The Monkey King
So, in the middle of one of those monster weekend swims just two days ago, I mentally pictured a monkey swimming. If you have never seen it, do so. It’s pretty damn cute.
At first, my focus was on the legs, and the manner they push/kick, but then I thought about the tail. I began a meditation focus of giving myself a tail, the balance and usage in the water. It caused changes, quickly.
It relaxed, maybe dragged, my lower back, as if letting the tail take some water drag. This altered my hip angle, lessening drag and raising my hips / lower torso in the water, dramatically lessening overall drag. In turn, muscles were able to adjust further up my back. It even reached my armpits, finding a new kink point, one too hard to explain, but wow, oh wow. It feels like a reversal point for the arms to connect to the torso properly (we’ll see).
Standing, Two ways
As the monkey tail practice continued, I soon found the ability to alter my breaststroke kick in a significant way, though this has been hard to repeat without much time and effort. Imagine that when the legs come up, the monkey’s tail likewise does, only behind you, almost arching the lower back. Then, when kicking, both converge in something similar to say a three armed octopus (tripus? 🙂). Both sides converging was a totally new sensation, as if discovering Yin and Yang.
Now, even out of the water, I can sometimes find this convergence just standing. It’s worth noting, just like the monkey swimming, it also sends focus/force up the torso!
As far as changes go, it’s like I am in a crescendo. Obviously, I have felt like I am nearing a breakthrough so many times before. I am not letting myself get too excited, but damn if I am not a bit excited.
I can’t wait to get back in the pool.
