Swim Yoga

Ellie working her magic

Body position, flow, breathing, relaxed yet controlled awareness of body and mind … am I talking about yoga or swimming? The reality is I could be talking about either. After decades of swimming , poor posture and some brief experiences with yoga I finally have a season, routine , means and motivation to dedicate some proper  time to yoga.  For the past two months I have been attending yoga sessions 2-3 times a week. After a month I noticed changes. Years of swimming and shoulder and chest development had pulled my shoulders forward and down, my spine is rounded more than most, even still I had not realized how much I looked down rather than forward when I walked. After just a month I noticed how my walk had changed I was looking up rather than at my feet and seeing the world from a whole new perspective. My spine feels long and my body feels much more comfortable. I have found the yoga sessions complement the smooth rhythm required of swimming along with the requirement for control of breath.

As a guy attending yoga for the first time can be intimidating, most classes seem to be predominately female. The moves take some time to learn and girls generally have a far greater range of motion than the guys. But give it time and the moves do start to flow even when you are as uncoordinated as me. I have also been lucky in South West London to have an inspirational teacher, Ellie. Ellie took the time to introduce herself to me at my first class as she does with every single new student. She explains that in her yoga class there are no wrong moves, it’s all part of a learning journey.  I have found the classes have helped me find calm outside of my busy life and away from the pool, my muscles feel more limber, long and loose and my shoulder blades are getting drawn together for the first time in a long time improving my posture and comfort tremendously. If you are looking for a great complement to your swimming give yoga a try. And if you are in South West London and are looking for a great instructor send Ellie an e-mail ellieredcliffe@hotmail.com   She teaches classes all over SW London and teaches private lesson too and best of all she’ll be relating yoga moves to swimming throughout the class so you won’t miss a beat.