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Back in the water. When in doubt about your physical or mental health, go swimming. Go have a dip in the sea. Or in the pool, or in a lake. When was the last time you confronted the water with courage?
The water cleans the soul - and I have set my intention to do just this. I used to swim competitively when I was a teenager; to be honest though, I was never super fast because I always did other sports and swimming was a skill I kept in my back pocket to fall back upon when I was injured. What I loved about swimming was the early morning wake-ups, the long sessions of pulling, kicking and holding my breath, and the discipline it took to get up every day.
Little bit like yoga!
Swimmers spend anywhere from two to five hours in the pool a day: and this is what I I loved: the training component of the sport, the repetition: up at 4:30am, in the water by 5 am and then back in the water after school. I enjoyed the training more than the competition side of it.
Swimmers are yogis in many ways: they are breathing and constantly counting their breaths and strokes; they are using their limbs to combat the massive force of gravity and water to stay afloat and they are also tackling death (for swimmers this isn’t scary, but for most people, being in the water is life-threatening).
One year I competed in the 200m Butterfly; I won my heat in the daring lane 4, however when I hit the wall to complete the final portion of the 50 meter, I vomited everywhere.
Embarrassed that I had just did the most awful thing anyone could do - vomit in a public swimming pool, I pulled myself out of the pool immediately and finished the job in a near-by bin.
I’ve never pushed myself in the way I used to push myself while swimming. I used to put my head down and hold my breath until there was nothing left!
Since leaving the pool, I have gotten back in the water to re-set and re-calibrate what is going on in my mental and physical wellbeing.
Swimming has always been my environment to heal and a place for me to day-dream. Some of my dearest friends know me as two beings: the snow princess and the mermaid!
I’ve decided to do an open water challenge of swimming 4k in open water this summer: more about this event 12 July, at Lough Derg, Co Clare.
Would you like to support me on my journey? If you’re an open water swimmer or just a swimmer yourself, let me know! And of course, if you’d like to swim this event with me, please do…join me for a weekend of fun, digging deep and endurance.
Let’s use our skills to heal, promote a worthy cause, and supplement our daily yogic practices. Because if you are holding your breath and using your limbs, this is one kumbukha that will always be memorable!
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