Swimming

Swim verb bathe, dip, be awash, glide, move through water using a natural means of propulsion.

That's what the dictionary says but it means so much more. Learning to swim in my 40's is one of the most fulfilling things if not one of the hardest things I have ever put my body to do. On the surface (no pun intended) it looks relatively simple but there is so much to think about; flexibility, body position, arms, breathing, kicking, catch, pull, rhythm.........

Don't get me wrong, I love running and I love cycling but there is something special about being in the water. You can shut the whole world out as your senses are deprived of the normal stimulus it receives and you connect to your body in a way that is not possible while doing land based activities.

Ever so briefly during my swims, I connect with the water and work with it instead of fighting against it. It is in these moments that I feel like I am flying and that I am as free as a bird in the sky. It's not just a way to keep fit, it is also a way to meditate. A path, albeit a wet one, to enlightenment.