Swimming

download (3)Swimming is good for your health

Swimming regularly may help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses in some people. It can also make you feel better.

The ASA is the national governing body for all things swimming. It published a report that looked at health and fitness research from around the globe. The evidence shows swimming may help increase your life expectancy and save your life (and that’s not just by stopping you drowning)!

The report called, “Swimming, taking the plunge for a fitter lifestyle”, highlights how swimming cuts men’s risk of dying early by about 50% compared to runners, walkers and those who don’t do any activities.

It found regular swimming is also great for both sexes because it is likely to reduceheart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes by about 535 cases in 100,000 people.

David Sparkes, the ASA Chief Executive, said, “It’s quite simple really. By swimming you’ll be improving your health but more importantly you may actually remember how much fun it is!”

NHS guidelines suggest for health benefits adults should do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on five or more days a week.

A 30-minute session at the pool on one or more days a week will count towards your recommended weekly activity target but any amount of time exercising no matter how long or short is good for you.

When you swim you can let your mind float away. Once you get into it, it can become almost like a meditative trance!

The ASA believes that swimming can offer a sense of mental wellbeing; something which can’t easily be measured but is anecdotally mentioned by thousands of participants.

“Swimming clears the mind, encourages positivity in individuals and builds a sense of self worth that is not truly calculable. In short, it can make people feel better.”

Fitness and weight loss

For most of us swimming is a safe form of exercise. If you have any worries about your health see your GP before starting swimming.

Swimming can support up to 90% of the body’s weight in the water, so those who are overweight have disabilities or some injuries can take part without putting as much strain on their bodies.

3 Ways of Happiness

I believe that happiness is a choice. We choose our food, our clothing, our partners, our jobs. We can also choose how we want to feel.

I’ve written before about  it and how to bring a bit more joy and calm into your daily life. But here are three more ways to bring happiness into your life.

  1. Stop numbing yourself and feel your feelings. 

Attempting to escape from our fears and doubts has become a regular part of the human condition. And we have so many things to hide behind: over-spending, over-eating, over-working, over-analyzing. We’ll over-do just about anything to keep from experiencing anything negative!

To truly be happy we need to get in touch with our feelings—good AND bad.  A few easy ways do that:

  • Journaling
  • Talk it out with a friend
  • Listen to music
  • Run, walk, move your body
  • Get into nature
  • Ask yourself: When do you feel most like you? What are you doing? Then go do that!

Drop the focus from your head to your heart and then start acting on your true feelings. You’ll tap into an unlimited source of happiness.

  1. Let go of what no longer serves you. 

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by holding onto past failures and old grudges. They poison your heart and waste your time. Forgive the people who hurt you, the friends who disappointed you, the family members who weren’t quite what you needed them to be.

Donate the clothes you don’t love, delete the phone numbers of people you don’t talk to, clean out your Facebook feed. If it brings you down, say good-bye.

  1. Love yourself and get comfortable in your own skin. 

Connect to what’s most important to you. If you love socializing with your friends over great food, make time for a monthly dinner party. If you’ve been wanting to learn a language, sign up for a class. Choose friends who love you for who you are, not who they wish you’d be. Reconnect with the things you love—it doesn’t matter if they’re silly or out-of-fashion. If you love Star Wars or paint-by-numbers kits, own it!

Life is full of wonderful things. You should be out there soaking them up and revelling in your happy.