Swimming – the Ultimate Form of Dynamic Meditation
Picture this: you dive into the cool, blue water, your arms slicing through the surface as your breath falls into a steady rhythm. You feel the immense force of the water as it tries to resist your motion; the way in which the cool water splashes against your skin as your arms and legs strike its surface; the way the foam blinds your eyes from the path in front of you. And yet, there is only one thing that you think about, that fills your mind, that takes all your attention - your breath. Breathe in...stroke...breathe out...stroke...breath in…
Congratulations! You’ve just completed a full session of meditation! (Well, dynamic meditation, to be precise. But we’ll get back to that soon.)
“Meditation?” you may ask. “But doesn’t that involve sitting down in a calm, soothing environment, and chanting a mantra for hours on end?”
Well, not really.
The Merriam Webster defines the term meditate as “to focus one’s thoughts on”, i.e, to concentrate all your attention on something – anything – with all your conscious power and with such fierce intensity that the whole world around you seems to fade away, and all that’s left on your mind is the subject of your focus.
What usually comes to mind when someone mentions ‘meditation’ is static meditation. Static meditation is the most well known type of meditation (you know, the classic ‘sit down in a calm, quiet room; keep your spine straight; take deep breaths; say Om…’). It aims to cultivate awareness of the present moment and stillness – both metaphorically and quite literally. This type of meditation is often associated with spirituality and is commonly practiced as a religious activity.
But just because static meditation is the most popular type of meditation, doesn’t mean it’s the only one. Behold…dynamic meditation! Dynamic meditation is a very recently coined term, which had started to be used in the 1970’s when descriptions of Indian philosopher Osho’s ‘Rajneesh Dhyan Yoga’ were translated to English. Unlike static meditation, which emphasizes stillness, dynamic meditation is a type of meditation that involves physical actions.
Although today, dynamic meditation generally refers to rituals like Sama dances of the Sufi mystics or the Gurdjieff Movements (both of which have similar goals of attaining awareness and appreciation for the present moment), if we go back to our definition of meditation, we would realise that the term dynamic meditation is really just any activity that needs intense focus. In that sense, swimming is a form of dynamic meditation: you focus on your breathing, and your breathing only.
In fact, activities like dance, martial arts, running, or even painting can technically be qualified as dynamic meditation. But swimming stands out. It strips away the excess: no music, no tools, no distractions; just your breath and your mind.
There's no right or wrong way to practice dynamic meditation, but if you're looking for one of the purest, most natural and effective ways to do it – go take a swim.
So, are you ready to reset your mind, strengthen your body, and sharpen your focus? Jump in.