Swimming: I love it! I swim a LOT these days – because not only is it excellent full-body exercise, but the activity itself is incredibly relaxing.
In fact something about it, to me, feels a lot like being back in the womb. Immersed, safe… my own chunk of peace away from the world outside, where I’m connected to nothing but my own movement, my own co-ordination and my own breathing as I duck, roll and float along.
One of the best techniques I’ve found for the pool is called Total Immersion Swimming. It’s a technique that aims to help you move through the water as easily as a fish does – letting you open an easy-going path for yourself rather than constantly fighting the water’s resistance as you move.
Check out this video to see how it works:
The Guardian also has a short interview-style piece that you can read here.
The core takeaway of Total Immersion is that you let the water support you – you almost become one with it, releasing all tension and giving yourself over to that freedom. By doing so, you create a path of least resistance and hugely reduce your exertion.
A major factor in efficient swimming technique is the head. You let the head be supported by the water, your face immersed and fixed in one position.
Keeping it here causes a smaller wave to form just in front of your head as you move – a wave that breaks away from you at all times, softening the path ahead and creating your very own resistance-free road.
When you need to breathe, a quick turn of the head to the left or right lets you break the surface for a quick inhale – found in an air pocket that’s also opened by the wave you’re creating.
In most cases the better your head is supported and positioned, the better a swimmer you are. Less stressed, less fatigued, and faster moving toward the goal.
But there’s something else to be learned from this technique – something I frequently tell my Third Eye Doctor coaching clients…
You don’t even need water for this to work. You can apply it to everyday life.
Let life support you. You don’t have to resist your way through. The more flow there is going through you, the better. Not everything has to be hit head on, nor even given the time of day.
The mentality behind this is something I’ll get into at a later time, but for now we’ll focus on the physical…
Just like you let your head be supported by the water when swimming, in life the more relaxed you are – the more you let your head be supported by life – particularly your neck, your jaw, your eyes… the better flow there’ll be.
Release the tension. Relax.
Stop clenching your jaw. Let your eyelids sit as they naturally want to without forcing them wide open. Let your shoulders sit loose and in their own preferred position.
Because life is a never-ending flow – and if it’s an easy, free flow with no resistance then life is smooth. Relax yourself, let it wash over you like so much water… instead of wearing yourself out by constantly bracing for an impact that will probably never come.
When you can course through all that life throws at you like a fish through the waves, your third eye will lead the way to a better tomorrow.
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