My Unexpected Love Affair with Swimming

How a chance encounter at the pool and a simple breathing technique transformed swimming from a chore into a moving meditation—and took me from 2 laps to 101.

Two months ago, my swimming career peaked at two laps in a 50m pool. Then I'd be clinging to the wall, lungs burning, wondering why anyone voluntarily did this to themselves.

I've been learning meditation for about a year. Still a beginner, but I've gotten decent at finding that quiet headspace where everything slows down and you're just... present. It's become important to me.

The swimming thing happened by accident. Met this guy at the pool who watched me flail around and casually mentioned I was holding my breath like a panicking toddler. He showed me the actual technique: slow exhale through the nose underwater, quick inhale when you turn, let it fall into a rhythm with your strokes.

So I tried it properly. Four laps in a 25m pool to start. Nothing impressive, but I noticed something immediately—when I focused on that breathing pattern, everything else faded. The burning lungs, the counting, the "when will this end" thoughts. Just breath and movement.

Fast forward to this morning: 101 laps. Non-stop.

Somewhere in the middle—maybe lap 30, maybe 60, I honestly lost track—I realized I wasn't swimming toward anything. I wasn't grinding through a workout. I was just... there. That same weightless, thoughtless calm I get in my best meditation sessions. My body knew what to do. The breathing had become automatic, hypnotic, meditative.

That's when it clicked. Swimming and meditation are completely different activities. One's stillness, one's constant motion. But they arrive at the same doorstep in your head—that effortless, floating state where you're not trying anymore. You're just experiencing.

I wish I'd found this specific doorway sooner. Not just the technique, but what happens when you stop fighting the water and let the rhythm carry you.

If you "know how to swim" but never really swam, try this: pick a pace so easy it feels silly. Focus entirely on breathing out slowly through your nose underwater. Sync it to your strokes. Forget about lap count—just stay with the breath.

The rest happens on its own.