It started with a run in the forest.
March.
Lithuania.
Still cold.
I was running through the trees when suddenly I felt an urge I couldn’t ignore.
Jump into the lake.
No towel.
No plan.
No preparation.
Just cold water.
And yet… it felt right.
So I did it.
The moment I hit the water something strange happened.
Instead of shock, there was clarity.
Silence.
Presence.
I felt completely alive.
And in that moment a message appeared in my mind — clear and simple:
“Jump into water at least once a week.
No matter the weather.
Do it for a year.”
So I did.
A Year of Cold Water
Every week.
Sometimes after a forest run.
Sometimes before sunrise.
Often completely alone.
Lakes around Vilnius and Molėtai became my playground.
Run → swim → breathe → repeat.
Some mornings were magical.
Fog rising from the lake.
The first light touching the water.
Absolute silence.
Other mornings were… less romantic.
Snow.
Wind.
Rain.
Sometimes all three at once.
(Lithuania has a special talent for that.)
When It Gets Really Cold
Winter arrived.
Temperatures dropped to –17°C.
Friends started saying things like:
“You’ll get sick.”
“You’re overdoing it.”
“This isn’t normal.”
But something unexpected happened.
I felt stronger than ever.
Not once did I catch a cold.
Instead I started noticing something new.
I could feel my body much more clearly.
Especially the moment when cold approached the limit.
That awareness became a powerful tool I still use today.
The Ice Swimming Community
Cold water also introduced me to an incredible community.
At one of the lakes I met Simonas, president of the Lithuanian Healthy People Association (Sveikuolių sąjunga).
A wonderful human being.
He invited me to join their 30-day winter ice-swimming challenge.
Every day.
Jump into freezing water.
The challenge started at Balsys Lake and finished in Trakai, where an ice swimming pool is cut into the lake for races.
Sometimes we even had TV crews filming the madness.
But the atmosphere was unforgettable.
What looks extreme from the outside often becomes a celebration once people come together.
Lithuania’s Secret Morning Clubs
One of the most fascinating discoveries was this:
Nearly every town in Lithuania has ice swimming groups.
Early morning communities.
People who meet at lakes before work.
They reopen frozen swimming holes.
Support each other.
Laugh.
Test whether the water is still wet.
(Spoiler: it usually is.)
What Cold Water Really Teaches You
At first it looks like a physical challenge.
But the real transformation happens somewhere else.
Breathing.
Focus.
Presence.
Cold water forces you to be exactly where you are.
There is no room for overthinking.
You either breathe… or you panic.
The Wim Hof Chapter
In August 2020 I decided to deepen the experience and attended a Wim Hof Method training.
It added another dimension.
Breathing techniques.
Cold exposure science.
Mind-body connection.
But interestingly, the most important lesson had already started months earlier.
In that forest.
With a spontaneous jump into a cold Lithuanian lake.
What I Learned
Cold water was never really about the cold.
It was about reconnecting with nature.
Learning to listen to the body.
Understanding the delicate balance between mind, breath, and physiology.
And discovering that sometimes the most powerful habits begin with a simple impulse:
Jump in.
Curious about something:
Have you ever done something that seemed slightly crazy at first, but ended up becoming one of the best habits of your life?
Through wet and cold,
Audrius
