Summer Bathing at Navia Bathhouse

Lucia Wilkinson
Nov 7
2 min read

Why the cold pool is your best friend this season

Person in a black swimsuit steps into a circular spa bath on dimly lit stone steps. Modern, relaxing ambiance with soft shadows.

There's something delicious about the contrast of seeking out cold water when Byron Bay summer wraps itself around you. When the air is already warm, when the ocean is right there, when the last thing you think you need is more heat.

Yet here we are, inviting you into exactly that: heat and cold, sauna and ice bath, the ancient practice of contrast therapy just as summer begins.

And before you think "that's not for me in this weather", we want to share why summer might actually be the perfect time to discover what Nordic cultures have known for centuries.

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Why Cold Water in Summer?

In Finland, in Sweden, in Norway, they practice contrast therapy year-round. Not despite the seasons, but because of them. They understand that the body doesn't just need cooling in summer, it needs recalibration.

The constant warmth of an Australian summer can leave you feeling sluggish, your internal thermostat confused, your energy slowly leaking away. The cold plunge offers something different. It's a reset button. A way to remind your body how to regulate itself.

At Navia, our cold pool sits at 8-10 degrees, while our ice bath holds steady at 0-3 degrees. After the 80-degree heat of our Finnish sauna, that cold becomes medicine. Not punishment. Not torture. Just pure, crystalline clarity.

What Summer Cold Plunging Gives You

Better Sleep in the Heat

Regular cold exposure improves your overall temperature regulation, making it easier to sleep comfortably even on warm nights.

Energy without the Crash

That post-plunge clarity and alertness isn't just in your head. Cold water immersion activates your sympathetic nervous system, giving you natural, sustainable energy without the crash of caffeine.

Post-Beach Recovery

Been surfing? Walking in the sun? Your body wants support returning to homeostasis. Cold water is nature's answer.

Cooling that Lasts

Unlike a lukewarm shower that leaves you sweating minutes later, cold immersion helps your body regulate temperature more effectively for hours afterward.

Start your Summer Routine Now

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Our community members have made contrast bathing their weekly anchor. Friday afternoons after work. Sunday mornings catch ups. Tuesday evenings when the week feels heavy.

It becomes ritual. Not because you have to, but because you remember how good it feels to come back to yourself. To reset your system. To walk out feeling clearer, calmer, more present than when you walked in.

This is what summer bathing offers: not escape from the heat, but a way to move through it with more ease. Not avoidance of discomfort, but the practice of meeting it with breath and trust.

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Your Summer Sanctuary

So while others seek air conditioning and cold drinks (and please, do enjoy those too), we invite you to discover a different kind of cooling. One that doesn't just lower your temperature but elevates your vitality. One that doesn't numb you to the heat but helps you move through it with more ease and grace.

The cold pool isn't your enemy in summer. It's your ally. Your way of honouring both Nordic wisdom and Australian sun. A bridge between traditions, between seasons, between the you who walks in warm and the you who emerges renewed.

Book Your Summer Bathing Session

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON

Wellness is better when its shared