DARPAN HEALTH
Beyond mental health benefits, there’s a multitude of physical benefits that go along with swimming. Swimming is a low-impact sport, which is ideal if you experience any sort of joint or muscle pain.”
The sport or activity has incredible mental and physical benefits.
A
SWIMMING:
s a two-time Olympic swimmer, swimming has been a core part of my life from a very young age. Even now that I no longer swim competitively, I still get in the pool often as a way to stay fit and de-stress, as swimming has incredible mental and physical benefits. Although there are over 242 million swimmers worldwide, the sport isn’t typically recognized as a common fitness routine the way that running, biking or yoga is. That said, swimming has a multitude of mental and physical health benefits which make it a great workout to lead your fitness routine with. Swimming also makes a great cross-training workout to explore in the winter months, as it works out a lot of the same muscles used in running and biking — glutes, hips, core, shoulders and arms — and increases your cardio, endurance and strength, making you a better overall athlete. One little-known fact about swimming is that it has fantastic mental health benefits. Exercise in general has a proven correlation to mental health, as it has a positive impact on depression and anxiety, boosts your mood, relieves stress and helps you sleep better. However, swimming arguably has more mental health benefits than most sports, as there’s a significant meditiave aspect to being alone with your thoughts in the pool. Swimming forces you to disconnect with the rest of the world — you can’t bring your phone in the pool with you, after all — and focus on your body and your breathing. Water is also proven to soothe and reduce stress.
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MARCH / APRIL 2020
Reflecting The South-Asian Lifestyle
DARPAN
GREAT FOR
BODY& MIND BY SCOTT DICKENS
Ever wonder why water fountains exist in busy public centres? It’s not just about aesthetics. Water acts as a multi-sensory stress reliever that calms your mind and boosts your mood. When I was a university student, I used to take naps in the bleachers next to our pool in between classes, because the calming sound of the water would instantly relax me. Beyond mental health benefits, there’s a multitude of physical benefits that go along with swimming. Swimming is a low-impact sport, which is ideal if you experience any sort of joint or muscle pain. I speak from experience in this area, as I’ve thrown out my back several times since retiring from swimming. The first thing I do when that happens is to lay horizontally in the pool, as it takes the pressure away from those pain points and encourages blood flow TM