Gulf of Riga method of developing resistance to the cold

Developing resistance to the cold is a procedure that improves health, and balances psycho-emotional state. It is important to develop resistance to the cold at early age, when a child is just beginning to form physically and emotionally. In the 1980s, a Gulf of Riga technique for developing resistance to the cold was developed specially for preschoolers.

What is the Gulf of Riga method of developing resistance to the cold?

The name of the method came from the Baltic states, where children have been noticed to be resistant to the cold and respiratory diseases after they run barefoot on the cool water and sand of the Riga seaside.

This method is based on the three tracks of coarse linen (burlap, sackcloth, etc.), each 0.4 m wide and 1.5 m long. One of them is moisturized in 10% sodium chloride solution (1 kg of salt per bucket of water) of indoor temperature. Another track gets wet in unsalted water of indoor temperature. The third track remains dry. The tracks are lined on the floor in the following sequence: a salt track, a track moistened with plain water and a dry one.

Children walk in turn along all three tracks. The walking can be repeated 2-3 times and combined with a walking on a ribbed board or on the "Health Path".

The "Health Path" is a strip of fabric with small objects: buttons, beads, braided ropes, cords and other objects that are safe for the child. Such paths are used to prevent flat-foot and stimulate foot receptors.