CONTINUED FROM... "water (and other!) therapy :: relief and renewal"
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WRITTEN TUESDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 19:
(Okay so this was going to be one of a few posts I was going to post right now, sat down to first write this one on water therapy and how much I have been enjoying going to the pool and was supposed to be just a couple of paragraphs because I just felt it wasn't much more than that, and then, 10 pages later, I ended up realizing why this has been such a big thing for me...
So alas, I will again do what I've grown accustomed to making these a bit more readable, my “two paragraphs” turned into 10 pages will now be broken up since once again there was so much more in me on this than I realized I had to say. Funny how our souls always have so much more they want to say. And now, onto the posts already ;)
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Just got back from the pool – I feel SO refreshed!!
It has been like rediscovering this phenomenon most people have loved and enjoyed and looked forward to in the summers – going to the pool, but for me, this is a first.
I bought a swimsuit last week.
Epic.
Might not seem that way, but I literally have not owned or worn a swimsuit since I was 12 years old.
I have not gone swimming since I was 12 years old or even wanted to go swimming or go to a pool.
I have not bought or shopped for a swimsuit ever, since the last ones when I was 12 and under I am assuming my parent's bought me since it's not like I had any money.
AND, I have not WANTED to buy or shop for a swimsuit, nor been this excited about doing so as well as going to the pool in as long as I can remember. Or ever. So definitely a week of firsts!!
There's a lot of reasons I won't go into here related to why I have not wanted to go swimming or wear or own a swimsuit in years. I know how to swim and I remember possibly enjoying it, but it has been an activity I have steered away from for years.
So, now that I hang out with a lot of my friends with kids during the day as they stay at home, and I stay at home now, anytime we are making plans and they say they're taking the kids to the pool, then coming home for lunch, then letting the kids take a nap or play while a few of us talk and hang out or just me and a friend talk while the kids do something else, I usually just say I'll meet up with them when they get home from the pool.
Then I found out about a month and a half ago that they don't get their hair wet either, they just sit in the kiddie pool and lounge, as not wanting to get my hair wet has been one of my biggest excuses.
Or not having a swimsuit, or I just don't like going to the pool.
Well, something obviously had to change in between then and now because last week, as I feel like each week I am learning and re-learning how to best fight the battle each day in this season, and I wanted to make plans with one of my friends for the Monday morning to get myself up and running and having to be somewhere early instead of getting into my day and doing things or running errands or seeing people later.
I told her I wanted to see what time they went to the pool usually and that I would like to join them.
I still didn't have a swimsuit, but just planned to wear a tank top and shorts if we're just sitting there I thought it should be okay.
Oh my GOSH – it was such a blast!!!
My mom has been telling me I should do water therapy or water aerobics for a while now but every time she'd mention it (including in the winter when the thought of swimming in that cold did not sound exciting, even if it would be in a heated pool indoors at a gym), I have just dismissed it.
Not that I didn't think the suggestion was valid, as she said many of the things I've learned and heard that doing exercises in the water is a good, low-impact way to get your muscles moving and get some exercise especially if you are like me and any sort of prolonged activity intensifies the pain or my symptoms and only makes them worse.
And, so I slowly started warming up to the idea and knowing there was a pool just down the street from us, I thought I'd try it a time or two this summer and have joked that I would have to go really early in the morning when no one was there because the first image that came to mind when my mom mentioned it was those old ladies doing water aerobics in the pool and I envisioned kids being like, “Mommy, what is that girl doing?!?” lol.
So I thought it was a good plan, but I just knew it would have to be implemented when there was no one around.
So, then randomly, out of the blue, knowing that a lot of my friends with kiddos go to the pool everyday, I wanted to see what it would all be about.
Again, I don't know what caused this sudden shift, but I was just really excited about going to the pool with my friend and her little girl, and she was even surprised and excited I finally wanted to tag along.
Like I said, oh my gosh it was so much fun!!
It was so refreshing just to be in the water, to sit on the steps and be able to still talk with her, but also see and play with her little girl. We were out there that first time in 100 degree heat at NOON, I do not know WHAT on EARTH we were thinking, but the crazy thing was, even just sitting in the water, it was fine.
There was something so cool and refreshing about just being in the water and kicking my legs around a little bit and being able to chill and relax and play.
It was like experiencing something I don't even remember ever experiencing and being there with other moms that live in their neighborhood too and seeing their cute swimsuits, women that were the same size or bigger than me, also helped me feel less self-conscious about if I could find a swimsuit or wear one even, that I would look good or at least okay in.
Mostly, all of their super cute tankinis, I was like, where did you get that, that's really cute, oh, I love that one, and it was like opening this whole new world to me.
That our bodies change, for various or no reason at all, but that no matter what size or what age, you can still wear and look/feel good in a bathing suit.
So that encouraged me, just seeing other women, who like me, have a different body now than they used to, or weigh significantly more than they used to before they had kids, or even those whose weight hasn't changed but their body shape/type has, things don't fit or look like they used too, but to see them still put on and wear a swimsuit seriously was one of the most encouraging things.
And I realized later even, not only did it feel so refreshing physically, like my legs just felt so good the rest of the day just from being in the water and moving them around a little bit, but it was also huge on another level.
CONTINUED IN... "where soul meets body :: water (and other!) therapy, pt. 3"
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