name is Dom.

11

He is the director of community

experiences over at plunge, which

12

if you're unfamiliar with plunge,

it is a contrast therapy company.

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They make some really sleek looking.

14

Uh, ice baths as well as saunas.

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And really excited to obviously

talk with Dom about his work over at

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plunge and kind of all of the work

that they're doing and kind of new

17

innovations that are coming out.

18

But beyond that.

19

Uh, Dom is a.

20

Very well-experienced, uh,

coach, when it comes to guiding

21

people through contrast therapy.

22

So ice baths, breath work.

23

Uh, Andy.

24

In my opinion.

25

He also has a really great mindset and

tools for developing a strong mindset.

26

The reason I say that is because in

27

surgery and just the whole preparation.

28

Uh, mentally and physically to

go into a surgery like that.

29

It takes a lot out of a person and,

you know, it can be very taxing.

30

There's a lot of fear, a lot of

anxiety around it, which of, you

31

know, of course is to be expected.

32

But nonetheless, Dom shares his

experience and kind of some of the

33

mental work that he was doing, physical

work that he was doing to prep for

34

not only going into surgery, but then

the aftermath of the surgery, right.

35

The recuperation.

36

Period of getting through the surgery and

really talking about how he was able to.

37

In a very short amount of time, get

back to where he was pre, uh, going

38

into the surgery, which is super cool.

39

Uh, it's really awesome to hear

his whole idea and mindset around

40

kind of prepping for this surgery

and this big event in his life.

41

And personally, I feel like I gained

some really beneficial tools just from

42

our conversation in terms of applying.

43

You know them too.

44

Difficult experiences in my life,

things that I might have fear around or

45

resistance or, you know, any anxiety.

46

And really just once again, coming

back to that, Marcus Raley's quo of

47

making the obstacle the way, right.

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That which stands in

the way becomes the way.

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And so really.

50

That was one of my favorite

segments of the show.

51

And I think you're going to find a lot

of benefit in that portion as well.

52

But aside from just talking about

mindset, which is one of my favorite

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topics, uh, but we also talk a bit

about, uh, health trackers, such

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as the whoop and the aura ring.

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Uh, Dom uses a whoop currently

and seems to really enjoy it.

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And I have used the aura ring in the past.

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And so we're able to speak a

little bit on those and kind of.

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Give our input on what we enjoy

or what we don't enjoy about

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both of these trackers overall.

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Uh, these trackers are very beneficial

and, um, definitely if you're thinking

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about it, go ahead and check them out

and look into them a bit, but we give

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a little bit of a breakdown on those.

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And then we also talk a lot, obviously

about cold plunging and sauna sessions.

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So contrast therapy, which I know I've

spoken about on the show before, but

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it's really cool to speak with Dom

about these, uh, these tools that we

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can use and how beneficial they are.

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One thing that we were not able to

speak about, where I had forgotten

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to speak about regarding saunas was

actually utilizing some chlorophyll.

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Before we're going into a sauna.

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So if you.

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Can remember if, because a lot of times

I always forget this, but if you can

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remember before you hop into a sauna, A

few hours before getting into the sauna.

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If you can take some chlorophyll,

it is very beneficial because

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you're obviously detoxing.

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When you're in the sauna, you're

sweating a lot of toxins out.

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And when you take chlorophyll,

it can help to cleanse the blood.

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It can bind to a.

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At help remove heavy metals

from your blood as well.

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And for me personally, I mean, there's a

few different ways to do this, but I like

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to take the chlorella from energy bits

because you just get a lot of different.

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Kind of nutrients and vitamins

and different benefits from the

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chlorella, which is going to have

a ton of core fuel in it as well.

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But of course you can also just

go the traditional route of taking

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some liquid chlorophyll, still

going to be extremely beneficial.

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I know there's a company called higher

dose that also does what's called detox

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drops, uh, specifically meant for hopping

in the sauna, whatever your choice is.

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It's.

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Doesn't matter to me.

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That's a good idea to take some

chlorophyll before hopping into a

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sauna to kinda make sure you're getting

the most out of that sauna session.

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And once again, like I said,

I love to take chlorella.

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I just find that it has more

benefit because there was

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more going on with chlorella.

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It's a micro algae.

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And so if you want to get some

of that chlorella, go ahead

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and check out the show notes.

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There is a discount code

in there for 20% off.

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That's just for being a listener.

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And aside from the sauna sessions and

the cold plunge, which have a ton.

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Of benefit in my opinion.

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And I think.

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After listening to this, if you

haven't already done a ice bath and

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a sauna session, contrast therapy.

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Uh, I think you'll be

very inclined to do so.

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And last but not least.

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Of course, we talk a bit about,

uh, what health practices Dom

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has currently going on, what he's

doing to stay healthy and active.

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And of course it's a

health and wellness show.

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So we had to dig in on that a little

bit, which, uh, Dom also shared

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that he started taking colostrum.

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I was able to convince him to

finally start trying some, uh, which

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of course is the tri armor brand.

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Uh, absolutely loved their claustrum.

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It's really, really great

for the immune health.

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And that is personally the

main reason I take it is.

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Purely for my immune health.

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I feel that it's boosted it massively.

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And Dom seems to feel the same about that.

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Um, that as well is going to

be linked in the show notes.

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So if you want to check that out, go

ahead and look in the show notes and

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you'll have the link right there.

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And other than that, I'm pretty sure.

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Uh, there's a few other topics I

missed, but those are going to be the

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main topics we're going to dive into.

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So after today's episode, you're

going to have some tools to apply

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to your mindset in overcoming

difficult or scary situations.

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You're going to hear a lot

about cold plunging and.

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Uh, saunas.

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So the contrast therapy and a little

bit about these health and wellness

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trackers, the aura ring and the whoop.

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And of course all the in-between stuff.

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Hopefully a couple of laughs as well.

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And, uh, yeah.

134

Hope you enjoy this episode as much

as I did because Dom is a genuinely

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great guy and I just absolutely love.

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Having the opportunity to chat with him

anytime I get the opportunity to do so.

137

And it's really cool for me to be

able to bring him onto the show

138

and introduce him to all of you.

139

If you aren't already following

him, or you don't know who he

140

is, go ahead and check them out.

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He'll also, I'll have all of his,

uh, social media in the show notes.

142

So you can go ahead and find

them there and enjoy the episode.

143

Y'all I really appreciate

you all being here.

144

This is the very first

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So super happy to be joined by Dom on.

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on.

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this episode and yeah, to just share

all of this information with all of you.

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So anyways, I hope you

enjoyed this episode.

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Have a great one and let's get to it.

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Peace.

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It's, it's interesting.

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I have been using the whoop to

track, um, like all of my health

153

data, you know, wearable tracker.

154

And it's wild as soon as I get to

Montana, like typically if I fly anywhere,

155

if I were to fly from, let's say Los

Angeles to New York or Miami or any

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city, usually I have a pretty noticeable

jet lag, a pretty noticeable, um, like

157

lack of recovery for a day or two.

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It takes me time to adjust just

from a two or three hour flight.

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Always does that to me.

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Um, but when I go home, my recovery

improves and my HRV goes up.

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And it's interesting because I've been,

I've been paying pretty close attention to

162

this, but it seems to me like going home,

your body knows like, Oh, I can rest here.

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And so it's really nice to come

back and like actually see data on

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that and be like, I'm doing good.

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So it's been nice here at home, hanging

out, getting green scores and yeah, good.

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Yeah.

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Also, well, uh, what, what's your, what

is your like sleeping score and all that?

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Like out here in LA?

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You know, it's really hit or miss.

170

Um, my, I was, you know, it's, it's

really interesting how Random it is.

171

I, I have a pretty consistent schedule and

what I've noticed is when I do long runs

172

or when I do strenuous run, running is, is

like the most strenuous thing that I do.

173

And when I run the next day,

my HRB tanks, and then, um, the

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second day it comes right back.

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And if I do a, like what I would

call a gentle contract, I think

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what like most people would call

like a normal contrast session is

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a gentle contrast session for me.

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Um, but like what I mean by gentle is

like you do a couple rounds of sauna for

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like, you know, 10, 12 minutes, somewhere

in there, a couple minutes in the cold

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plunge and, and then call it a night.

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I have great recovery.

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Um, but I like to do these

really ridiculous sessions.

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We're all like do contrast for like

7 or 8 rounds and see, you know, go

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as long as I possibly can in there.

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Like, try to make it like

14 minutes and it's 200 plus

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degrees and it's just brutal.

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And that will also.

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Sort of take my HRV,

but I get great sleep.

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So it's always like a lagging, like

two days, whatever the intervention

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is that I do, it seems that it takes

two days for me to actually, for

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the benefit to actually show up.

192

Yeah.

193

Um, and what I've, I've, I've

tried a lot of things lately.

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Like I'm kind of a nerd.

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I've got every single outlet

that has a light on it in my

196

place has black tape over it.

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. I unplugged the wifi at night.

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Um.

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I mean, every, I unplug almost

everything except for the outlet that

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charges my phone and my refrigerator.

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Everything else gets unplugged.

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Um, so there's like no signals coming

in and I, and I also, there's no

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data that I have on this, but I also

think that when I leave, like when

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I forget to unplug something, I'm

like, Oh man, that's what it was.

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You know?

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, yeah, yeah, the mind, uh, I, I wonder

how much of a role that plays that kind

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of like, you know, get, get into your

head about like, if you're not doing

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enough and, and yeah, I, because I

had an aura ring for a while and, uh.

209

It was the same deal.

210

It's almost like I sometimes I would get

a little bit too into the weeds of like

211

the data and then it's like, Oh, man,

like I would start thinking too much

212

about it and like, almost like stressing

it a little bit, you know, and then I was

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like, All right, I mean, you need to just

like, chill out and just go to sleep.

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Like, you'll be fine, you know, and,

you know, Just avoid the like major

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things, you know, like don't eat too

close to bed, try to sleep in like

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a cooler environment, like all that.

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Um, have you tried or ring?

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I haven't tried or I would like to,

um, I think, you know, it's interesting

219

with all of these trackers, like they

all, I think they all kind of have

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the same problem with their customer.

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And it's that there's two types of people.

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There's the people that want the data and

they want to know, so they can make the

223

improvements and they can kind of self

coach, um, at least enough that they can.

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They can see that data and then

interpret it using the, the wearables

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platform or whatever they find online.

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Um, and then there's the people that are

like, Whoa, this is stressing me out.

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And what's funny is they all have

a trial period of like 30 days.

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Which is really just enough to get,

like, just, that's just enough time

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to understand what's not working.

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It's not necessarily enough time to figure

out what is going to, like, work for you.

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And so people will cancel their

trial while they're still in

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the, like, I don't know if it is,

like, this is stressing me out.

233

Like, but you're really just

figuring out, like, what's working.

234

And, like, you're just figuring

out the pattern of, like, okay,

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I'm consistently not getting enough

sleep because I'm eating too late.

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Eating too late was, like, the

biggest one for me, and it still is.

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Like I just, I'm kind of a nocturnal

person and I'm consistently trying to go

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to bed earlier and eat earlier so that

I, you know, can do all of those things.

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But I, my, my habit is

to eat late, be up late.

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Sleep in late, like I'm

a bear is my chronotype.

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So like, I just, I want to, you

know, sleep all morning basically.

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It's kind of funny, isn't it?

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That like the 30 day trial is just enough

time to know like what's not working.

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And then that's like, I feel like

people dip out because they're stressed,

245

but like you're right at the edge

of where you can start to like tweak

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it and actually get the benefit.

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Yeah, I'm actually I'm a huge fan of

like anything that can truly track your

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sleep because I don't like iPhone and

Like Fitbit and stuff like they have

249

tools for that, but I feel like they're

not as accurate I've seen a lot of people

250

say like some of their statistics on

it and it just doesn't really line up

251

whereas I feel like the aura ring and

stuff I hear from the whoop is like

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It's pretty pretty freaking accurate.

253

And the only thing I didn't like

about aura ring Was the fact

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that it's on your hand, right?

255

So like at the time I was, I was doing

air conditioning at the time, which is

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like very obviously manual labor and uh,

I would be lifting super heavy things and

257

like sometimes like even my fingers would

get pinched in something and it's like.

258

The ring was kind of nice because it would

stop it from fully like clamping down on

259

my hand, but I'm pretty sure I put like

little micro fractures in the ring because

260

over time it started not, um, it started

to not hold a charge over time, which I'm

261

guessing is probably a mixture of like me

putting stress fractures on it and then

262

like dipping it in water or something.

263

So, um, that was my only

thing I didn't really like.

264

Whereas with the whoop,

it's on your wrist.

265

It's like a watch, you

know, which is much more.

266

Yeah, I think it's just kind of

like a better placement for it.

267

But, um, I, other than

that, I love the ordering.

268

I feel like everything that it

was doing was very beneficial.

269

And like you said, even, even the times

where I was like stressing out because I

270

would like get so into the weeds of it.

271

Um, I still found that beneficial

because it's like you're really

272

trying to find that perfect window

of like what's working for you.

273

And having that knowledge

is super beneficial.

274

Sean.

275

And yeah, about like, I mean, people

have a difficult time with not eating

276

late at night, which can take more than

30 days to really break the habit, which

277

it might even take more time than that.

278

You know what I mean?

279

So for me, it's taking

more time than that.

280

I mean, it's, it's still, it's still

probably happens at least once a week.

281

And I know, like, I know it's, I'm like,

this is going to, this is going to tank.

282

And then I'll wake up the next morning

and I have like 54 percent recovery.

283

I'm like, well, you know,

that's why, like, I know.

284

Yeah.

285

But I like that it's consistently

showing me like, Hey, as long as you

286

continue to do these, behave this way

or do these things, you're going to

287

have these outputs that you don't like.

288

Like that's how it's going to work.

289

You know?

290

Like it's a good reinforcement for me.

291

You're like, okay.

292

Eventually I get to the point where I

go, okay, I don't want to wake up in the

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L you know, in the yellow or the orange

and I want to, I want to feel good.

294

So yeah.

295

Yeah.

296

It's, it is.

297

It's extremely beneficial.

298

I think, um, it's with anything like.

299

What is a test, not guess, you know,

it's, yeah, it's, it's really the one

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way of, of truly knowing what works.

301

But I w I was also, I was thinking

back to what you said with your, like

302

going home and then sleeping well and

like knowing that you're, you're home.

303

And I wonder if like, cause is

that your family home right there?

304

Like, is that like what you, the

house you grew up in pretty much?

305

Yeah.

306

I mean, been here for 15,

they've been here for 15 years.

307

Okay, cool.

308

Cause I was wondering,

I'm like, I wonder if.

309

It's just wherever your family

is that feels like home, right?

310

Like, like not necessarily your

childhood home, but rather like wherever

311

your parents are based out of and

just like going back to their house.

312

Like if you sleep better, just,

just knowing you're like in good

313

company, you know what I mean?

314

I bet that is the case.

315

Um, I bet if you could test it over

time that you would find that I

316

have a really interesting story.

317

So when I first started wearing,

um, the whoop, I like, you know,

318

the first week is basically just

getting a baseline established.

319

And then the second week, um, I was

having kind of a rough, or I had, I think

320

I had a decent week is what happened.

321

I had a decent week.

322

And then the third week

I had a rough week.

323

So I was like, I've

been doing really well.

324

And then I was like in the

yellow, wasn't recovering well,

325

working a ton, was traveling.

326

And I went.

327

Um, I had a full week and I, on a Friday

night, I had been invited to, um, still

328

life, this meditation studio in Venice.

329

I'd been doing their, their coaching

program and it was like their kind of

330

like a graduation ceremony for having

completed the six month program.

331

And it was everyone that was

in the program getting together

332

and having a dinner together.

333

And this was on a Friday.

334

I had had yellow recovery scores all

week and I had slept very little the

335

night before and it was a ridiculous,

like, it was like a 10 hour day that

336

I had got up and just worked straight

through hardly a, like, just no time.

337

And I almost canceled.

338

I almost didn't go.

339

And I was like, I really

want to see everybody.

340

I really want to say thank you to the

people that put the program together.

341

So I go in that evening, we have

the dinner and the next morning

342

I woke up and I was in the green.

343

My HIV was the highest

it had been in a week.

344

And the only thing that was different

the whole week was that I had spent

345

three hours that evening with people that

were like minded, that had just done the

346

same program as me, that were, what you

might say, like energetically matched.

347

That was the only thing

that was different.

348

Like I, I still ate kind of late.

349

I still like didn't nourish myself

properly throughout the day.

350

I had a crazy stressful day and I was

like, Whoa, that was the first time

351

where I was like, wow, there's a huge

impact on community and your autonomic

352

nervous system and the connection.

353

So how, how your nervous system

is responding to connection

354

and to feeling like you belong.

355

There's like a massive impact here

that I think we don't even really

356

understand the implication of yeah.

357

Yeah, I'm for sure I think you just

absolutely activated your parasympathetic

358

nervous system being around that group of

people and yeah Just feeling like you're

359

in a comfortable setting, you know and

able to like really just like let it go

360

and relax It could be a hard thing to

do especially at nighttime I think like

361

that's a time where people think a lot and

I think Um, like you mentioned doing the

362

sauna at night, that's a great opportunity

to first off just clear your head.

363

Like it's a meditative experience in

many ways, but I also, what was it like?

364

I know Huberman was talking about, um,

like temperature and cortisol or melatonin

365

release is like directly related.

366

So that's why when you have the

decrease in what was like one

367

degree body temperature, that's

what like starts to activate the

368

release of melatonin or something.

369

So I know that using a hot sauna as well

is like supposed to be really good for.

370

Going to bed because then your temperature

like your core body temperature will drop.

371

But yeah, super interesting stuff.

372

Um, yeah Yeah, I I think we

definitely need to test that.

373

Uh sleep and community and like

parasympathetic Relation like I

374

think there's a lot there Yeah, I'm

super, I'm super interested in that.

375

And I think that, um, it just seems like

376

I think 2024 is a year of the sauna.

377

Um, everyone, everyone's going to be

378

have in their previous probably ever.

379

But, uh, at least people are

generation that that's the same.

380

Um, I think 2024 is a year of

the sauna and I think also.

381

We're going to see that the trend of

social wellness is sticking like people

382

are, um, it's not just a novelty thing.

383

We're like, oh, I do this workout and

I do a cold plunge with my friends.

384

It's going to become like the

sticking point where people,

385

this is like what we do, like.

386

It's our tradition.

387

Uh, it's as much a tradition to go sauna

and plunge or, you know, do a workout and

388

then plunge with your friends as it is

to watch football on Sunday afternoon.

389

I think it's going to like

really stick this year.

390

Yeah.

391

Yeah.

392

100%.

393

And I mean, you see it at all of

the gyms all around the place.

394

Like now, like, cold plunges are

becoming a very common thing.

395

Whereas sauna used to, Be a pretty stand

like for the most part standard item, but

396

now you're seeing the cold plunges getting

in there as well So it's kind of becoming

397

just this like added piece of health and

wellness where people are making it more

398

of like not just a One time experience but

rather like a habit and a practice which

399

is it's super cool and crazy beneficial I

like one of the things I love is a buddy

400

of mine did he's probably actually I think

he's almost at day 365 but he's doing

401

you know a full year of cold plunges And,

uh, one thing he said, he was like, ego

402

plays like no role in this because he's

like, because there's times where I'll

403

go and I'm like, yeah, I got this dude.

404

I'm on day 300 of cold plunge.

405

Like this is easy, like

not an issue, you know?

406

He's like, and then you hop in

there and immediately like the cold

407

is just like, you're nobody dude.

408

You're like, I'm, I'm going to be

cold regardless of how strong you

409

are, of how many times you do this,

like it's going to hurt and suck

410

every single time you get in here.

411

And so it's just one of

those things where it's like.

412

Super humbling right and like of of all

the like health benefits that it poses

413

I think one of the best things is just

like it's it's gonna kick your ass every

414

single time And like it's gonna make you

very humble, you know, and like I love

415

that, you know because you get start

to get strong lifting weights and then

416

You look cool, like lifting super heavy

stuff, but like what it doesn't matter.

417

I always say it's a great equalizer,

uh, because you know, like the person,

418

the person that is the loudest in

the room and the most confident is

419

typically going to have the, uh, the

sort of the worst reaction to it.

420

And then the person who's like,

who's kind of doubts themselves.

421

And it was like, I don't know that

typically they'll like tap in and you're

422

like, Whoa, where did that come from?

423

You know, it's always

like, it's funny too.

424

It's.

425

It's oftentimes like the yoga girlies

that, you know, you'll see some,

426

someone that like, doesn't look

like they have the body type that

427

would be able to handle the cold.

428

And then they just drop in and

you're like, Whoa, that's incredible.

429

You know, they're just like able

to mind over matter the whole

430

thing and connect to the breath.

431

And then you have someone who's,

who looks macho and looks like

432

they're going to be able to crush it.

433

And then they're, they're having

a, you know, total panic attack.

434

Like it's so, it's so classic.

435

That's how it goes.

436

Yeah.

437

And Dom, where, when did you

start doing cold plunges?

438

Like what, what got you into it?

439

Yeah.

440

So my, my experience with cold

exposure is kind of interesting.

441

I actually got really

442

Um, I, 2018, I've been following

this guru, uh, in Los Angeles.

443

His name was certified

health nut on Instagram.

444

Troy Casey is his real name.

445

And he would, he was doing all kinds of

education on Wim Hof method, and he was

446

doing these um, ice baths in his backyard

and doing a lot of men's coaching.

447

I was super interested in what he

was up to and just his holistic

448

approach to health and wellness.

449

He wrote a book called ripped at 50 and,

you know, at the time he's 50 years old.

450

He looks phenomenal And I was

following him and I he was like a

451

little quirky and kind of comedic and

goofy And I was like, is he serious?

452

Like is this is this a gimmick

453

I was in a motorcycle wreck and

I was going through a sort of a

454

breakup with in my relationship and

there's a rough spot and I broke

455

my hand in the motorcycle wreck.

456

My relationship was a mess.

457

My life was just kind of chaotic.

458

And I was like, man, I

really need like some help.

459

I need to like, I felt emotionally

just completely blown out and afraid.

460

I was like, I need help.

461

So I, I called this guy up and I was

like, Hey, I want to work with you.

462

And, um, I went and did this

coaching session with him and we

463

spent hours with him and we covered

everything from nutrition to sleep

464

to what he calls the four doctors.

465

Um, and it kind of went through

like his whole method of

466

like, of holistic wellness.

467

And the last piece was like, I was like,

I really want to get into cold exposure.

468

And he's like, would

you know how to breathe?

469

And I was like, I don't, I don't know.

470

And so he's like, well, let's,

let's do some breath work.

471

So we sit down and it was my first

time ever doing breath work and

472

he's got me doing breath of fire.

473

And I remember getting lightheaded,

like, you know, maybe 30 breaths in

474

and I'm like, Oh, that's, that's a lot.

475

You know, that's, that's a lot.

476

And I was kind of embarrassed.

477

Like, this is crazy.

478

And he's like, no, you

got to keep breathing.

479

And I'm breathing intensely,

breathing, breathing, breathing,

480

breathing, you know, like this, right?

481

And I remember, like, I snotted a

little bit and he, like, grabbed a paper

482

towel and, like, wiped my nose and,

like, wouldn't let me stop breathing.

483

And then when I finally

stopped, I was like, Whoa, I

484

mean, I felt like I was high.

485

I was like, this is out of control.

486

And it was the container that he had

created and the space he created was

487

very powerful and I felt very like

comfortable to do what I was doing.

488

I was uncomfortable internally with

the experience, but he created a really

489

awesome environment for me to do this.

490

And.

491

I was like, man, that, whatever

that was, that was wild.

492

And he's like, so you're

gonna do that every morning.

493

You're going to do some, you know, basic

Qigong movements that he showed me.

494

Um, and you do cold showers.

495

And so I started doing these cold showers

and mind you, this motorcycle wreck I'd

496

been in, I, my whole back was scabbed up.

497

Like I pretty bad road rash.

498

And so I'm like doing full showers in

the morning and like this, you know, it

499

was so rough and very quickly within a

few days it went from being brutal, you

500

know, just total dread in the morning

to like, wow, I feel really good.

501

Like I feel like I can take

on the world when I do this.

502

Um, and so I spent that whole year, 2018

touring with a country music artist.

503

And, um, doing marketing on his tour

and I would do these cold showers in the

504

morning, sort of as like a hangover cure.

505

So I was like biohacking my way through

like this whiskey, you know, door

506

and Friday night, Saturday night,

you're out doing the whole thing.

507

And then, you know, you're taking

cold showers in the morning

508

and be like, I'm still alive.

509

I still got it, you know?

510

Um, and that was kind of the, that

was the kind of my entry to it.

511

And I, I, uh.

512

I really found it to be transformative

and helpful to me in my mindset.

513

I felt really good.

514

And so I was using them cold showers

consistently, and I was doing them for

515

weeks at a time, um, without any break.

516

And it was just kind of a biohack

and it wasn't much more than that.

517

But I think it planted the seed

of like what happened next.

518

And that was, you know, the pandemic

happening, the pandemic happening.

519

I sobered up.

520

I quit drinking alcohol, any

form and, um, dedicated myself

521

to cold showers every day.

522

And I was using that as

a tool because I knew.

523

I, I was already struggling with

depression, but I knew that this was going

524

to be a good thing for me just to have

the discipline of doing the hard thing.

525

And as I was getting sober and

as I was drying out, um, a lot

526

of things started showing up for

me that I had never addressed.

527

Things that just, I never was even

conscious of like, Hey, this is something

528

that, you know, you need to heal.

529

That was, that was underlying in my life.

530

And the cold seemed to be a way for me

to like, just navigate those feelings

531

and it was like giving me a reset.

532

So instead of feeling like, you

know, stress or anxious, I was

533

like, I actually feel really

good if I do this in the morning.

534

So that's how I got started.

535

Um, and then it, you know, led to.

536

Where I'm at now, or, uh, it's been a

very transformative thing in my life.

537

Yeah.

538

Yeah.

539

It's uh, it's really like an interesting

process there with, with the ice

540

and, and cold plunges and all that.

541

And I know Wim Hof has, has a, a story

as well behind his whole experience

542

with using the cold as a teacher.

543

But I really do think that one of

the, the most beneficial things

544

about like a cold plunge as well,

is that if you're going through

545

like a difficult time, a depressive

time, whatever it might be is like.

546

You're kind of stuck in this, uh, this

mentality, this, like, physical feeling

547

where, like, you just don't feel good,

you know, and it's hard to shake that

548

feeling, it's hard to, like, change your

mindset and elevate your, your vibra

549

your, your vibration and frequency and

all that to, like, a higher form, um, and

550

I think what's cool about the cold plunge

is, like, if you do a cold plunge for 90

551

seconds, 3 minutes, whatever it is, You're

going to come out of that and you're

552

going to be radically changed because

you radically changed your physical

553

environment and that, you know, shifts

the neuroepinephrine levels to a point

554

where you're going to feel amazing, right?

555

And so it's going to kind of like, get

you into this state where you can start

556

feeling better and thinking better.

557

And I think that.

558

That kind of sets like a cascade for

you to then start doing that internal

559

work and feeling better about yourself

and, and looking at yourself and, and

560

the issues you're going through in a

better light, not one that's going to

561

like bring you down more, but rather

you'll be able to look at it and

562

see like, where are you going wrong?

563

And what, what do you need to fix?

564

And what do you need to do better?

565

Um, and I think that's so important.

566

And, and, you know, physical movement

is a way of doing that as well.

567

Just anything that gets you and your

body moving and feeling better to

568

break up that cycle, because it's.

569

If you sit in that depressive state,

it's just going to eat you alive, you

570

know, and you're going to continue to

wallow in it and it's going to continue

571

to take you down and down and down.

572

And, uh, you know, especially if you're

surrounded with people that aren't helping

573

to uplift you and do things for you.

574

So I feel like the cold plunge, I

mean, it's great for many things,

575

but really it is such a, it's

an internal practice as well.

576

You have to, you have to still the mind.

577

It's going to make you

feel great afterwards.

578

It's, it's doing a good chunk of the

work, you know, and then, um, you

579

know, of course then you do, you have

to, you have to get real with yourself

580

afterwards and still think about,

you know, what you're going through.

581

But I, I just, I like the fact

that it really pulls you out

582

of that state, like physically.

583

And, uh, if any, for anyone that's

done a cold plunge, like, you know,

584

the high you feel for like two to four

hours afterwards is it's incredible.

585

So, um, yeah, I can only imagine

that that was a huge benefit for you.

586

Yeah, it definitely was.

587

I like what you're saying too.

588

You know, like there's exercise, exercise

for sure that creates a state change,

589

goal plunging creates a state change.

590

I think that's the most important thing

when you're, when you're in a, you

591

know, being depressed is just a state.

592

You're just in a depressed state, right?

593

Being anxious is a state.

594

Like you are not anxiety.

595

You are not depression.

596

Like that's not who you are.

597

Um, it's something you're experiencing.

598

It's a state that you're in.

599

And, um, just the same as, uh, you know,

feeling powerful is a state and it's up to

600

you to cultivate that state for yourself

and to be in that, in that energetic

601

state and in that energetic position.

602

And when you do things that, um,

limited or, or basically, you know,

603

um, take away your ability to enable

yourself to do those things, then

604

you're going to feel powerless.

605

You're going to feel like you

put yourself in a situation

606

where you're powerless a lot.

607

You're going to feel powerless if

you put yourself in a situation

608

where you feel powerful, you're like,

wow, I actually feel really good.

609

I'm proud of myself for overcoming that

challenging thing and that's the merit

610

behind exercise and plunge and even

doing sauna to the point of urgency.

611

Which I talk a lot about

is like understanding what

612

urgency feels like in the body.

613

When I coach people through sauna

and cold and even exercise now, at

614

what point are you feeling like you

urgently need to get out and what

615

does that feel like in your body?

616

And then understanding that

then allows you to push that a

617

little bit further down the road.

618

So like, okay, I feel urgent right now.

619

I'm going to connect to my breath.

620

I'm going to slow my breathing down.

621

I'm going to consciously navigate this.

622

And then you're like, Oh, that, that

feeling of urgency kind of goes away

623

and then it's going to come back again.

624

And then you go, okay,

that's what that feels like.

625

Pass it.

626

Eventually you have to get out.

627

Right?

628

It's too hot.

629

In the case of Asana, it's

too cold and cold plunging.

630

You've got to get out for your own

safety, but the first one to three waves

631

of urgency are definitely not going to

put you in, in the risk of, of danger.

632

Like you can absolutely get past that

first one, one to three waves of urgency.

633

And that's a great place to start

to figure out that threshold of

634

like, how do I respond to that?

635

To, you know, stress or this feeling

in the moment and then that parlays

636

into work, your social life, you got

to talk to your boss about something

637

that's, you know, not going great or

your relationship, you need to bring

638

up something that, you know, needs to

be addressed or even with your parents,

639

there's something that you need to

talk about, you urgently feel like

640

you don't want to do it, you know, and

then you like really do need to do it.

641

It gives you the ability to,

um, navigate those, those

642

situations and those scenarios.

643

Yeah.

644

Yeah.

645

And I mean, I think also the

mind is just so like, it wants to

646

keep the body comfortable, like

that's safe, safe and comfortable.

647

Yeah.

648

Right.

649

And I mean, like most of our

technology that we have right now

650

is I feel like purely based on

convenience and comfortability.

651

And, uh, which is nice.

652

It's definitely nice.

653

But, uh, yeah, it's, it's interesting

to notice that how the mind will work.

654

And like the second you get into the

cold plunge, like you'll see it on

655

people's faces when they don't expect it.

656

And they're like, Oh my God,

like I need to get out of here.

657

And it's just that immediate

like first thought.

658

And, uh, I think in most situations,

that first thought that arises,

659

it's usually not the best thought.

660

Like, it's usually not even like,

Like when you should really act on

661

you should usually like sit with that

for a couple seconds and see like

662

like analyze that and go from there.

663

Um, and I know like I was, uh, I

became certified as a yoga instructor

664

and like the last 11 days of our

training was purely meditation.

665

And so we would do these, uh,

like 2 hour morning sessions and

666

then we would do a 4 hour, uh,

evening session and, uh, I've like.

667

Literally before that probably meditated

like 30 minutes in one session, you

668

know, so there's nothing like that

And I just remember in the four hour

669

sessions like your mind wants to talk

so badly and just give you thoughts

670

that it there were times where I would

be meditating and I would have The most

671

vivid random memories of my childhood,

like me buying ice cream from the ice

672

cream man and I could remember like the

exact cost of the ice cream and like just

673

everything like down to the T and it was

just like, why, why am I thinking this?

674

But it was like the brain

was just trying to give you

675

anything that it possibly could.

676

And so it's just wild how how that

works and like finding out that you can

677

kind of become like a master of that

and not get like tied up in the it.

678

Thoughts that it's just throwing your

way, you know, and like not all of

679

them are really the best ones like I

think uh cold plunge is is super good

680

for that as well because it you have

to you have to like You have to ignore

681

that first thought of like, Oh my God,

get out of this water immediately.

682

This is a bad idea.

683

And same with heat.

684

You know, if once you get that,

that first threshold of, you know,

685

resistance, wherever that is, like

it could be six minutes in or 10

686

minutes in depending on how hot it is.

687

You, but when you hit that first

wave of like, Oh, it's too hot.

688

Like I really, I think, uh, cold has

become easier for me to navigate.

689

He is still pretty challenging for me.

690

Like I, I really want to get

out when I want to get out.

691

And so it's a good, it's almost like

the cold points all over again for me.

692

Cause it gives me the chance to

like push through that and be

693

like, Nope, you're staying in here.

694

You know.

695

Yeah, I love it.

696

That's so cool.

697

And sorry, Dom.

698

I know like, um, you had for the

listeners who don't know, like, I

699

know this obviously, but, um, you

had open heart surgery, correct?

700

Like, not that long ago.

701

Yeah.

702

Um, about, I guess, over 10 months

ago now, um, open heart surgery.

703

So I had my aortic valve

and my aortic root replaced.

704

Um, and I was, so I was born

with a, uh, a heart condition.

705

I had what was called a bicuspid valve.

706

So most people would have,

um, Um, like three leaflets.

707

I had two on my aorta

and I live a great life.

708

I had a, um, an emergency

surgery as an infant.

709

I had a repair done.

710

And then I lived this great life where

I really had minimal restrictions.

711

I was physically fit, physically active.

712

Um, and I was able to do,

you know, a lot of things.

713

And, um, I knew that the day would

come where I would have to have the

714

surgery and I'd have this, um, aorta.

715

Valve and this replacement surgery.

716

I did not know about the

root needing to be replaced.

717

I didn't even know that was a thing.

718

And so my story is in 2020 when the

pandemic hit, I really struggled with

719

depression, a state of depression

and a state of anxiety and a state

720

of feeling like I had kind of failed

my, my business was not doing well.

721

I hadn't set myself up financially.

722

I had to move out of this apartment

that I'd worked very hard, you know,

723

to live in, in Venice, California,

and I had to move in with my parents.

724

I was 31 and I really just kind of felt

like I had wasted my entire twenties.

725

I had done a lot of fun stuff and a

lot of cool stuff, but I felt like

726

I didn't have any real work to show

for, um, what I, what I'd done.

727

And there was a series of

situations that kind of.

728

The way they all landed at, I

was in a very, very rough spot.

729

I was incredibly broke.

730

I was in debt and I had to make

the tough call of like, all right,

731

I have to basically start over.

732

And in that time I really struggled

with, um, even wanting to, you

733

know, be alive and continue.

734

I, I wanted to just tap out.

735

I was like, well, it's too hard.

736

It's just too challenging.

737

Like, I don't feel like I, I don't think

I have it in me to, to do this again.

738

And I was able to find,

um, a reason to keep going.

739

And a huge piece of that was consistently

doing, you know, uh, cold exposure,

740

consistently exercising, really focusing

on the nutrition I put in my body.

741

Those things really added up.

742

Um, and I was able to pretty

quickly get out of that state.

743

Like within a few months I was able to get

out of that state and kind of completely

744

reframe like who I was, my whole identity.

745

I got incredibly strong,

worked out like nonstop.

746

I had a great, um, trainer that I was

working out with and put on a muscle

747

like I've never put on before, put on

strength like I've never had, but on

748

endurance that I'd never had before.

749

And then one day in the gym, mind

750

So it's.

751

Maybe six months after this whole

ordeal where I've been super depressed.

752

I've like come out of it And I've

now really found this a new identity

753

and being Fit and strong and capable.

754

And I had this moment in the gym where

I, I thought I was having a heart attack.

755

I was like, I'm having a

stroke or a heart attack.

756

Something's happening.

757

My vision's blurred.

758

And I walked up to the front counter

at the, at the gym and walking.

759

It was like in those movies where people

were intoxicated, you know, and it's like

760

the whole screen's kinda like shifting.

761

And you're like, whoa, whoa.

762

And I got there and I

held onto the counter.

763

And the guy that works at the gym,

he's like, you need something?

764

And I just stared at him and

I was like, I don't know.

765

And he was like, what?

766

He's like, all right, well, let

me know if you need something.

767

I was like, okay.

768

But in my mind, I was like,

do I have this guy call 911?

769

Like what's happening?

770

Um, and I'm like raising my right arm.

771

I'm like, okay, so it's not a stroke.

772

Like I got my face, you know,

like what's, what's happening?

773

I'm having a heart attack.

774

And so I went over to my gym bag.

775

I always carry aspirin with me

and I chewed up a couple aspirin.

776

And I was like, all right,

I guess I'll be okay.

777

And I recovered, but I didn't feel right.

778

All the blood drained out of my face.

779

My face was white.

780

Didn't feel right.

781

Went home, slept for 14 hours.

782

Woke up the next morning,

still didn't feel right.

783

I was like, something's way, way off here.

784

Um, so I called my cardiologist,

went and saw my cardiologist.

785

And found out that I had

this aneurysm in my aorta.

786

And they're like, hey, we don't know what

that whole thing was that just happened.

787

The whole incident.

788

But what we do know is that

you can't lift weights anymore.

789

And.

790

You're going to need

surgery sooner than later.

791

And it was a total gut punch because

here I am, you know, six months into

792

this sort of healing journey and, you

know, feeling like this new person, like

793

the world's in front, the world's my

oyster, like my mindset's strong, I can

794

do whatever I can take on any challenge.

795

And then it's like, Oh, the

big challenge now is like.

796

This whole identity that you've

just created, that's not who

797

you're going to be anymore.

798

You know, the doctor's saying like

explicitly don't lift more than

799

40 pounds, you know, and I'm, I

was like really proud of my head.

800

Like I just binged 205 the other day.

801

Like, you know, like I'm

hitting new records here.

802

Like I'm doing great.

803

And he's like, yeah, you can't do that.

804

That feeling was, You know, just

like, Whoa, who, who are you now?

805

Like, what are you, what's even the point.

806

And right, right there, it goes right

back to that feeling of like, okay,

807

I want to tap out, you know, like,

what's, what's the point of doing this.

808

And I, and I let myself

feel that for maybe a day.

809

And then I was like, no, I made a

commitment to myself that no matter how

810

hard things get, like, so then that's

where the mindset really came in.

811

And I was working with a

mindset coach at the time.

812

And that was an important, important

piece of this whole story is.

813

Um, as I was getting out of debt, as

I was working and building my, my life

814

back, I had the option to be a little

bit more comfortable or to spend the

815

extra money and work with a coach.

816

And I decided to invest money

into coaching and continue

817

living at my parents for free.

818

Um, which thank God that I had

parents that would let me live

819

with them, um, in my thirties.

820

But, uh, that, that was an important

piece cause I didn't know that

821

obviously this heart thing was going

to come down the pipeline like that.

822

And when I hit that point, I think

if I hadn't had the coach, it

823

really would have, I think it would

have been a lot harder for me.

824

I don't know what I would have done,

but I was able to take that moment and

825

go, okay, this is going to be fuel.

826

Like if I signed up for this

challenging life, then this is the

827

challenge that's in front of me.

828

And like, I get to take this on, like I

get to take this on, I get to overcome it.

829

And so I moved back to Los Angeles

and I joined a startup and the

830

startup failed within five months.

831

And I was like, man, this road is just

getting tough, you know, like I, I know

832

the surgery is coming down the pipeline,

mind you, I was still working out, but

833

I was no longer lifting heavyweights.

834

I was doing pretty, pretty lightweight

workouts, doing some hit, doing some

835

cardio stuff, but I was, I was watching,

watching it, um, started this ice

836

bath company doing concierge guided

ice bath experiences in Los Angeles.

837

And, um, a couple months into that

838

So it's been two full years since

I had my sort of depressive moment.

839

It's been a year since I found out about.

840

My, um, aortic aneurysm, I

find out that, uh, my valve,

841

my heart valve is now failing.

842

Like, oh man, like, now it's real, like,

because you can kind of sneak by with

843

aneurysm if you're not lifting heavy

weights, like, just see what happens.

844

But then when the valve starts to

fail, then it's like you're going to

845

end up in heart failure eventually.

846

And so the doctor recommended

surgery within three to six months.

847

And I was like, all right, let's

see if I can get through the summer.

848

And so I, I just poured the

gas on and I worked like crazy.

849

I did events nonstop.

850

I did, um, as much as I possibly

could getting my brand and

851

my new business out there.

852

And I didn't tell anyone about it.

853

I just kept doing my thing.

854

And, um, yeah, I found it to be

very fulfilling and then I finally

855

hit a point where I, you know,

could, could really notice that,

856

Hey, I'm, I'm not in good health.

857

Like I'd have to like take a minute and

catch my breath, like put my hands on my

858

knees and you know, that kind of thing.

859

Like you're doing these deep

breaths, trying to catch your breath,

860

shortness of breath was crazy.

861

Um, a lot of, you know, you

get lightheaded and weird heart

862

palpitations and just feeling

like you can't keep up that, that

863

started happening more and more.

864

Yeah.

865

And, um, I eventually, you know, I

said, all right, let's do this surgery.

866

And so I had the surgery last year

867

I had a great surgeon and,

um, I'm fully recovered now.

868

Yeah, dude.

869

I mean, amazing and happy.

870

Everything went smooth for you.

871

And it's crazy.

872

Cause like to hear the backstory, I

was just seeing from my end, like,

873

yeah, you were just going after it.

874

Like, you know, I had had zero idea about

what was going on behind the scenes, but.

875

Really happy everything worked out

and I mean, uh, like just out of

876

curiosity it with your heart condition

Like were you able to still do

877

like ice baths and sauna sessions?

878

Did you have to take it

easy with those as well?

879

Yeah, so that's really interesting

thing I think there's more and more

880

research coming out now and people

have a better like doctors have a

881

better opinion on it You definitely

are going to have an increase in

882

blood pressure when you do a plunge.

883

It's going to, your blood

pressure is going to go up.

884

Especially if you do breathwork first.

885

You know, if you're doing like a Wim

your blood pressure is going to increase.

886

You're going to have a

higher blood pressure number.

887

And it's going to come back down, and

over time, if you do this consistently,

888

over time, it's going to actually lower

your, your average blood pressure.

889

So it's, the long term effect is great.

890

Short term effect is, it's, it's an

acute moment of increased blood pressure.

891

That was a huge concern for me having

the aneurysm because you, you know,

892

you're worried that if you have too high

a blood pressure that this thing could

893

eventually burst or you could die, right?

894

And so if anyone has a heart condition,

um, or specifically an aneurysm or

895

anything that's related to high blood

pressure, uh, cold plunging is probably

896

not advised and, you know, extreme

breathwork, like a holotropic breathwork.

897

Also proceed with caution, um, things

you don't have to do those types of

898

breath work to, to get the benefit.

899

You can do slow breathing and you can

do other, other techniques that are a

900

little more parasympathetic and not,

not going to quite increase it as much.

901

Um, the same thing with cold,

you don't need to do it as cold.

902

So what I found was.

903

I was having what's called these,

um, pre ventricle contractions.

904

They, it's basically like the muscle

squeezing kind of like a little bit off.

905

So it's, it's not arrhythmia,

but it's just the contractions

906

happening a little bit off.

907

And it feels gross.

908

Like you can feel it for me,

I feel it like in my throat.

909

It feels kind of like a

rollercoaster, like a whoop dee

910

doo, like, Oh, not a good feeling.

911

And when I would plunge, that

would happen pretty consistently.

912

And so I found myself doing.

913

Um, less plunging, but also the, you know,

or ice baths, but the, the thing that I

914

really noticed was, um, how rested I was

going into it totally, uh, changed how

915

stressful the environment was and how

well my heart could handle the stress.

916

So that was really interesting thing

for me to notice as a coach was like,

917

Oh, if I'm, if I'm not rested or if

I'm stressed going into this, it's

918

significantly more stressful on my body.

919

Um, that was the first thing.

920

The second thing was diet.

921

If I, and I was doing a lot of.

922

A lot of stuff where I would fast in

the morning and be kind of kind of

923

doing a keto diet and fast a lot and

then I would, you know, eat in a short

924

eight hour window or a six hour window.

925

And that also made it worse for

me, um, if I, if I plunged without

926

having carbohydrates in my system.

927

So I found that, um, if I had

fuel in my system, it seemed to

928

be like less of an impact on me.

929

But if I, if I was going and fasted,

it was noticeably more strenuous.

930

Um, and that's my, my personal experience.

931

I'm not sure if everyone else feels

that way, but I think there's definitely

932

a correlation to like your blood

sugar levels, blood glucose levels.

933

and how basically your entire system is,

is responding to the stressor of cold,

934

especially when it's like super cold.

935

And by super cold, I mean

like under 40 degrees.

936

Um, I think it's, it can be, it can

definitely be taxing on the heart.

937

And when your heart's healthy,

that's good because it's going,

938

it's going to improve your HRV.

939

So that heart rate variability is going

to change your ability for your heart

940

rate to come down and then go up high

and adjust to these different stimuli.

941

I think that's really, really important.

942

Donna has been shown to do

that, you know, as well.

943

And it's.

944

Um, yeah, I definitely had to slow

down a little bit and that first

945

plunge coming back from the surgery,

that was, that was the one that I was,

946

I find the most nervous for that of

any plunge in my entire life, to be

947

honest, like I've jumped in icy cold

lakes and rivers and broken the ice

948

and, you know, done the whole thing.

949

I think that was the, the toughest one

coming back from the surgery because I

950

was like, Oh man, like, am I going to

have that kind of sickening feeling that

951

I was having before or like, I love this.

952

Practice.

953

I love doing this thing and I know

it's good for me and I, it's truthfully

954

saved my life because it's put me

in this right mindset so many times.

955

And I've used it as such a, like

a tool and I was really concerned.

956

Like, what if I get in and like, I

feel that again and I can't do it.

957

You know, doctors are like, you

know, they don't really know.

958

They're like, yeah, if it, if it

makes you not feel good, don't do it.

959

No, they're not.

960

They're not a proponent of like, yeah,

you're going to get a 250 percent increase

961

in dopamine and you're going to get all

this norepinephrine and then all of these

962

other mechanisms are going to happen.

963

You're going to feel great and you're

going to feel motivated and you're

964

going to burn brown fat and like.

965

They don't care.

966

They're not going to

say anything about that.

967

They're like, yeah, don't, don't

do it if it doesn't feel good.

968

And so here I am like, okay,

you know, this one, I was

969

like, handled it pretty well.

970

I did like a two minute plunge.

971

I think it was 45 degrees.

972

And I shivered uncontrollably

for like 30 minutes.

973

I was like, you know, like it was

like starting over completely.

974

Um, which was pretty wild.

975

Um, and part of that, what I

didn't know is part of that is

976

after a major surgery like that,

you're especially a heart surgery.

977

You can have a hard time

regulating temperature.

978

And I actually had that, I had a

very rare reaction to the surgery.

979

When your heart sac is punctured, um, from

a surgery pericardium, you can develop

980

this Very odd, uh, autoimmune response

where your heart, your basically your body

981

thinks that your heart is being attacked

by a virus and it'll basically fire up

982

your, you know, defense mechanism of a

fever to try to kill whatever that is.

983

But the truth is, you just have some

inflammation because you, it was, you

984

know, cut or punctured from the surgery.

985

And so I had these crazy in the

hospital, I had these crazy fevers

986

that were happening like, you know,

days after the surgery and these fevers

987

would come on right about sunset.

988

And as soon as it's getting

dark, I have these crazy fevers,

989

shivering uncontrollably, sweating

uncontrollably, so uncomfortable.

990

And the nurses, um, in the, in the,

like the cardiac recovery ward that

991

I was in, they misdiagnosed it.

992

They thought that I was having

an allergic reaction to the

993

narcotic drugs, the painkillers.

994

And they're like, Hey, like the

only way to navigate this is like,

995

you gotta come off of them or

like just deal with the fevers.

996

And I was like, I, I

can't do these fevers.

997

Like I have to, is your,

your sternum has been split.

998

So you're imagine shivering

uncontrollably with like, you know,

999

your entire chest has been split open.

00:52:04,183 --> 00:52:05,923

I was like, yeah, I, I

can't do this anymore.

00:52:05,983 --> 00:52:10,813

And it was so bad that, um, you have

to wear these, these EKG monitors, you

00:52:10,813 --> 00:52:13,593

know, they have the stickies all over

your chest and they're, they're doing

00:52:13,913 --> 00:52:15,773

a nine point or 12 point lead on you.

00:52:15,783 --> 00:52:19,453

I think it's a nine point, uh, lead

nine, nine, you know, points of

00:52:19,453 --> 00:52:24,343

contact that you measure your, all

your vitals, um, and your heart.

00:52:24,653 --> 00:52:25,143

Rhythms.

00:52:26,433 --> 00:52:28,953

And I would sweat those things off

like three, four times a night.

00:52:29,773 --> 00:52:30,643

Oh my God.

00:52:30,773 --> 00:52:34,203

And they'd have to like, come in and like,

dry me off and like restate, reapply them.

00:52:34,743 --> 00:52:37,993

And on the fourth night

I was like, I'm done.

00:52:38,103 --> 00:52:41,553

Like, take, take me

off of this painkiller.

00:52:41,573 --> 00:52:44,193

I'm just going to face this

thing with Tylenol alone.

00:52:44,663 --> 00:52:45,943

So I had Tylenol.

00:52:46,493 --> 00:52:52,503

And, um, that was it and it was like,

it was like a pain cave moment for sure,

00:52:53,033 --> 00:52:57,483

where you just kind of enter another

dimension of like existence, right?

00:52:57,493 --> 00:53:03,703

The pain is so extreme because I

still had the fever, had no painkiller

00:53:04,073 --> 00:53:07,933

and I'm shivering uncontrollably

and it was kind of like, I see.

00:53:07,933 --> 00:53:10,803

It's like, that was my David

Goggins moment of like the hurt me.

00:53:10,803 --> 00:53:15,983

Like, when, once I wrap my head around,

it's Okay, this, this isn't going to

00:53:15,983 --> 00:53:21,013

get any easier, but like, also, you

can't, I don't think you could hurt me

00:53:21,013 --> 00:53:22,793

more than how much this hurts right now.

00:53:24,043 --> 00:53:24,633

This is it.

00:53:24,643 --> 00:53:31,553

Like this is, I've tapped into a

new threshold and I, I, um, I kept

00:53:31,553 --> 00:53:34,343

getting up in the middle of the night

cause I was still sweating through.

00:53:34,713 --> 00:53:36,683

You know, all my clothes and

the sheets and they changed

00:53:36,683 --> 00:53:38,243

the bedding 3 times that night.

00:53:38,743 --> 00:53:41,723

And the 4th time that they came

in, I was like, I'm getting up

00:53:41,913 --> 00:53:42,943

and I'm, I'm going to stay up.

00:53:42,973 --> 00:53:49,373

So, it was 4 am and I think it's like

4 30 am and the sunrise at the time.

00:53:49,373 --> 00:53:50,043

This is the last year.

00:53:50,043 --> 00:53:51,143

The sunrise is it's.

00:53:51,573 --> 00:53:52,433

close to 8 AM.

00:53:53,713 --> 00:53:55,563

And I was like, I'm just going

to stay up for the sunrise.

00:53:55,603 --> 00:53:59,663

And so I just sat in the dark and just

looked out these mountains that I grew

00:53:59,663 --> 00:54:02,633

up looking at, you know, in my hometown

and I'm just sitting in the hospital.

00:54:02,683 --> 00:54:06,263

Thankfully I had this window, I had this

amazing window that looks out towards,

00:54:06,983 --> 00:54:11,113

um, The East where the sun comes up right

behind these mountains, and I grew up

00:54:11,113 --> 00:54:14,193

hiking these mountains and running them

and doing tons of activities on them.

00:54:14,223 --> 00:54:18,063

You know, I think this is my home and

I'm just sitting there waiting for it.

00:54:18,083 --> 00:54:22,023

And the sun finally came up and it was

like, such a moment of victory for me

00:54:22,093 --> 00:54:26,843

because I mentally had overcome, you

know, I was still physically extremely,

00:54:27,133 --> 00:54:28,673

but mentally overcome this moment.

00:54:29,003 --> 00:54:32,663

Um, and the sun came up and I was

like, man, life gets better, you know,

00:54:32,663 --> 00:54:37,643

and then she got out of the hospital

that day, went home that day and.

00:54:38,198 --> 00:54:40,858

Stayed off of the painkillers

and, uh, made a full recovery.

00:54:41,668 --> 00:54:42,348

Jeez.

00:54:42,548 --> 00:54:47,578

I, I can only imagine

what that would feel like.

00:54:47,828 --> 00:54:53,728

First off, having your sternum split

open is gotta be insanely painful.

00:54:53,748 --> 00:54:56,938

But then on top of that, the

shivers, where it's this full

00:54:56,938 --> 00:54:59,103

body uncontrollable shake.

00:54:59,613 --> 00:55:04,083

Like, oh my god, that's, yeah,

that's gotta be so terribly painful.

00:55:04,913 --> 00:55:08,883

The craziest part is the, uh,

the cardiologist comes in, you

00:55:08,883 --> 00:55:11,793

know, discharged me later that,

that, that day and he's like,

00:55:12,553 --> 00:55:13,823

They didn't give you ibuprofen?

00:55:14,378 --> 00:55:17,188

I was like, they said I couldn't have

it because of, you know, the valve.

00:55:17,248 --> 00:55:19,048

And they're like, no,

it's a different surgery.

00:55:19,048 --> 00:55:19,858

You can totally have it.

00:55:20,888 --> 00:55:21,038

Wow.

00:55:21,133 --> 00:55:24,788

They'll, they'll, it'll reduce the fever

and it'll make the shivers less bad.

00:55:25,598 --> 00:55:26,948

And I was like, are you, you kidding?

00:55:26,948 --> 00:55:28,898

Like, yeah, just don't, just

don't take it with the Tylenol.

00:55:28,988 --> 00:55:31,738

And I'm like, they're like, you

wanna go back on the Dilaudid?

00:55:31,738 --> 00:55:34,828

And I was like, at this point I've

already been off of it for 16 hours.

00:55:34,833 --> 00:55:35,458

Like, I'm good.

00:55:35,898 --> 00:55:36,198

Yeah.

00:55:36,203 --> 00:55:38,298

I'm just going to, I'll

just get through it now.

00:55:38,298 --> 00:55:38,718

You know?

00:55:39,258 --> 00:55:39,588

Yeah.

00:55:40,888 --> 00:55:41,578

. Oh my God.

00:55:41,578 --> 00:55:42,628

That's crazy, man.

00:55:42,808 --> 00:55:43,379

Yeah, it's, uh.

00:55:44,068 --> 00:55:48,718

The whole, the whole issue with the heart,

um, kind of makes me curious with my

00:55:48,718 --> 00:55:52,468

dad as well, because, uh, I don't think,

yeah, my dad's ever done a cold plunge.

00:55:52,478 --> 00:55:58,448

He's done a lot of sauna, but he, uh,

probably like 20 years ago now, I want

00:55:58,448 --> 00:56:03,258

to say maybe 15, he was diagnosed with,

um, I don't even know what the proper

00:56:03,258 --> 00:56:05,348

term is for it, but half of his heart.

00:56:05,608 --> 00:56:11,878

Works more than the other half does and

so, um, he gets like irregular heartbeats

00:56:12,188 --> 00:56:16,278

uh you know just if he puts his hand

on his heart sometimes he can listen to

00:56:16,278 --> 00:56:22,503

and it's just like Doom, doom, doom, you

know, kind of like a real offbeat one.

00:56:22,503 --> 00:56:26,893

And, um, over time, what's wild

is he's actually, so he was taking

00:56:26,893 --> 00:56:31,063

medication for a while for it

and saw no improvement with it.

00:56:31,783 --> 00:56:35,773

And then he radically changed his diet.

00:56:35,823 --> 00:56:39,343

Like, I mean, I don't want to give myself

like major kudos here, but for sure, I was

00:56:39,343 --> 00:56:41,093

providing him with a lot of information.

00:56:42,373 --> 00:56:42,623

Yeah.

00:56:42,623 --> 00:56:45,933

And, and just, you know, talk, telling

him about all these different health hacks

00:56:45,933 --> 00:56:51,083

that he can do, um, started having him

take a bunch of raw cacao, which has a

00:56:51,083 --> 00:56:54,233

lot of just heart healthy, uh, minerals.

00:56:54,393 --> 00:56:54,823

Yeah.

00:56:54,823 --> 00:56:56,523

Super, super beneficial for the heart.

00:56:56,883 --> 00:57:00,203

Um, and yeah, so he started changing

his lifestyle, changing his diet.

00:57:00,553 --> 00:57:04,953

Taking the cacao and along with a bunch

of other things and um, I mean, I never

00:57:04,953 --> 00:57:09,953

advised him to do this He's just kind

of a freaking maverick sometimes and he

00:57:09,953 --> 00:57:13,933

decided to stop taking his medications

Which I don't advise of course, like

00:57:13,933 --> 00:57:18,863

I'm not yeah, not telling anyone to do

that, but he did and Anyways, he was

00:57:18,863 --> 00:57:23,383

just kind of changing his lifestyle and

I I don't know what the measurements

00:57:23,393 --> 00:57:28,618

are But I just know that he was at a

10% In terms of like, very bad right?

00:57:28,618 --> 00:57:29,908

And like a hundred percent being best.

00:57:29,908 --> 00:57:32,998

And he's currently at a 40 or a 45%.

00:57:33,738 --> 00:57:34,008

Yeah.

00:57:34,008 --> 00:57:35,628

And he's just like improved it over time.

00:57:35,628 --> 00:57:40,708

And so, but it, it makes me wonder like

maybe the cold plunge, or at least a

00:57:40,708 --> 00:57:45,253

really intense cold plunge might not

be the best thing for a heart patient.

00:57:45,253 --> 00:57:45,493

Yeah.

00:57:45,653 --> 00:57:46,528

Probably not the best thing.

00:57:46,798 --> 00:57:49,858

And you can also just do like 60

degree water, you know, it doesn't

00:57:49,858 --> 00:57:50,998

have to, it doesn't have to.

00:57:50,998 --> 00:57:52,228

I think everyone thinks that.

00:57:52,758 --> 00:57:55,428

To get the benefit, it has to

be the coldest thing possible.

00:57:55,428 --> 00:57:57,068

And I don't agree with that at all.

00:57:57,248 --> 00:58:02,158

There's there's benefit, you know, even

in the low fifties, there's benefit.

00:58:03,078 --> 00:58:08,088

Anytime that it's an uncomfortable stimuli

and it's shocking to you, you know, and

00:58:08,088 --> 00:58:10,068

you're like, Whoa, that's really cold.

00:58:10,638 --> 00:58:11,838

You're getting the benefit.

00:58:12,228 --> 00:58:13,738

Of course, you're going

to probably have like.

00:58:14,203 --> 00:58:17,503

You know, a greater reduction in

inflammation if it's, if it's colder,

00:58:17,503 --> 00:58:22,883

colder, like if it's 40 degrees or,

you know, closer to freezing, um,

00:58:23,033 --> 00:58:25,803

there's probably a greater impact

on reduction of inflammation.

00:58:25,803 --> 00:58:30,723

But in terms of like the, the general

benefit, like you are anytime it's

00:58:30,723 --> 00:58:36,403

cold and you're, you're having these,

um, these autonomic responses, then

00:58:36,693 --> 00:58:39,383

you're getting benefit, you know,

so you can, you can do it just.

00:58:39,563 --> 00:58:41,033

It's just a cool shower.

00:58:41,033 --> 00:58:43,823

A cold shower is also a

great, a great starting point.

00:58:44,473 --> 00:58:47,773

And I don't think the goal with someone

with a heart condition is to ever get

00:58:47,773 --> 00:58:50,953

down into the, like these freezing

temperatures and the Wim Hof type thing

00:58:50,953 --> 00:58:52,603

where you're jumping into frozen lakes.

00:58:52,873 --> 00:58:57,383

You know, I've done it and I'm, I'm

not really in pursuit of that now.

00:58:57,503 --> 00:58:59,723

I'm more in pursuit, pursuit of longevity.

00:59:00,023 --> 00:59:01,058

But that's where sauna comes in.

00:59:01,058 --> 00:59:06,423

And I think sauna's, you know, the

most, um, compelling modality for

00:59:06,423 --> 00:59:07,563

someone with a heart condition.

00:59:07,953 --> 00:59:10,053

You know, the studies show

over and over again, there's.

00:59:10,113 --> 00:59:19,413

I think it's like 48 percent reduction,

um, and massive decline in the likelihood

00:59:19,413 --> 00:59:24,383

of you developing a neurological,

um, uh, condition like Alzheimer's or

00:59:24,383 --> 00:59:29,483

dementia, uh, anything, anything involving

like brain plaque or basically, um,

00:59:29,493 --> 00:59:33,843

neurodegenerative diseases is greatly

reduced when you sauna consistently

00:59:34,643 --> 00:59:39,613

cardiovascular health greatly improved and

that's just from doing, you know, four,

00:59:39,683 --> 00:59:43,853

four or five sessions a week, um, um, uh,

For 20 minutes, like, it's not, it's not

00:59:43,853 --> 00:59:49,653

crazy to do a crazy commitment and there's

huge longevity benefits to doing it.

00:59:49,943 --> 00:59:53,403

So I'm a huge proponent for sauna for

anyone with any kind of heart condition,

00:59:53,833 --> 00:59:58,343

lowers your blood pressure, increases

your HRV, you're going to sleep better

00:59:58,573 --> 01:00:00,203

all around, like, kind of a miracle.

01:00:01,113 --> 01:00:02,123

Modality for you.

01:00:03,223 --> 01:00:08,443

Yeah, sauna sauna is like definitely

one of my favorite, uh, health

01:00:08,443 --> 01:00:10,663

hacks because it's enjoyable.

01:00:10,833 --> 01:00:12,513

I mean, up to a degree, obviously.

01:00:12,513 --> 01:00:12,703

Right?

01:00:12,703 --> 01:00:13,423

Like if you have a.

01:00:14,268 --> 01:00:15,548

200 degree sauna.

01:00:15,598 --> 01:00:19,818

Like it's intense, but you gotta come

over to my place and we gotta do a sesh.

01:00:20,108 --> 01:00:21,418

I can't believe we haven't done one yet.

01:00:21,848 --> 01:00:23,308

It's, it's pretty ridiculous, Dom.

01:00:24,118 --> 01:00:27,038

No, you gotta, you gotta come over

and do one of these crazy sessions.

01:00:27,288 --> 01:00:27,648

It's funny.

01:00:27,648 --> 01:00:30,218

Cause I'll, I'll start,

it's always the same too.

01:00:30,218 --> 01:00:32,978

I'm like, Oh, let's do like a couple

of rounds and see how we feel.

01:00:33,398 --> 01:00:35,298

And then I'm like, you want to

do like four more, you know,

01:00:36,358 --> 01:00:37,788

how can we get this thing?

01:00:37,788 --> 01:00:39,878

And then, you know, it's next

thing, you know, it's like.

01:00:40,078 --> 01:00:42,918

210 degrees and you're

physically burning in there and

01:00:42,918 --> 01:00:44,428

you're like, this is terrible.

01:00:44,988 --> 01:00:45,318

Yeah.

01:00:45,588 --> 01:00:45,828

Yeah.

01:00:45,868 --> 01:00:47,928

I'm, I'm absolutely down for it though.

01:00:47,928 --> 01:00:51,358

When you, uh, when you get back, give me

a heads up and, and I'll come on over.

01:00:51,728 --> 01:00:52,428

Thousand percent.

01:00:52,468 --> 01:00:52,768

Yeah.

01:00:52,778 --> 01:00:53,658

I'd love to make that happen.

01:00:54,398 --> 01:00:54,668

Yeah.

01:00:55,098 --> 01:00:55,378

Yeah.

01:00:55,418 --> 01:00:56,038

That'd be fun.

01:00:56,558 --> 01:00:58,708

I love a good, I love a

good contrast session.

01:00:58,718 --> 01:01:03,778

And I I, that's the thing is I, I

still have not developed the muscle

01:01:03,778 --> 01:01:05,438

to say like, okay, that's enough.

01:01:05,588 --> 01:01:07,318

Like I always am like, yeah,

let's do one more round.

01:01:07,418 --> 01:01:10,768

Let's do one more, you know, it feels

like they get shorter and shorter

01:01:10,768 --> 01:01:11,458

and shorter, but they're like.

01:01:12,093 --> 01:01:14,423

You're still stressing the body,

you know, like the next day of my

01:01:14,423 --> 01:01:16,023

recovery is like, Hey, you overdid it.

01:01:16,043 --> 01:01:17,413

Like no kidding.

01:01:18,323 --> 01:01:20,453

It's been an hour and 20

minutes at 200 degrees.