Swimming is a Great Passtime in the Hot Summer

Wednesday, July 20, 2011
It is about this time every summer that I am eager to put my toe in the pool. It is a delicious way to cool off when the temperatures are soaring. It is supposed to be 95 again today!

It is so refreshing to get in the pool. My whole body has the chance to cool off. I imagine my entire body releasing a long and grateful sign of relief.

For as long as I can remember I have loved to swim. I never was on a swim team, or took classes. I just like getting in the water and doing laps. Your whole body gets to stretch out through each stroke. No joints are pounded or unduly stressed. You can do it no matter how athletic you are or in how good a shape you are. It is an "Every Man/Person" activity. Just floating in the water is delightful and freeing. No matter how big you are, you are buoyant in the water.

One fun memory I have was when I was in College. We would sneak into the pool after hours by sliding one of the enclosure panels up and down. It made it a guilty pleasure and that much more enjoyable. Maybe that is the secret to all exercising...make it your own guilty pleasure!

Going under water, wearing my goggles and ear plugs (it is true, I do not win a glamour award when I swim), creates a quiet world for me...more so than when I put my ear plugs in to listen to music or watch TV as I work out on the treadmill. It is my own little world to think about things...or nothing at all. The rhythm of my strokes lulls me to that contemplative state. I feel at peace and relaxed at the end of my laps.

Swimming in the Hot Summer keeps me cool both physically and mentally. Can't argue with that!

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