Learning to Swim - Experiment with myself
I have been very much attached to water and earth since my early
childhood . I just love water , earth and the nature . Whenever possible
I make sure I go to meet them and enjoy their company .
I had been going into water since my early childhood . My father and my
uncles have been very good swimmers . But I just waddled in shallow
water many time with the aid of a air ring or so. I even joined a
training course to learn the technique of swimming . Still swimming
itself was a very tedious , tiring experience .
I knew something was wrong . I knew that swimming had to be fun . it
cannot be a struggle that I used to face . It is not a struggle for
survival but a love affair to relish and celebrate . Still something
was wrong .
I read many books on swimming , I watched many swimmers , I observed may
teachers teaching their wards to swim but something was missing .
One day when I was sitting by the pool side , I remembered a childhood
experience. When I was a kid I had a nice and big shepherd dog. The dog
was home grown since he was a small cub. One time we went for a picnic by
the riverside . We all got into the water with my Dad leading the band .
The dog , who had never seen water before , who had not been taught to
swim , who was not wearing a lifeguard ring , just waddled into the
water and enjoyed himself . As I thought more and more about it I
realised , if the dog can do it so can I .
I did not hold any longer . There was no one else around . I just got
into the water , held my breath , got into deep water and waddled . I
did not drown. I slowed down the waddling and still I did not drown .
The less I tried to keep my head outside the water , the easier it was
to float . On top of that , all this took no effort . No effort at all.
That was the moment of realisation . The Aha moment . Swimming is
natural . The human body is most well designed body to be able to swim
after that of the fish . Our bodies are so streamlined that swimming is
easier than walking ! No effort is necessary to be able to float . There
are many ways of easy swimming , which minimize the effort needed to go
forward or backward in water . One can get to learn to swim without even
getting his feet wet . It is so natural in the sense that everyone
knows it since birth but later on the mind takes over and we get a very
strong feeling , which basically comes through the intellect that we
cannot swim .
Come , rejoice , swim with me !!
(
geocities.com/hotsprings)