Swimming as therapy (for your mind!)
Swim/swam. Splish/splash…
This weekend has been emotionally fraught and draining. It’s Sunday afternoon and I have been feeling quite wiped out. I was messaging my daughter and told her I might go for a swim or just be lazy.
She replied immediately and said to go for a swim as it would make me feel better and she’s correct.
Mind you, it wasn’t that straightforward. Fortunately, I live in a town where we have lots of public swimming pools. The first one I went to was closing as the power had gone out in the neighbourhood.
So I went a couple suburbs over to my other favourite pool. Hopped in and swam 14 laps and the pool attendant called out to me to stop. They were putting up the wall to turn the 50 metre pool into a 25 metre pool. They do that sometimes if they are having kids lessons in the other half.
I usually like to swim at least 20 laps of the 50 metre. I could have continued with the 25 metre after waiting a few minutes for them to raise the wall in the middle. But I thought, you know what? 14 laps are good for today and I sure did feel a lot better.
I find swimming soothing and meditative. I find I can ease stressed emotions and basically let go of what is bothering me. I was also composing this blog post as I swam along.
Swimming is a great all round exercise, it doesn’t stress your joints as it’s low-impact. It’s a workout for your whole body, it’s good for your heart and lungs and really good for your mental health/emotional wellbeing. Check out this article for more information on the benefits of swimming.
I love to swim in the summer months and try to go at least once/week. During the winter I find it a bit more challenging to fling myself in the water, but when I do I always love it! Another benefit for my being a “senior” now is that I get discounted entry to the pool!
What’s not to love? Oh and I love my new swimsuit – Speedos – comfy and flexible, perfect for swimming and check out the green!
emotional distressemotional wellbeingfit older womenhealthy older womenmental healthswimmingwomen over 60