Jump

One of the cool things we are taught to do when swimming is to jump into the deep end of the pool. Not dive. Just jump, leg first, body straight.

We go straight down till we touch the ground - holding our breaths, then we automatically kind of pop up - like a balloon held under water. Once we pop up, we've got to continue swimming.

I love this jumping thing.

The first few times I kind of fell on the water instead of jumping, and I was also keeping my eyes shut. The masters kept telling me to keep my eyes open - I was wearing goggles anyway! That's when I really started enjoying this.

You have to let yourself really be aware of the process to feel it. You should consciously not let it be a blur. Then you will catch what my favourite moment is - the part where you give the outside world the slip, and get under water. Then the light is different, things slow down under water, your body feels different, and for that brief moment, you're a creature of the water. You land on the floor, hand floats a little.
Then, it speeds up again and your body rushes you back to the outside world in one fast swoosh, and you got to swim like land-lings again.

It's beautiful and liberating. It's out of this world and into another. Just for a brief moment.