Swimming

Has anyone noticed that is is imposible to combine Yoga and Swimming?
I ve been trying for a long time and by no way is it working. Some people told me that they have no problems but they are all whole life swimmers so i doubt in their “yoga practise”.
It just dont work. Yoga principals are based on nose breathing and free flow of air which doesnt go with swimming where your head is constantly under water. The presure can not be made and the water pours right down the nose.

Anyone?

Never heard of combining yoga with swimming. Sorry. Can you be more specific about your sources - where you heard of this and what the purported benefits are?

You could just as easily ask about combining yoga with any other sport, like bungee jumping for instance.

I wasnt asking for a specific source to to judge on… no source except those who practise yoga and also maybe swim. The only benefits i can think of are those that you might happend to love yoga… and also swimming at the same time. I just suposed that the people who practise yoga might also have gone to the pool sometime…
and bungee is i belive mainly on adrenalin because you only have to take the courage to jump and not have a heart atack on the way down. It s similar to suicide “in a way”… :smiley: You just let gravity do the job, so i wouldnt call it a sport

Anyway i have seen some info on the net saying how yoga and swimming can be combined* only a few of them

cheers

I gave the matter some more thought and it occurred to me that swimming is quite yogic in that it involves breath control (conscious breathing, kumbakh). Bungee jumping is yogic in that it involves overcoming one’s fear of dying! That’s Raja Yoga. You can apply yogic principles to a lot of things, I suppose!

Hi, I’m a beginner in yoga lessons and recently i thought of do yoga in the swimming pool…such as:

  1. making slow sweeping movements with my arms across the water while inhaling and exhaling slowly

  2. holding on to the poolside and doing a back bend (I find this very comfortable than in a yoga room)

  3. Walking across the pool, stretching my legs in big steps while inhaling & exhaling…

Anybody else tried doing yoga in the water please share! :slight_smile:
Just my 3cts suggestions…:slight_smile:

iv done ti chi (sp?) in the water.
you have to remember that not all yoga is bent over. im sure it can help creat more fluid movements, and the water is very calming

also, at my cottage i swim out to the floating dock and do yoga on it. it helps with balance and the water is peaceful; if im up early enough or do it late enough it is a neat addition with the sun-rise/set

ive heard of this specific natural springs…gosh i cant remember the name…my dad was telling me about it…but anyway something about the minerals in the water and the extreme heat of it (he said it can take hours just to get into it slowly over time so you get used to the heat)…but anyway the heat and all helps relax your muscles and loosen the joints and all kinds of good stuff ( i guess kinda like that hot body yoga)…its supposedly great for yoga he says.

damn im pretty clueless…does anyone have any idea what im talking about?

i think it was in america too…

Selvarajan Yesudian has written in his book “yoga and sport” about combining swimming with some breathing techniques.

Breathing well is the backbone of swimming. I learnt from someone that Anulom Vilom Pranayam or alternate nostril breathing is best for swimming.
Even though it is nose breathing, it sort of enhances lung power. Can anybody suggest anything in yoga to improve breathing for swimming. ?

Lappa has a book on this
Universal yoga - Andrey Lappa?s Official site?-?Pranayama in water

Not related to, or distantly related is my question.

I was advised (I read it somewhere) that it is not good to take a bath right after a yoga session. I wonder what would be the reason.

Why shouldn?t it be possible to combine swimming and yoga.
In the sutras patanjali says clearly that an exercise done with compassion and intenstiy is enhancing the state of citta vritti nirodha.
As far as I learned from my teacher Sri S. Rajagopalan anything in life can be Yoga it simply depends on the attidude we are doing it.
Finaly yoga is alot more than all the postures and the breathing.
Even dish washing can be Meditation if there are no other thougths but just the doing, the expierencing of what we are doing now.
atha yoga anuasanam says Patanjali in the first sutra - Now!!! comes the disciplin of yoga.
Greetings
Lars

While integrating yoga and swimming can present challenges, it is important to note that they serve different purposes and have distinct principles. The practice of yoga emphasizes nasal breathing and free airflow, which contradicts the nature of swimming where the head is submerged underwater. Trying to combine these practices might not yield the desired results, as they inherently clash. It's very important to be aware of these differences to avoid falling victim to above ground pools scams or misleading claims that promise seamless integration of these two activities.