By Moises G. Biado
While many people are being shot or killed in the war against drugs, there appears not much effort to aggressively promote activities which can reduce drug addiction for generations to come. One way is to divert the energy and attention of people from harmful vices like indulging in shabu, at the same time improving their health, mentally and physcially, which will in the end mean a healthier nation. This is by aggressively promoting sports and a very beneficial one is swimming.
This should have been a priority as the Philippines is surrounded with water and blessed with nice rivers everywhere, and we have long and hot summers to boot.
Now let me contribute my bit to entice people to take to the water.
Benefits of swimming:
1. Physiological effect- it contributes to the development and maintenance of most body processes by using many large muscle groups, improving lung volume and respiratory efficiency, and it can be a lifetime activity;
2. Female competitive swimmers have been found to be fitter, advance in growth, superior in intelligence, extroverted, energetic, having no menstrual disturbances and with normal healthy psychological attitudes when compared to girls of similar age who are not involved in swimming;
3. Unlike other strenous activities, risk of joint or muscle injries in swimming are minimized due to the supportive nature of the water. For instance, those who are obese or who have tendencies of becoming arthritic or rheumatic may further aggravate their problems with weight bearing activities such as jogging. But not in swimming as aforesaidd;
4. Water is also therapeutic in many ways, thus the term hydro-therapy. It can relieve pain (e.g. of those suffering from partial paralysis, sprain, many forms of inflmation), improve circulation, induce relaxation, build confidence and mobilize joint stiffnes, etc. It makes possible swimming which has been described as an excellent therapy for those with blindness, cerebral palsy, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, mental retardation, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis. It is also recommended for maintaining fitness in those with pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, obesity, polio yetis, low back pain, asthmat, etc.;
5. Swimming just like any other exercise can delay the aging process by maintaining greater functional mobility;
6. Has it not been for yoga, swimming would easily be the best exercise because it affects all organs or parts of the body, specially the spine. Its only drawback (which is not true with yoga) is that the skin pores close so a swimmer’s skin could not breath or perspire, except maybe in hot water.
A word of caution though. One should not enter the water with fever, unhealed wounds, infection, skin disease or discharges from the ears or nose.
As somebody said, “There is exhilaration in submerging oneself in water to cool off on a hot day, to admire the ocean floor or to simply enjoy the weightlessness brought about by the supportive action of water, which is akin to the feelings of an astronaut outside earth’s gravitational forces. Swimming is a uniquely soothing sport. There is no sensation quite like moving over a cushion of water; feeling lighter in body as you glide over the surface, feeling calmer in mind as you move with the softly slapping surface… a time for mental house cleaning.”
Moreover, the ability to swim opens doors to other recreational activities such as canoeing, kayak, rowing, surfing, water polo, lifesaving, water hockey, aquarobics, synchronized swimming and many others.
Welcome to the swimming world.**
