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Outside the Box:
Triathlon Swimming: Made EasyEllen Langer, at age 67, is the longest-serving psychology prof at Harvard. What she is best known for is studies which have shown that people can make marked physical changes, improving health, reversing aging effects, etc. in response to mental suggestions, which she calls primes. The New York Times Magazine just published an article about […]
Archive for the ‘Mindful Swimming’ Category
Zen and the Art of Breaking World (or Personal) Records
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 9th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 9th, 2014
What do you suppose it takes to set a world record in swimming. More to the point, what do you suppose it feels like to swim faster than any human in history? A recent article in the New York Times Miles From Her Top Competitors, a Young Star Still Outswims Them reported that US distance […]
Focus: Always a Work in Progress
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 8th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 8th, 2014
In my most recent post Change Your Swimming in Three Minutes, I suggested doing a 3-minute exercise in nose-breathing and mind-clearing prior to entering the pool for practice. I wrote that post after several days of doing that exercise as I prepared to start a session of writing. It did help center me for somewhat […]
Change Your Swimming in Three Minutes
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 3rd, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 3rd, 2014
Do you have three minutes to spare? Not just any time. Specifically the three minutes just before you enter the pool, or any body of water. If you do, try this: Sit or stand wherever you’re comfortable. Then breathe through your nose, counting down 20 breaths. Each time you exhale, think: 20 . . . […]
The Evolutionary Instinct to Efficiency
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 15th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 15th, 2014
What’s the connection between evolution, snow-shoveling, and swimming-improvement? The past few days brought a snow-storm of historic proportions–18 to 24 inches, atop 10 inches from a week earlier. For me, that meant opportunity for my own ‘Winter Games.’ I’ve been skiing on a rail trail for the past week, and was anxious yesterday to get […]
Why I Count Strokes the Conscious (‘Hard’) Way
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 1st, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 1st, 2014
Earlier this month, TI Coach (and ‘Head Librarian’ of the TI Swim Academy) Mat Hudson wrote a blog titled Why Count Strokes? I urge you to read it — all the way through. It’s packed with invaluable insight and clear, compelling explanation. At the top, Mat enumerates his reasons for counting strokes. My favorites include: Counting […]
Meditation, Marines, and Mindful Swimming
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 16th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 16th, 2014
In the NY Times Magazine piece, Breathing In Vs. Spacing Out writer Dan Hurley describes the importance of balancing two types of thinking for optimal brain health. Hurley reports that the psychologist Amishi Jha used meditation to train United States Marines for mental resilience in a combat zone. (Are you surprised to learn this? I’m […]
Life Lessons from Diana Nyad?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 12th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 12th, 2013
The below is a guest post by psychotherapist Jeanne Safer PhD, a thoroughly Kaizen TI student taking weekly lessons at the TI Swim Studio in New Paltz for 10 years. This article was originally published at the Psychology Today web site, where Jeanne has just begun writing regular essays on the psychological revelations possible through […]
Strong Body, Sharp Mind: How swimming can give it to you
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 26th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 26th, 2013
If you emphasize neural training, you always receive quality aerobic training.
Focus = Bliss.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on March 1st, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on March 1st, 2013
Practicing Focal Points is as good for your brain as it is for your stroke and psyche.