Water Therapy

As the new semester begins I am making an effort to maintain balance.  It has been easy so far because I’m not yet immersed in homework, reading, and multiple commitments…

Well.  Now that I write it I realize my statement above isn’t entirely true.  I have a practicum portfolio that is far overdue (I finished the practicum in June), a large pile of books to read for my new classes and my new internship, and I am already attending internship training and second year classes.  I suppose I should give myself more credit.  An important aspect of self-care is the ability to be gentle and nurturing with oneself, including the occasional self-directed “atta-girl”!  Let’s try this again:

As the new semester begins I am making an effort to maintain balance.  So far I am doing well!  Summer arrived late this year and this weekend was a gorgeous, sunny, 25 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday.  I ended up swimming in the ocean both days.  To appreciate this you must know that (a) I am a huge wimp when it comes to cool water, and (b) I can’t swim (I doggie-paddle).  Nonetheless, this weekend the ocean was calling me and I swam.

“The contrast between languor and movement, hot and cool, sun and water is refreshing and soothing” – Pipher, Letters to a Young Therapist

In returning to the medicine wheel model (as promised) I can tell you that my least-nurtured areas during this past year of grad school have been the physical and spiritual quadrants.  Swimming was an excellent way to re-balance.  Other than a little reflection and processing my normally overactive cognitive self basically took a nap.  Physically however, swimming is excellent exercise (even when one is doggie-paddling) and as I walked into the ocean my skin (our largest organ) was awakened.  Every inch of my skin was able to interact with the water simultaneously and a mothball-covered area of my brain suddenly lit up as I paid long-overdue attention to the sensations of my skin.  (Thoughts demand a lot of time and attention in grad school!)

Swimming was spiritually reconnecting as well, as I watched a seal playing in the bay, spotted colourful starfish on the rocks, and was tickled by little rock crabs when I stood still in the water.  On land we contact the earth through the soles of our feet.  In swimming we are immersed in the world at a different level.

“Swimming is primordial. We are made of water, once long ago we lived in water, and with swimming we return to water.” – Pipher, Letters to a Young Therapist

For the moment I have fuel in all four quadrants for a change.  I returned to internship and class today (all 11 hours of it) with a sense of balance.  I still have a portfolio to complete, but this weekend I was called to the ocean and I’m ok with that.

*Thanks to my colleague Laura for directing me to the swimming quotes used here, and for swimming with me on Sunday!