Swimming as Meditation

Swimming as meditation. That statement might seem odd, confusing, false for you. I’ll admit that that swimming as meditation wasn’t always the case. Swimming is a unique sport in that you don’t have the ‘normal’ distractions found in biking or running; group swim don’t exist and most people don’t have special earbuds for the water.

It is just you and water. A scary thought for most; me included initially. I swim in the mornings before work and always have the tasks of the workday ahead on my mind. But, thinking about work or anything other than my stroke can quickly lead me array.

In addition, being a new swimmer, I’m still focused on my technique – keeping my head down, reaching with every stroke, keeping my feet pointed out and constantly breathing out – so any mind wandering can compromise technique. The best way I found to combined less mind wandering and more focus on technique is to count strokes.

Every stroke. Each length of the pool. 100 yards at a time. 100% of the time.

I realized, wow! Swimming is my meditation, I liked the sound of that.