Today is the last day our swimming pool opens this year.
It was also a special day for me - I have been wanting to swim the first day of its opening and the last day as well. I did it as promised to myself. What is more significant - I swam the most frequently in my life this summer. I've started to love swimming; desired to learn more styles and to improve my technique by taking courses.
Global warming has extended the summer, delayed the autumn and shortened the winter but I take advantage of this by immersing myself more in water, to cool off and fill a wonderful recreational need for my body.
Usually I would rush to the pool just half an hour before it closed. Today I set it as a special day in my calendar - I wanted to make it different: after jogging, skipping and dancing as a warm-up in the autumn breeze and tender sunshine this morning, I jumped into the water to find it a bit chillier. The feeling was awesome: Soothing from my heart to body, cooling from my toes to head...
"No life without a routine workout" - a concept I have had instilled in me from an early age. Since then I have benefited from sports and workouts so much of my life. The most phenomenal effect was a year-long morning jog removed 12 pounds of fat frm my clumsy body and this has turned me forever from a neighbor’s fat girl to a slim lady, a fundamental change in my life not only physically but psychologically. Anthony Robbins is right: " When your body changes, so does your mind."
In our life, no matter when we sit, stand or move or sleep, our bones are constantly under the effect of gravity, which is not a balanced condition for our spine and back bones especially. I like the feeling of floating and sliding in water because it works practically all of the muscles without adding loading on the bones, a time for them to relax. Swimming develops our general strength, cardiovascular health and lung fitness and endurance without putting stress and weight on a knee or ankle. Another benefit is more direct: it leaves me refreshed for the rest of my day.
Like jogging, it is the best time for me to do meditation consciously and unconsciously. While I keep the rhythm of my stroke and my breathing, my mind is wandering about, far away from childhood to anywhere and anytime, like a horse cantering in a meadow. Simultaneously my mind is falling into dreams and ideas for a topic I want to write about are flowing freely from my brain.
Jogging and swimming all help me to develop a lifestyle of self-discipline, resilience and preservation.
Most interestingly, this form of meditation gives me a sense of self-worth and positive strength inside my body. I find the relationship between emotion and physical conditions go hand-in-hand. Negative emotion creeps back if our body is not in good shape.
Swimming, jogging, skipping, hiking, dancing, yoga and sword-dance (and more sports to learn) will add more colors to my life.
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