Cold Outside, Choice Inside
Whether you want clarity or ease, your breath can help – regardless of the temperature
It’s been cold.
And yes, I live in Miami, so let’s get that out of the way right now.
Miami cold means people panic-buy sweaters, break out the earmuffs for a walk on the beach, and talk about the weather with the intensity usually reserved for hurricanes.
Is that as cold as it’s been for some of you? Absolutely not.
Does my nervous system know that? Also no.
That first step outside in the morning still comes with the same reflexive response: a quick hitch in the breath, shoulders shooting up to my ears, my jaw tightening before I’ve even finished thinking “brrrrr”.
Cold – whether it’s real or relative – always gets your attention.
Why Cold Sharpens and Warm Soothes
Physiologically, cold nudges the nervous system toward alertness. Dopamine (the pleasure and motivation hormone) and norepinephrine (an action hormone) production increase. As a result, your focus sharpens and you wake up.
That’s why a brisk walk helps when your brain feels like oatmeal. Why people voluntarily sit in ice baths and talk about it as character-building.
Cold air can feel clarifying. Heat, on the other hand, does something else entirely.
Heat supports endorphins (your pain relief and well-being hormones). It signals safety and tells the nervous system it can soften its grip. That’s why we reach for hot showers, blankets, and warm drinks when we’re overwhelmed or wrung out.
Different inputs. Different chemistry. Different states.
Now, as your mom always told you, you can’t control the weather (or was it just my mom that always said that?).
But you can work with your biology to mimic some of the state shifts cold or heat create within your nervous system. And your breath can help.
Get the Effect Without the Experience
Let’s talk about two different breaths.
Not to “lean into winter” or “pretend it’s summer”. But to choose the nervous system state you want to inhabit.
Borrowing Cold’s Edge
Here’s a breath for clarity, motivation, and that snap-awake feeling we associate with cold. It’s a great one for when you feel foggy, flat, or mentally sluggish.
Inhale through your nose a little more briskly than usual. Be assertive with it. Let it lift your chest a little. This is a short, shallow inhale.
And then exhale through your mouth with a little bit of force. Imagine letting out a quick puff of air to be able to see the vapor.
Try it for a set of 20 breaths to help your nervous system come back online. Keep your breathing controlled, not frantic, and if you feel yourself getting too lightheaded, stop.
Notice what shifts.
Heat Without the Blanket
This extended box breath is for creating the internal conditions we associate with warmth: steadiness, containment, and the sense that nothing is urgently required of you. It’s a simple rhythm:
Inhale through your nose for 5.
Hold gently for 5.
Exhale through your nose for 5.
Hold again for 5.
Repeat for a minute or three.
You can adjust the count if you feel strained, but the shape of the breath matters here. Everything is even. That symmetry gives the nervous system a clear signal of safety and support – the same signal physical warmth tends to provide. You’re giving your system a stable, enclosed rhythm and letting it respond on its own.
How Do You Want to Feel?
When people seek out cold exposure, they’re often looking for dopamine, clarity, and momentum. When they crave warmth, they’re wanting relief, endorphins, and ease.
Whichever one you’re looking for, breath gives you choice. Instead of leaving regulation to chance, you can meet your nervous system where it is and guide it where it needs to go.
Even if it’s “freezing” in Miami… or actually freezing where you are… you can work with your biology to feel however you want to feel.
Any day of the year.
Last Gasp
“You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”
— Cora L.V. Hatch
For more simple, practical ways to tune your nervous system quickly with your breath, download your free “5 Breaths to Change How You Feel in 5 Minutes” kit.