In responding to another thread I started to ramble (again) at the end of the reply and decided to make it another thread.
I’m really curious to hear about what visualization techniques other folks use as they swim, or as they think about swimming (in or out of the water).
I’ve recently been thinking a lot about how I channel my energy forward in swimming. I reckon this would seem pretty obvious, but anyway.... The idea of really channeling my energy forward came to full light as I progressed in my fly practice. (We’re talking months and years of self teaching here, not using any props .) It wasn’t until I began to get more of a feel for going forward (as opposed to up, for air) that I was able to get the sensation that my fly stroke was flat and smooth (as opposed to awkward lunging, for survival). This understanding has led me to rethink how I move in my other strokes as well. But as for fly I’m discovering that a relaxed midsection is instrumental in attaining the fluidity of the stroke, as in with the hips following (the head), allowing the sensation that the body is flowing through the water. This is a pretty slippery task to grab hold of since so much of the midsection is used in fly. (But I’m really pleased because for the 1st time in my 48yr life I’m actually beginning to develop what almost looks like six-pack abs. Woo-Hoo!) Anyway... I think a lot about going forward these days.
Another visualization technique that I’ve frequently used for many years now is that my upper body is separate from my lower body, connected only by a swivel joint. This is most noticeable in front crawl, especially on the recovery (keeping the upper and lower both engaged in going forward, while trying to relax the midsection). There don’t seem to be a lot of muscles in your midsection (at the waist/hips) that help you go forward in swimming (I know that muscles used connect in this area, but we’re talking about imagination here folks). This is less true for ***, and especially fly, because of the undulation motions of the strokes, but to a degree it is still true there too. Again, it is my fly practice that has made me acutely aware of this.
The above technique leads to my envisioning all my movements as being more fluid, like the medium I’m trying to move through (as in “Be the water”). And having an overall sensation of relaxing the muscles that are not use to make me go forward (as in relaxing the muscles not used to help you better attain a Yoga asana ).
Swimming is definitely a very Zen thing for me.
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