Page 137 - Moonvalley Diaries

swimming
my whole life I I have been obsessed with swimming
My mum used to to say that I I I would grow webbing between my my toes as I I I never left the the water In my my teens it just about did Back then I I I was doing scuba diving and snorkelling almost all the the the time I I studied marine biology at high school in in in Lysekil but for me me and the the the the the others in in in the the the the the class the the the the the course was mostly just an an an excuse to to snorkel dive and be be in in the the the the the wa- ter We all wanted to to be be like the the famous free- diver Jacques Mayol Things went so so far that the school apparently for safety reasons had to ban snorkelling in in our free periods Not that anyone cared all of us were crazy about the water After high school I I chose the the the mountains over the the the sea and moved up north But I’ve never stopped swimming
Over the the years it has become part of who I I am I I swim swim out- doors most days from late spring until au- tumn By “swim” I usually mean just a a a a a a a a a quick dip after a a a a a a a a a run or or standing with my legs in in in the the water for a a a a a a a a a bit while out out walking the the dog It’s my daily meditation Something about the water water helps me me me relax Perhaps because because life originated in in in in water water and because because listen- ing ing ing ing to to the the waves hitting the the beach or or a a a a a a a a a bab- bling brook is is like “listening to to eternity” as as my mum says The water was there there before we we we were and will be be there there when we we are gone I love cold water most Especially the the thrill- ing ing ing feeling of o counting off one two three and and then jumping in in in It puts me me in in in a a a a a a a good mood every time and and afterwards I I always feel refreshed like a a a a a new person In recent years a a a a a a a lot of research has come out showing why I I I feel this way and how how healthy it is is to go go swimming
It makes me go go uh-huh and think “that must be be true that’s what I thought” Cold swims seem to be be the healthiest of of all both for your circulation and much more The list of of health health benefits provid- ed ed by cold cold dips is is a a a a a a long one For example ic- ing ing your legs in in in in cold cold water can reduce inflam- mation caused by working out Cold swims have proven to to be good for the immune system too People who swim all year get sick less of- ten Shocking your body with cold water also gives you you a a a a a a a a little endorphin rush Endorphins are the the brain’s happiness hormone and pain reliever they makes us feel good Cold baths are also a a a a a a a a a way to to learn to to relax and accept “just enough” discomfort This makes us us calmer in in stressful situations I think we sometimes need a a a a a a a a little physical discomfort to “calibrate the system” and feel alive Oh how I I I love to swim! I I I crave the the the water just writing about it it In the the the summer the the the ab- solute best is to to to wade into into a a a a a a a a a a a mountain stream step into into a a a a a a a a a a a glassy black woodland lake (pref- erably on your own own so you you can skinny dip) or or jump off the cliffs down into chilly Vätter- vatten That’s summer for me! /mimmi
july in moonvalley
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