Swimming feels like nothing else. You might know what I mean: the light dancing on the bottom of the pool; the delicious shock of a cold lake; the gliding; the immersion; the sense of whole-body control and joyous abandon.
A few years ago, my neck felt stiff after my standard half-mile. I self-diagnosed a need to learn to breathe left as well as right. As I learned to do this, I felt a sense of accomplishment, but the stiffness persisted.
Then a friend introduced me to Total Immersion, a program that teaches you to search the water for the path of least resistance. You streamline your body to minimize drag. You swim from the body's core, rather than focusing on arms and legs. It's swimming like a fish instead of a paddleboat, which changes the essence of swimming itself.
I tried it out this summer. I swiveled my entire body to breathe. I schooled myself to feel the texture of the water. Sometimes it didn’t work. Other times, it was glorious. Either way, the stiffness disappeared.
It occurs to me this lesson was about more than swimming. Too often I set my sights on where I’m going, then try to thrash my way there. Now I'm trying to feel my way through the currents and eddies of life. I still want to move forward, but I’m seeking to go with the flow of events, to adapt and adjust as I continue on my journey. It feels better: less stiff, less difficult, more graceful. More like the exquisite pleasure of swimming.
Point #1: Many of us thrash and struggle toward our goals, ignoring environmental cues and creating unnecessary tension and pain.
Point #2: When you swim gently and gracefully through life, you become flexible, responding to the environment rather than trying to master it or ignore it.
Palma Strand is a writer, professor, lawyer, and civic organizer with the Arlington Forum in Arlington, Virginia. For reprint permission, or to discuss this article, please contact Palma Strand directly at Pajostrand@aol.com.
