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Being in the water has its relaxing and therapeutic effect. No wonder why many of us are looking forward to our summer break in Cayman Islands. Swimming is always part of human’s leisure activity. Both water and swimming have their calming and relaxing effect. How can this invigorating and soothing leisure activity help us to meditate?

Mindful swimming can be a form of movement meditation which focuses on breathing, body flow and sensation that is ideally practiced for 20-30 minutes. Swimming meditation can be incorporated with light physical motions in the water that does not involve strenuous swimming strokes.

Being mindful in the water should not be combined with vigorous swimming strokes while meditation. Swimming and meditating should be mindfully separated by dividing your hours spent in the swimming pool. The perfect ratio for swimming meditation is 50:50. Spend 30 minutes swimming as part of your daily exercise routine and spend the rest for swimming meditation. Keeping a meditation journal is a good habit to make your meditation better and better.

Surprising Benefits of Swimming Meditation

There are many health benefits of swimming including improving cardiovascular health. Many experts also suggest the positive impact of swimming as part of physical rehabilitation program for those who have suffered physical injuries particularly relating to bone fractures. Most essentially, swimming has been proven to improve overall health and well-being.

In one study, it shows that swimming exercise not only inhibits neuroma formation induced by nerve transection but also relieves pain behavior

US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health

Swimming meditation has its potentials to improve overall health, lifestyle and life of humans, including:

1. Promotes healthy heart
2. Relieves body pain
3. Alleviates anxiety and depression
4. Boosts mood and feeling
5. Improves productivity
6. Revs up metabolism
7. Improves physical performance
8. Aids weight loss
9. Improves breathing and flow
10. Improves meditation

Swimming Meditation Mantra

Just like any other exercise, swimming meditation also involves warm-up routine to prevent possible injury.  Ideally, spend 5-10 minutes for some light movements.  These warm-up routines are combinations of selected movement meditation exercises, including slow walking, stretching, and basic yoga poses like snake and dog yoga poses to prepare your shoulders and back before swimming in the water.

Using your mantra while in the water is a perfect way to make use of the water. While saying your mantra in the water, you can hear yourself symbolically by those bubbles you are producing in the water. Saying mantra is also a relaxing way to practice your breathing.

Swimming Meditation Tips

In order for you to meditate properly, there are some basic guidelines that you should consider while in the water.  Do not forget to record in your meditation journal which tips work for you. Follow our great motivation to make your meditation more effective.

1. Do some light warm-up
2. Focus on your breath and sensation
3. Breathe out from your nose
4. Feel the sensation of water
5. Follow swimming meditation styles
6. Avoid difficult strokes while meditating
7. Practice 20-30 minutes meditating in water
8. Spend the other 30 minutes swimming mindfully
9. Close your eyes under the water
10. Treat yourself with a cup of hot tea  

After following our practical yet useful tips, you will be satiating for another meditation session outside the pool. If your heart desired, place your towel by the pool and practice mantra meditation to cool down. Practicing mantra meditation during and after movement meditation may have its potential physiological and psychological effects.

Swimming Meditation Styles and Position

Now, it’s time for us to feel and dive into the water while meditating. After testing the water for some years, I have come up with my own swimming meditation styles that I often combine. After sharing them with my colleagues and friends who want to combine exercise and meditation, they thanked me for some of these swimming meditation styles also work work for them.

The following swimming meditation styles focus on breathing with selected light movements, including:  

1. Tai Chi Poses
2. Qi-Gong Poses
3. Meditation Sitting or Standing Style  
4. Floating Style
5. Freestyle
6. Backstroke  
7. Using Inflatable Pool Float

Tai Chi Poses

Trying any of these movements will warm your body up before your actual swimming meditation.

• Starting. Parting the wild horse’s mane.
• Hold the ball ward off.
• Grasp the bird’s tail.
• Single whip.
• Carry the tiger over the mountain.
• Needle at the bottom of the sea.
• Apparent closing. Cross hands. Close.

Watch this video if you want to bring your meditation to another level.  

Qi Gong Poses

Another poses that you can combine while meditating in the water are Qi Gong poses which can make use of your water meditation journey.

1. Raise arms
2. Open chest
3. Paint a rainbow
4. Separate clouds
5. Row a boat
6. Balance a ball
7. Gaze at moon
8. Cloud hands
9. Scoop the sea
10. Push the waves
11. Fly like a wild goose
12. Close

Here’s another cool video that you can try to move the water.

Meditation Sitting or Standing Style  

Practicing holding your breath under the weather by sitting under the water. This can be done while you’re saying your mantra in the mantra. Submerge yourself and close your eyes and do this sitting position. If the water is a bit deep, then you can simply stand and put your arms together and submerge yourself.

If sitting or standing position, you can combine with Tai Chi or Qi Gong while submerging yourself in the water. To know how, watch this video.

Floating Style

Facing the Water

This is the most enjoyable part of swimming and meditation. While floating in this position, your face is submerged in the water. Close your eyes and breathe in the water. Feel as the water touches you. While floating, say ‘Ohm’ under the water to improve your breathing.

Back Float

Another kind of floating is back float. While survival float that is facing underwater helps you to focus on breathing, back floating promises you to be in complete relaxation and stillness. You don’t use much energy compared to when you’re facing underwater making it suitable to meditate.

In southern California, they have developed a floating therapy for people who want to improve their mental focus. American basketball player, Stephen Curry is one among many of those who have their testimonials in the mental benefits of floating in the water.  Watch this news by CBS This Morning to find out more.

Freestyle

Now, that we have dealt with our warming up and breathing practices, there’s no excuse for us to really swim while meditating. Most of us can swim and we can make use of this skill in incorporating our swimming meditation.

Physically, freestyle generates force and engages your chest, lat and back muscles. Generating force depends on how slow or vigorous you want your freestyle swimming. Freestyle swimming in a slow and mindful manner can be easily added as part of your meditation. This swimming  stroke also gives you the leverage to be in total control whether you want this to be a form of meditation, exercise or both.  

In this video, this visualization technique in the water is designed by Chloe Sutton to help swimmers and athletes achieve their goal.

Backstroke

In swimming, backstroke is perfect for recovering after workout. The physical benefit of this style is to engage your back and hamstrings.

In meditation, backstroke is quite similar with freestyle except that you’re not facing underwater making you more comfortable. You are also in full control whether you will swim slowly or vigorously. Swimming meditation suggests to be slow and mindful while choosing your swimming strokes.

Using an Inflatable Pool Float

Good news! Swimming meditation is not only for swimmers. Anybody who simply want to and meditate while being near the water is doable with the help of inflatable pool float. You can feel the sensation by dipping your hands or legs under the water while your eyes are close.

Do whatever meditation position you may think of with your inflatable float on the pool. Just don’t fall asleep! If you are extremely scared of being in the pool, then just simply place your towel by the pool and start meditating.

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