Swimming has now become a daily routine. I no longer have to brace myself for the plunge into chilly water, as days are creeping into the 90s (32c) on Laguna Bacalar in southern Mexico. The water is getting noticeably warmer and in a month or so, it will feel like stepping into a bath.
I have been working on my swimming stroke for years studying and practicing Total Immersion Swimming. I point my nose toward the bottom, keeping my neck and spine aligned. Catch and pull toward my thigh while cork screwing my body through the water. Pull, rotate, pull rotate, 1, 2, 3. Kicking is not the frantic churning of feet in an effort to propel oneself through the water. Stroke, kick, stroke, kick. It’s a beautiful dance gliding with the grace of a porpoise (at least I try) rather than laying flat like a squat tugboat. 163, 164, 165.
Sometimes I count, sometimes I sing, “Imagine all the people, living life in peace, you ooo may say I’m a dreamer….” I also like to float on my back watching the clouds and the birds. An occasional kayaker passes but for the most part the lake is all mine.
There is one thing, with all this pulling, and singing and counting, I am swimming all over the place. There are no lane lines as in a public pool and I’m not sure if it’s the currents, the wind or my uneven pull, but one minute I’m paralleling the coast and the next I’m heading for open water. I zig and zag and without repeatedly lifting my head, I never know where the heck I am.
I suppose it’s all a metaphor for life. Some days I certainly am going around in circles. Regardless, when I climb the ladder out of the water, I am flush with gratitude, a feeling of supreme accomplishment and a laugh at not knowing where I am or where I’m going, but so happy to be alive.
DOS TORTAS
the adventures of dos tortas 
I’d love to learn how to swim that way. I wear myself out–probably because I’m tense to start with.
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Total Immersion has classes all over the world just for people like you. I’m lucky enough to have had a father who loved to swim and taught me young.
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lovely article today
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Glad you enjoyed it. Life is good.
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By the way, this showed up in my reader after weeks of your writing not appearing here.
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Technology!
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Lucky you! I love to swim and also learned young but swimming in a temperate climate just isn’t for me…brrrr. 🙂
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It will be tropical all too soon.
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This is so beautiful Alex! I floated, as I read your words, with joy and inspiration!
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Words can transport us. I’m glad my intentions succeeded.
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