Musings: Swim

Swim and swimming are words I like because they involve me being directly in the flow. I love being in water but have not always. I once had an experience where I was at a public swimming pool and midway across it, I simply forgot how to swim. I am not kidding. I was about to panic but I said to myself “Stay Calm. You can do this.”

I somehow figured out how to float and then make progression across the pool to the side. I was so upset, I swam to the ladder and immediately got out of the pool and left. I changed and went home. That was that. 

I did not go back to water of any sort for a long period of time. Even taking a shower was kind of like a mini-crisis. I could not trust myself not to drown or so I thought. I am not sure what happened exactly. I was doing fine that day in the pool but perhaps I just was not focussed enough. I do not know what came over me. What had come naturally to me from years of lessons in swimming, now became a big time issue for me.

Fast forward a number of years and on many levels, I still had my fear. Then something switched in my brain again. I realized that water is good. I came to value it whether it was coming through internally when hydrating myself or through being in it for showers and what not.

I actually think I have to thank Wim Hof for this one. I reviewed one of his books where he suggested doing cold showers along with his breathing technique. I quickly implemented the specific breathing practice and loved the results so it was only natural to end my hot showers with turning on the cold for a few seconds and then longer. I no longer feared the water and had a new profound respect for it.

Now, when I go swimming in the lake again, I revel being in the cooler waters. It is enticing and engaging. Now, I am swimming in a pool again and I love the way my body feels immersed in the soft, luscious and fluid substance. I love the subtle feel of the water as it encapsulates and surrounds my body. I love the flow of the water as I take each stroke swimming. It is an incredible substance that can be a vapour, a solid as ice or fluid as water. I now and again love my H₂0.

Mary Mikawoz
February 14, 2023

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