We put amazing stress on ourselves every day. Packing our days with as much as we possibly can and feeling inadequate when we can’t get it all accomplished.
This stress doesn’t emerge just in the adults in the equation but also unleashes itself on children. How do you stop it? Or at least give yourself a break from it?
Swimming.
Any sport forces your body’s neurotransmitters to produce stress-reducing hormones. This gives you an adrenalin rush and makes you feel like you could go on forever. Your body is in a heightened state caused from exertion and increased cardiac activity.
Why swimming specifically?
- You’re forced to focus on your body instead of what’s going on in the outside world.
- Water is a natural reliever. It makes you feel as if you can do anything because you move around in it so easily.
- There is zero-impact and helps instead of harming joints and muscles.
When you swim, just repeating the pattern of the strokes and concentrating on your breathing makes you forget about everything else and give your mind a break. After a swim, you may find that you have a renewed ability to focus on what you need to be focused on.
Swimming can be a productive form of meditation – with its focus on rhythm, breathing, and repetitive movement.
Swimming is a very technical sport. You will become familiar with all of its techniques and strokes. And once you do, you’ll have them for a lifetime. You’ll be able to turn to swimming whenever you feel stress welling up.
