my swimming home..the UVM pool…
I like to swim. I took a lap swimming class when I was in college, and have been doing my best to keep it up every since…so that means I’ve been swimming for a super-long time. 🙂
I do my best to swim a few times a week. I’ve figured out my routine when I can get in the pool, swim my 20-30 minutes, and get out. I still enjoy swimming, but after swimming for so many years I basically just do it for the exercise. It’s become pretty routine, as I can tell it has for most of the people who are at the pool…except for one tattooed swimming machine who I was sharing the pool with the other day.
I was swimming along doing my thing, and then I see this guy dive in the pool. That in itself is pretty odd for the lap swimming pool, since most people climb in, get themselves all ready, start their timers or look at the clock, and then start swimming. This guy just jumped in. Besides that, he didn’t surface. I ended up looking under the water to see what happened to him, and he was swimming around like an otter. He was doing a flutter kick, and a variety of arm techniques, and working his way across the pool under water…he was a beautiful sight.
I ended up watching him (without being too creepy about it) the rest of the time he was in the pool. He was just having such a great time…swimming on his back, doing free stroke sometimes, swimming under water…we WAS swimming laps, but swimming them with enthusiasm and happiness. After he left I was all inspired so I tried it! I swim a lap or two corkscrewing through the water; I swam under the water..I laughed. I was reminded that being in water makes me really happy, and I had forgotten that a little bit.
After I got out the pool (after one of my longest pool sessions) I saw my happy swimming mentor in the locker room. I told him, “It’s so great how much you like water.” He got a huge smile on his face and said, “I love it!”
I think it’s very easy to loose the excitement we have for the things that make us happy, including yoga. I invite you in your yoga practice to remember the reason you originally got into practicing. Most likely it’s because it made you happy! Next time you practice, do your best to let go of worrying to much about technical aspects of the practice, but instead connect to what yoga is really about…connecting to your own amazing light and happiness.
Here’s a NEW(!!!) free yoga video related to this story, along with an hour practice. Enjoy!