Be Patient with the Water

It’s easy in our fast moving lives to get impatient with things…slow loading web pages, traffic jams, waiting for the next season of Succession. If we are learning something new in the water or trying to make changes to the way we swim, it is easy to get impatient with ourselves, especially if our bodies are not moving in the way we expect. Our impatience with ourselves leads to frustration, but some of this frustration can be avoided if we are more patient with the water. When we move in the water there is a delay in the way the water reacts to us. One way we can help ourselves develop that elusive ‘feel for the water’ is to be aware of this delay, apply patience and use the reaction of the water to our advantage.
When we kick correctly in breaststroke the true feeling of propulsion doesn’t come until the legs are back together again, we need to be patient and not expect it to happen earlier on in the movement. When our heads re-enter the water after a breath and the position of our bodies readjust back into the glide we have to be patient and wait for the water to lift us.
If we are more patient with the water, we can learn to be more patient with ourselves.

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