Swimming With Your Eyes Closed!!

[hiabhijeet]

Has anyone tried this??

I just happened to try it yesterday while I was doing the Skate-Stroke-Skate drill and it was BEAUTIFUL. You can feel so many things that you miss when your eyes are open. For instance you start feeling the exact point where your arm is recovering.

Shouldn't we be doing this from time to time to get a better feel of water?

Regards,
Abhijeet

[haschu33]

I did that regularly some time ago. Only when I had a lane to myself. I did that to improve my breathing, so I would close my eyes, turn my head not more than 90 degrees to the side (at least what feels to be 90 degrees to the side) and then breathed.
It gave me great confidence in not worrying about whether there is air or not when you want to breathe. There is air.

I found it giving a very calm and almost out-worldly experience to swim like that, and I lost a bit the sense of moving forward but being kind of in the same spot with having a variation of physical sensations around me.

I can only recommend to do that once in a while, when you have the opportunity.

[terry]

Abhijeet
I do this constantly when working on a skill that requires subtler awareness. Often it's not even voluntary or conscious. I simply realize I've closed my eyes at some point. I practice a lot in an Endless Pool so I don't have to worry about unintended 'close encounters' with other swimmers.

[CoachGeorgeRandall]

I will have to try this more often. As it looks like it would take some time to neurally adapt from sight lost while swimming in order to amplify or strengthen the other senses.

[hiabhijeet]

Hey Terry

Cool to receive your reply on this. So it is a good way in fact. Awesome!!

Thanks,
Abhijeet