Aquatic Minimalism

How to use buoyancy and density to swim beautifully.

I’m always trying to pare my swimming down, to take off the extra commotion that keeps me from feeling pure flow in the water. (Work in progress.) I find sometimes that I’m just not in sync with the water; I’m like a person who stormed into a quiet room and is talking unnecessarily loud and fast. Luckily, water can give us the feedback to ramp down production. Shed our busy, disconnected self and merge more with the marvel of weightlessness and a substance so much thicker than air.

The two main properties of water that we either harness or are defeated by are density and buoyancy. Water is approximately a thousand times denser than air. Swimmers are penalized much more than runners for the shape of their body as they move. (This isn’t about being skinny; it’s about using your body in a streamlined way.) Are you creating lots of drag or minimizing your profile? 

Water is a seam you are always trying to swim through, rather than a brick wall to knock down.

The buoyancy of our bodies and water means that without much (or any) effort, our lungs or fleshier parts of our bodies float to the surface. For the Buddhists out there, I equate our ability to float with basic goodness or Buddha nature. We all possess the ability to float, or at least sink slowly, if we can relax our constant trying.

But because many of us have a more fear-saturated relationship with water, or just never properly learned, there is a strong instinct to constantly move to stay afloat, sort of like the person who’s uncomfortable with silence and just keeps talking. We aren’t water bugs and, for most, a good part of our body will remain submerged when floating. But if you add a bit of a stroke, you’ll find yourself high enough in the water as you swim. 

The tricky thing is that we do sink for a bit as we stop trying to cling to the surface, but then we generally float back up. Like touching into basic goodness in meditation, it can be scary to quiet down all our churning and rest in the openness of the moment. We feel a loss of control. I could go up in the water; I could go down. I don’t know. What’s going to happen?

You are surrendering yourself somewhat to the properties of water, which if you have a fraught history with swimming or a healthy desire to not drown, this can be difficult. So much of swimming is about trust as opposed to thwacking the water lap after lap into submission.

Math Time!

Here is an equation to simplify your swimming.

Swimming = Floating + Movement           (and nothing more)

1st, you float, then you move. Floating is how you avoid sinking, and swimming is how you go places in the water. The less you try to rely on swimming to keep you afloat, the more you can direct your energy to moving forward in the water.

If you practice your floating so it’s nearly effortless, and if you can preserve that ease while moving your limbs in front crawl, for instance, you’ll be well on your way to a delightful swim.

Here’s an easeful, sustainable butterfly stroke (in the open ocean, where waves and the increased buoyancy of saltwater make it even more fun).