My swimming workout is my ultimate treat each week. I consider it a great escape because it takes me to an alternate place. In the water, my body is horizontal. I glide through the water and work all the muscles in my body, from head to toe. I am on a different plane and weightless in the water. This roughly 45 minute experience restores my mental and physical energy. It helps me to feel better in my skin. When I finish, I take a long (and usually warm) shower. I head right home to finish drying my hair and am ready to start my day.

I walk out of the locker room feeling both energized and relaxed. I could conquer anything in the day or I could take a nap (which I never do). I know that I crave the effects swimming has on my body.

This swimming experience is a routine and a ritual. I have become so in need of the feeling that this moderate-intensity swim workout gives me that I cannot go without it. I have really come to rely on this swimming ritual to eliminate the feeling of stress that has lingered in me for a lot of days over the past 2 years, since my breast cancer journey started. I know that the best way to get rid of the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach at 2 or 3 am is to swim them away.

Without any doubt, there is a much physiological benefit from time in the water, too. Feeling the butterflies in my stomach signals the stress I am experiencing. Much of this is related to the fear that breast cancer creates in me. That stress cannot live in me. I must release it. I have found that the pool is the best way, although not the only exercise I use to lower or eliminate my stress.

I realize that this past year, swimming has become so important. There have been times when I was not able to swim. I did survive without the water, but now I know what is best for my mind and body. I am more in tune to my mind and body and I am more fearful of what will happen if I do not take care of it. Breast cancer is the biggest element of why I get to the pool each week. I did not always feel the effects of the water in such a deep way, although swimming has been part of my exercise for many years, even if more or less frequently than my current routine.

The content of this podcast is not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a healthcare professional regarding your healthcare questions and concerns. This podcast contains opinions of the host.

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