First Wild Swim this year!

Wow, we are in the midst of some super transformative, evolving energies right now! We have had the Solar eclipse in 19/20th April and the 5th May was the Lunar eclipse so we are just after both of them! I don’t know about everyone else but I have been feeling it. I had a day when I was just feeling so exhausted, drained and emotional and not really sure what it was about. My higher self said, “Go for a dip in the sea. Just go for a swim and let the water wash away what you are releasing and it will nourish you too.”

Being April it is still cold in the sea, but as this is the guidance I received when I asked for help I decided I would head to the beach after lunch as it is supposed to have stopped raining by then and the sun would be out too. So I headed over the the beach and it was gorgeous. The sun was out and the sky was blue, the sea was not calm but not rough either, so I popped on my booties and went in. It was cold! Chilly! I took a deep breaths as I proceed one step at a time into the water. Then a wave crash, took me by surprise and I was wet and that made it e

asy. It was cold, shoulders below the water, feeling the water on my neck. Wow! It felt cold and yet amazing all at the same time! I could feel my body discharge was needed to leave. I felt it ripple from my neck all the way down my body and out of my toes. It was wonderful. As all that left and I felt so refreshed and energised. I gave gratitude to Father sun, the Sea and Mother Earth. I felt so good. All that was going on had left me, brought me back into balance. I sat in the sun to dry off as I drank my ginger hot chocolate, appreciating the power and ease of being held and care for by Mother nature.

So this was my first swim of this year that if you are following me on instagram you would have heard about it already. Last year I swam at least once a week from June to November. This year my intention is to swim at least once a week every week whatever the season.

With all that is going on in the world, it can feel unstable and unbalanced this is a wonderful way to realign ones physical and mental health. It is also great for your immune system as was found in a Dutch study*, researchers tested whether people could voluntarily influence their own immune response by practicing meditation, deep breathing, and cold water immersion techniques and found the results were positive. *www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4034215/

There are so many benefits of wild swimming, and here are some of them.

Cold Water Health Benefits:

Less muscle soreness, improving recovery time after exercise.
Reduces body pain and inflammation.
Boost your immune system.
Improve circulation.
Boost your brain power.
Potential weight loss (though not guaranteed) through improved metabolism
‘Cold adaptation’, which is through repeated cold swimming it is possible to bring down blood pressure and cholesterol, reduce fat disposition, inhibit blood clotting and increase libido
Good for the skin and hair

Mental Health Benefits:

Manage anxiety, stress and depression.
Increase alertness, clarity and energy levels. My energy levels just went through the roof after my first swim in 2022.
Release endorphins our happy hormones.
A sense of community. There are lovely groups and meet ups that wild swim all over the world such as the blue tits https://thebluetits.co/
Reconnecting with nature.
Repeated cold water immersion allows acclimatisation, including a reduction in the cold-shock response, hence a reduction in the level of the stress hormones (noradrenaline, cortisol, ACTH).