Swimming!

Its absolute fun to get back to swimming these days! It was third day today. Its summer time in Bangalore, so its easy to swim in cold/normal temperature water. 

I am observing how body is getting ready day by day to this sport and exercise activity. I can feel exactly which muscle in biceps is used, exactly which muscle in thigh is getting exercise!

Its interesting, when you are in water, you don't feel so tired, when you climb out of the pool, you can suddenly feel so much more weight!

This is one exercise where breathing is highly important:- as it is one is struggling not to drown(!) :) and avoiding water entering in mouth or nose... and in addition, suddenly you can get tired, will be out of breath!

From my previous swimming experience I have learnt that I need to do swimming with proper warm up. Else in middle of pool if one gets a cramp or muscle pull, that's it! Quite awkward. I am going to start a full fledged multivitamin course also, as the muscles need it.

I only know two types of swimming strokes- straight forward hand motion, tortoise like swimming. Would like to learn other two common ones this summer:- butterfly and backstroke. In both these others, there is more chance of water going in nose once in a while, so I haven't managed it yet. 

However in Diwali vacation in Mumbai, I learnt how to just float for a while on water... Its a skill!! You know, the babies can do it effortlessly! Because effortlessness is the key! And they are good at it. Very Very young babies only. And of course don't experiment unless you are expert in handling them! They can do so in a bath tub... The thing is, our body has enough air and other empty space to make it float on water. The density of body is very close to that of water! So there is saying in Marathi which  means "Strange is the way of water, it drowns a live man, and keeps floating a corpse!" Yeah corpse floats on water! And so the key to float is to be like a corpse:- effortless! :) And in that effortless state of mind and body you can also feel oneness with water element, air flowing in and around, the space above and fire in form of sunlight... 

And today two guys were swimming in another interesting way!! They swam :--- well, its tough to describe, you should have seen them, and I couldn't stop laughing for long after that --- They swam in the direction of their legs!!! so stomach was on water, their motion is not in the direction of head, but legs! they move the hands in opposite direction!! :) Its good to have number of  regular swimmers in the pool, along with amatures and novice. The Jayanagar swimming pool is very well maintained by corporation, there is nice mechanism to clean feet before entering, the pool is wide and long, goes upto 16 feet deep, and you can see the bottom even in 16 feet!!

hmmm. so to do thing is to buy a hair cap, goggles, ear cap, and get professional help for learning remaining forms of swimming now! lots to do.

Taboo!

Thanks to my friend Prabha, I got to know of this interesting boardgame called "Taboo!" :)
Lets say you had to talk about the word "Swimming Pool", without using the words water, jump, float, tank and amenity. Then how would you speak!?
If you speak any of those taboo words, you lose point!
And your team has to guess the word you are describing!

Its opposite to dumb-sherads! You are not allowed to act... Only speak, and speak without the taboo words! haha...!

Its so much fun game for 6-8 players...

The game remained in my memory and I started relating it to my life... In life also we have some taboo topics and words... And we circle around them to tell what we want to tell!
An awkward situation in real life, if looked at as a game can be so much fun!
e.g. next time you have to tell about your boyfriend or girlfriend to your parents, and you are... well, not allowed to use the words boyfriend or girlfriend! Then don't feel shy or awkward, take it as a game, and see how easy it is!

Its also a useful way to culture the language... Now a days some of us use the f word as if it is a punctuation mark in the English grammer! No need! Use quality words, live quality life....

love
jaigurudeva
Abhay


p.s. do you like such posts...
p.p.s. drop some comments, your comments inspire me to write more!

500 feet above the ground!

Imagine floating mid-air, with no support of anything, being swung by great wind blowing on your face, and nearest point on earth is 500 feet below you! --- That's para sailing...!

My friend Milind and I have this zeal for adventure sports. And when we get a chance, we don't look back or keep thinking, we just do it! And so was our adventure of Para sailing. It was arranged by Nisarga group in the dry Lake bed near Hosakote. Its a huge (few km in radius) lake bed. Totally flat and lot of wind. So at the beginning of flight, your parachute is blown up with lot of air:-

You are tied to a jeep at the other end. And as soon as the jeep moves, you get a gentle lift in the air... And there you are...! As the jeep picks up the speed, your parachute gets filled in with more and more air, and you rise up in sky!!

Very soon, you can see the horizon in all directions! And the air current makes you float. A small imbalance and you will tend to 'feel' as if you are falling that side! But you don't...! And you feel so weightless, as if you are like a feather.. A fear of falling down rises in you, but you keep floating without support! You can't even grab on something for support anyways!Two minutes of this ride, its a thrill!

As the jeep slows down, you slowly come down, and there is a person to catch you! Its so systematic and well practised, that its as if you are parcelled through air!

KogWorks

I got this nice boardgame:- "KogWorks". Its about forming chain of rotating wheels, and whoever forms the desired chain first wins... You can also block opponent's rotations. Its interesting to see the number of possibilities in the game! See their webpage.
I was wondering, in most of the games that we have, there is a competition between two people. The winner has to be Above someone to win. This aspect gets inculcated in people and they seem to be competing almost everywhere -even in a line for Idly Wada in a restaurant!
Why not to have some games which involve more of a partnership. Where winning simply means achieving something together. Where a Team Effort is needed, and competition is with oneself, rather than others. Where the interdependence is realised. Such games are the need of time.
In Japan, the country famous for teamwork, this aspect is inculcated right from Childhood. Their, the toys are heavy, so two three children have to together lift it!