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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Wilting Sunflower

Wilting Sunflower – Photography and Digital Art by Mary Mikawoz
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I went for a walk in the fall time and came across a garden with beautiful sunflowers. This one was wilting from having been cold during the night. I like the fact that it has character despite having faced difficulties.  

It is dealing with the negative elements but doing incredibly well. It is like people who deal with problems and issues but continue to be positive and come out up on top. 

Good luck to any and all people facing difficulties. Face the challenges and come up over the barricade or hurdle with achievement and accomplishments. 

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Winter’s Coming

Winter’s Coming – Photography by Mary Mikawoz
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I know we have some time left but based on the colder temperatures and more precipitation we have had lately, we will be in winter sometime soon. The crops have already been harvested and only stubble remains in the fields.  

The hay bales have been processed and soon there will be a layer of snow on it. There is fun in the winter time to be had though too. It is something you learn to encompass in your life and live with the best you can. Time to prepare. 

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The Iceman Speaks

The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential”

Book: “The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential,” Wim Hof, Sounds True, 2020

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Book available: October 20, 2020

This is quite an interesting book starting with the point of view of Wim Hof’s life beginning as a forgotten twin in the uterus of his mother. It is extraordinarily special that she knew something was different and that there was another being inside of her still. It is amazing that she spoke and pleaded, “Oh God, let this child live! I will make him a missionary!” He has, in essence, become a missionary in real life.

Wim Hof has turned out to be an incredible person who has set numerous Guinness World Records by defying medical doctors and scientists with his personal feats. He has been able to override his autonomic nervous system and control his body which was thought to be not achievable. He has done amazing things such as run a full marathon in the Namib Dessert without water and then to the other extreme, he ran a half marathon about the Arctic Circle in his bare feet and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts.

Wim Hof has had many other accomplishments despite his personal tragedies. He credits his Wim Hof Method with the ability to do many great things that he says anyone else can be taught to do. They are basically three main concepts and training of Breathing, Cold Exposure and your Mind Set.

This book gives you examples and leads you through the processes with exercises and examples. He has actually taken many people who were not functioning at their personal peak to climb a number of mountains despite their physical conditioning after proper training with the Wim Hof Method.

Personally, I have implemented the cold showers at the end of a warm one. I have also swam or dove into Lake Winnipeg which has turned cold already as it is north of the 91.5 degree parallel latitudinally. In the winter time, it ices over completely although it is huge and was once an ancient inland ocean such that there are winter roads across the ice where not only cars and trucks but semi-trucks cross the ice highway. 

Also, Winnipeg has been colder than Mars on December 31, 2013 when temperatures including windchill factors dipped down to -53 degrees Celsius which is -63.4 Fahrenheit for my American friends. I think living in Winnipeg is a good way to implement Wim Hof’s method of colder temperatures for the body.

I have been doing the breathing method with Wim Hof’s app that I downloaded off of his website and have been improving daily. Finally, I have been working on improving my mind set for over 40 years + as I journey along a spiritual pathway.

I highly recommend this book as it is reflective of a man who is determined to make a difference in the world and teaches us how to do it. 

“The Iceman” will not disappoint you. “We are limited only by the depth of our imagination and the strength of our conviction.” I give this book a 4.25 out of 5 as a rating.

He has a website online that you can access for more information which I highly recommend. You can pre-order the book at major book distributors.

As a side note, I have been practicing many of the things that Wim Hof has been teaching and as a consequence of more time and hindsight, I would like to change my rating from 4.25 to 5 out of 5 as the impact of his breathing technique alone is absolutely incredible. Thank you Wim Hof for all your hard work and self-discoveries.

Tags: Wim Hof, Method, Mary Mikawoz, Book, Book Review, Mother, Birth, Uterus, Twins, Marathon, Arctic Circle, Namib Dessert, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest, shorts, barefoot, ice, snow, cold, breath, personal, tragedy, life, circumstances, connection, autonomic nervous system, Mind, mindset, experiments, study, Physical, condition, The Iceman, Science, Medical, Doctors, Amazing, Imagination, Sounds True

Icicles on Boulder

Here are itty bitty icicles hanging on for their life on a boulder. This was taken on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. I like the various textures and the colour of the water and rock.

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Icicles on Branch

The icicles are forming on the branches near the boulders and water’s edge.

They are wonderful creations of nature and quite pristine and perfect with its silvery reflection.

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