Lap Swimming as Meditation

Central to meditation, and the Eastern philosophy of Yoga, is control of the breath or prana or life force. The essence of swimming laps is control of the breath.

As a young adult, I frequently swam across the several lakes that bordered my home in India’s Himalayan foothills. It was an indescribable experience – just the green water, the blue sky and a body in tune with its environment and the rhythm of its breathing.

Today, I try to reconstruct the experience (somewhat) with lap swimming – a sensation that can only be understood by those that experience it. This exercise lifts me above myself to a mind-body experience that undeniably releases a flood of endorphins. The feeling is not dissimilar to the uplifting experience that follows a yoga session or meditation practice.

If meditation means guiding the mind inward and is marked by concentration, controlled breathing and withdrawal of the senses from the external world - then swimming laps can be viewed as meditation. Who says meditation insists on us sitting down cross-legged, or being still, or closing our eyes?

http://www.5oclockreflections.com/lap-swimming-as-meditation/

Human Connections in Old-fashioned Ways

Through much of my life in India, local ground transport has meant being in the back of a chauffeur-driven car, cocooned and insular. In recent years, since access to modern communications technologies, weekday mornings were spent immersed in reading the news and evenings in email or on the phone. Not only have I mostly missed the ever-changing microcosm of city life playing out outside my vehicle window, but I have largely missed viewing the daily grind of Mumbai (it really is like no other city and home to a population equal to all of Australia!) passing on the opportunity of a daily ringside view.

I am doing it differently now, in historic Alexandria and the vibrant DC area. For one thing, I’ve decided not to have a car and find there is nothing quite like public transport, to teach you about a new place and its people. I have also decided to refrain from reading or listening to music on my bus or train, opting instead to be conscious and mindful and, yes, curious.

Each day is an adventure on the Metro – It could be a quiet ride into town in a near empty train, or a standing-room-only experience at rush hour. I can freely indulge my interest in people watching: viewing the passengers around me, using little clues to gauge their states of mind and spinning imagined stories about their context and who they might be. I think  most fellow travelers are regular folk, but am conscious of how each must be unique in his or her own way and special to the people in their own unique lives. Above all, I love the eccentricities - be they in attire or footwear or hairstyles - and never tire of these! While there are established rules that govern behavior toward strangers, I will often smile at someone or comment on something extraordinary. I find that even strangers welcome the human overture and it’s as if they were waiting for someone else to start the conversation, for someone else to first step outside the comfort zone…

http://www.5oclockreflections.com/human-connections-in-old-fashioned-ways/

Transitions

The unknown – it is scary, exciting, adrenaline-inducing, all at once. Still, I would not advise you to embrace the familiar, the safe, or the comfortable just because it is also the known. No, I urge you to make the leap!

I have just made a migration on so many levels: from Mumbai in distant India to the capital of America; from a long career of full-time employment to consulting where I choose my own level of discipline; from a regulated and planned schedule to the flexibility that allows me to be where I want. Above all, I have migrated away from my life of predictable security to become an explorer in a new world. Of course there are moments of doubt and uncertainty, but these are followed by moments of pride and the satisfaction of knowing that I am following my mind as I advance in this next phase of my journey. This path is not easy, but constantly wondering ‘what if…’ would be infinitely harder!

http://www.5oclockreflections.com/transitions/