Swimming Series: Logging my journey back into the water

I restarted swimming this last weekend with an instructor. He was able to focus on my breath work and how to breathe into my stomach to allow me to have buoyancy in the water. This not only helps me in the water to stay afloat but also helps me with my breathing on land. We also started practicing my arm strokes. Also, arm strokes while breathing so I do not need to stop between strokes. And then all these skills come together so I can: 
1. swim a stroke
2. take breaths along the way
3. stay a float when I am taking a breath. 
4. and bonus points for using the “cross-over turn” help turn while still breathing 

I want to give a shout out to Sean, my swim instructor, for his patience to take it step by step. From the outside it is easy to assume I should be able to do all this. But I am having to start over. He can help me develop. It is good to be surrounded by people that can follow your process. It would be easy to say, I am an adult, I should be able to do this. But that is not always the case for people. There are a lot of different circumstances why people want to take lessons as adults. 

1. To gain a new skill (maybe you never had a chance to learn)
2. To re-learn it the right way
3. And to push themselves in their skill 

Swimming is freeing. It’s kind of like all of your worries dissipate. All your focus is honed in on what you are doing. I guess you can say it is kind of like an escape room, except you aren’t trying to get out; you’re trying to get in. It creates a balanced environment to have both relaxation and exercise occur naturally. 

The leisure aspect (standing in the pool, but not actually swimming, talking, having conversations; really, just hanging out) allows you to calm yourself and be more open to instruction. It sends signals to your brain that you are relaxed and safe, which is the prime motivating aspect. The exercise part of swimming is just go, go, go. It looks easy, but it is not easy. There is so much activity happening in the brain during a swim session. Because you are using your critical thinking and physical movement, your whole brain is being worked out. This is why the leisure part AND the exercise part of swimming are equally important to your overall health. 

Swimming is not only for breathing, it is an amazing exercise. It is helping my brain, by having to cross the meridian and use many layers of the brain at once. “Swimming uses neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections—to fundamentally improve performance, technique, and mental health. Through repetitive, mindful practice, swimmers rewire their brains, transitioning from conscious, effortful movement to automatic, efficient technique (muscle memory).”- Go Swim on Youtube. I live in the muscle memory side of life. Through my TBI recovery, I tend to be more physical. This can be a great way for me to gain new skills without having to worry about forgetting steps.  

Swimming is also good for endurance. It uses and activates a lot of muscles. That’s also why you get so tired so quickly. All of that muscle being used requires energy. That’s why they say it is a good workout. It’s not only a good workout, it is a full body workout. You are using almost every muscle in your body during a swim session. I found a great illustration of this, but it doesn't show the calves. But of course the calves are being used as you propel in the water with pointed feet, which activates the calf muscles. I am curious to see how the different strokes will impact my different muscle groups; for instance the back stroke vs. the breast stroke. ​

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I am creating this series to track my experience along the way. As I mentioned it is a great exercise for almost everyone, so get in the pool!

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