Well, you're making me want to get back in the water, my friend. I'm not sure much a swimmer but a cold water sitter and for a while we had an old whisky barrel in the garden filled with cold water for such purposes. I've gotten out of the way of immersing myself in it, but remember a certain quality of calm that descends when all you can really focus on is breath and movement. The way the water felt colder against my arms when moving them after a wee while of being still. Hmmm. Maybe I'll get myself to a body of water soon.
oh that whiskey barrel sounds great! yes you've nailed it, it's that singular focus required to just survive in that moment ... seems to make all the other mental clatter fade away. hope to be able to have a cold swim with you at some point!!
Yes, the vitality of movement, not getting stuck in one idea, perception, pattern.. This is so important and your piece is inspiring and comforting. Thank you Chloe x
Oh Chloe, I could have written every word of this some five years ago, during my first year of sea swimming. I started in June 2019 and haven't stopped since. Swimming carried me through covid and everything else since, and it continues to change me, one swim at a time. Happy new year of cold water swimming (the coldest days are still ahead 😬)! 🌊
Oh this is fascinating to read! Like you, I have really wanted to be a cold water swimmer, but just don’t think I can do it (despite managing other hard things fairly well…) so this has inspired me, thank you! 😍
thank you Daisy. I guess the conclusion has to be, you can! I definitely found it easier to manage as my kids got bigger (smallest now 4) and both time and mental space opened up. but there's also mums with tiny babies at the lido where I swim, taking it in turns to swim while the other ones look after the babies, and it looks like it's absolutely keeping them sane. I suspect they already had a swim habit though. sometimes starting something new and challenging isn't exactly what we need in the moment. when it is, the cold water will be waiting for you!
Thank you for this response Chloe! I can well imagine it might feel more possible in time (our youngest is 2).
I’m pleased to hear about the mothers with young babies enabling each other to do necessary things like this. That is the most precious kind of support I’ve ever received, I think, that of other mothers who really understand the pressures and depths of (particularly early) motherhood. Even when stretched themselves still managing to support each other. ♥️
This is so true - how making ourselves experience discomfort helps us feel equilibrium. I’ve been CWS in my lido in Herts for 11 yrs (only 5 in the winter) and Im convinced that it should be prescribed by mental health practitioners for young people. Our current culture has removed all physical discomfort from our lives which simply isn’t normal or natural to us as humans. Just a little bit of discomfort makes us tougher!
love this Siobhan, very inspired by your 11 (!!!) years! it's so powerful from a mental health perspective. the discomfort thing is so interesting - and I don't think I'd really thought about it from the perspective of young people in particular. Not sure how old your kids are and whether they ever agree to join you in the water?!
Thanks Chloe! I'm not as hard core as you may think! I only go for short dips and only through the winter since 2020. Covid was a brilliant push to get me going throughout the year to our unheated lido as it had an element of risk and fun (the only risky thing we could do!). And, whilst I don't have mental health issues, I find pushing myself to do something physically discomforting once a week has a knock on effect on my attitude to hard things the rest of the week. My 'kids' are now 20 and 18. My eldest daughter has recently got into it as it helps with her anxiety, and she adores the outdoors. She now goes to Cambridge Lido where she studies. My son? He can't stay cold water so i can't convince him!
Oh I so want to be this… I have built up so many stories as to why this can’t be me though and they feel way too hard to sieve through. But I want to!!!!! Super inspiring Chloe x
Well, you're making me want to get back in the water, my friend. I'm not sure much a swimmer but a cold water sitter and for a while we had an old whisky barrel in the garden filled with cold water for such purposes. I've gotten out of the way of immersing myself in it, but remember a certain quality of calm that descends when all you can really focus on is breath and movement. The way the water felt colder against my arms when moving them after a wee while of being still. Hmmm. Maybe I'll get myself to a body of water soon.
oh that whiskey barrel sounds great! yes you've nailed it, it's that singular focus required to just survive in that moment ... seems to make all the other mental clatter fade away. hope to be able to have a cold swim with you at some point!!
Yes, the vitality of movement, not getting stuck in one idea, perception, pattern.. This is so important and your piece is inspiring and comforting. Thank you Chloe x
thank you so much. vitality is an excellent word <3
Oh Chloe, I could have written every word of this some five years ago, during my first year of sea swimming. I started in June 2019 and haven't stopped since. Swimming carried me through covid and everything else since, and it continues to change me, one swim at a time. Happy new year of cold water swimming (the coldest days are still ahead 😬)! 🌊
this is so inspiring Annette. five years! yes I feel a bit scared about the coldest months ahead. but that's the point, I guess! xx
Oh this is fascinating to read! Like you, I have really wanted to be a cold water swimmer, but just don’t think I can do it (despite managing other hard things fairly well…) so this has inspired me, thank you! 😍
thank you Daisy. I guess the conclusion has to be, you can! I definitely found it easier to manage as my kids got bigger (smallest now 4) and both time and mental space opened up. but there's also mums with tiny babies at the lido where I swim, taking it in turns to swim while the other ones look after the babies, and it looks like it's absolutely keeping them sane. I suspect they already had a swim habit though. sometimes starting something new and challenging isn't exactly what we need in the moment. when it is, the cold water will be waiting for you!
Thank you for this response Chloe! I can well imagine it might feel more possible in time (our youngest is 2).
I’m pleased to hear about the mothers with young babies enabling each other to do necessary things like this. That is the most precious kind of support I’ve ever received, I think, that of other mothers who really understand the pressures and depths of (particularly early) motherhood. Even when stretched themselves still managing to support each other. ♥️
This is so true - how making ourselves experience discomfort helps us feel equilibrium. I’ve been CWS in my lido in Herts for 11 yrs (only 5 in the winter) and Im convinced that it should be prescribed by mental health practitioners for young people. Our current culture has removed all physical discomfort from our lives which simply isn’t normal or natural to us as humans. Just a little bit of discomfort makes us tougher!
love this Siobhan, very inspired by your 11 (!!!) years! it's so powerful from a mental health perspective. the discomfort thing is so interesting - and I don't think I'd really thought about it from the perspective of young people in particular. Not sure how old your kids are and whether they ever agree to join you in the water?!
Thanks Chloe! I'm not as hard core as you may think! I only go for short dips and only through the winter since 2020. Covid was a brilliant push to get me going throughout the year to our unheated lido as it had an element of risk and fun (the only risky thing we could do!). And, whilst I don't have mental health issues, I find pushing myself to do something physically discomforting once a week has a knock on effect on my attitude to hard things the rest of the week. My 'kids' are now 20 and 18. My eldest daughter has recently got into it as it helps with her anxiety, and she adores the outdoors. She now goes to Cambridge Lido where she studies. My son? He can't stay cold water so i can't convince him!
Oh I so want to be this… I have built up so many stories as to why this can’t be me though and they feel way too hard to sieve through. But I want to!!!!! Super inspiring Chloe x