Cold Water Swimming is the Bomb

People can sometimes have a misguided perception of Yoga and Meditation teachers being more evolved; suffering less through the day to day rigors of being human. Why, because classes are naturally a deepening practice where both the students and teacher form a treasured bond. We reach Shivasana together with a depth of quiet and joy which is precious. Our spirits have shifted gears and the world for a few moments at least, becomes a brighter, softer version of itself.

But teachers also have to leave this space; step out of the yoga room with the same pair of sneakers, the same ache in the knee joints and the same overriding human concerns as the students. Granted, it is easier, through consistent practice for teachers to tap into this peace and quiet more readily, however it is not an immunization against time, physical pain, relationship problems and the general longing. I live yoga, so do my kids even though they are not aware of it. Our family philosophy is one of non-harm. We are yoga but yoga is by no means a magic pill for happiness, or health, which is why I swim.

As a friend said to me the other day, driving home from a swim, "...after yoga I feel incredible but after a swim I double that feeling and it lasts...".

When I first arrived in Ireland, the sea looked an ominous dark place but also strangely alluring. The depth of the water colour: seaweed green, heavily grey and dappled by momentary rainbows flipping across the waves. The mist which creeps from the deep sea to the shore is thrilling and holds endless allure and childhood memories of Irish folklore and supernatural happenings. There is a lot to be afraid of and all the more reason to get in.

Our corner of Ireland sits on the Atlantic. The Wild Atlantic. It is cold. In winter it is icy-cold and choppy, sometimes incredibly windy. Even the Dock Beach which is a tiny bay within a bay can fire up and pound the sand. It is nature at its finest. So is Sandycove Island, which is a tiny island inhabited by goats and situated between an estuary and the ocean. Everyday at Sandycove is different. Some days the water is translucent, other times it is black, but one thing is constant - it is always cold.

I began swimming properly this year. It was February and I wore my son's winter surf wet-suit complete with balaclava. It was buoyant and played havoc with my spine and to all intents and purposes I looked like a large seal with a swimming deficit. But it was cold so I persevered a few more times until  surrendering to my cheap summer wet-suit. This was okay but the shock of the cold water left me gasping for air. After a few swims I decided that either I had to invest in a better wet-suit or wear my cossie. Cossie won out. I figured that I was going to be cold anyway, besides I love the water on my skin and wet-suits cut into that pleasure. Also, I have many highfalutin theories of sea-water's healing power and felt like my swim was missing the mark.

The Wild Atlantic Ocean does have magic healing powers and I expound to whoever will listen. The cold sea freezes out my physical pain, it freezes out emotional turmoil it makes me feel happy but most coveted by me is the overwhelming feeling of not just being in nature but being nature. Never have I felt this connected. Never have i felt so alive.  Any spiritual longing I may have, any dissatisfaction is dissolved by the sea. And it has my deepest gratitude.

I do get a lot of slagging from the husband about the magical healing properties of the sea and this is what I have to say to him ... John my dear, here is the (sort-of/non-scientific) proof:

• Hippocrates expounded on the healing property of water therapy (see it's not just me).
• A little later 1700 sea swimming was all the rage as a treatment for all sorts of aliments. Not just any old sea swimming - it had to be cold (see other people get it).
• Get into cold water and release stress hormones, this is energizing (hardcore factual science).
• Cold water pressure reduces inflammation and swelling (again science...)
• Repeated immersions in cold water reduces the body's longer term inflammatory response.
• According to an article in Science Daily*  a cold water plunge can provide instant pain relief.
• Qualitative studies have shown that sufferers of neuorpathic pain benefit enormously - even to the point of cure through very cold water swimming.

Anyhow all we need to do is double check with the Czechs, the Finns, the Germans, the Corkonians, anyone who loves cold water swimming - it is magic! In a wet-suit, in a cossie, naked (still working up to that) and toes in - try it. It feels good. It inspires happiness and satisfaction. It brings you back home into your body like nothing else. It is the bomb!

* BMJ. "Cold open water plunge provides instant pain relief, case reports suggest." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 February 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180212190941.htm>.