From Retreat to Routine: How Swimming Became Part of My Healing Journey

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

I love swimming. I was lucky enough to have lessons throughout my childhood, so I’m a fairly confident swimmer. But this time last year, I hadn’t been swimming for over a decade because of my health.

Then, last August, while on a mindfulness retreat, I took a tentative dip in a small outdoor pool. I’d reached a point where swimming felt like it might be possible again. I’d already begun introducing gentle, mindful movement into my days. And in my mind, there was no safer or more supportive environment to give it a try. I swam just a couple of metres—and then cried.

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With happiness!

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It felt like coming home. The water has always been one of my favourite places to be. I am a Pisces, after all! Coming out of the pool, I felt elated—alive. People around me said I radiated joy. And they were right. For the first time in so many years, I felt like me again.

Back home, I started looking for somewhere I might be able to swim regularly—somewhere affordable, accessible, and local. I don’t drive and rely on a pavement mobility scooter to get around. That’s when I discovered our little town has a Disabled Swimming Group, held weekly in a school pool, open to people with a wide range of physical and mental health conditions.

In September, after a very reassuring phone call with one of the lovely ladies who runs the club, I finally plucked up the courage to go.

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And I’m so glad I did!

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A woman was assigned to show me around and explain how things work. She was warm, friendly, and welcoming, and my nerves began to melt away. Everyone else I met was just as kind. There was no competitiveness, no comparisons—everyone simply did their own thing, in their own way. It was caring. Supportive. And I immediately felt at home.

That first session, I swam a couple of gentle lengths, floated, and simply enjoyed the support of the water—and of the people. It was a blissful half-hour of not fighting gravity, of just letting go.

Afterwards, there was a raffle, a cup of tea, and a bit of chat. Not once did I feel like an outsider. I felt like I belonged.

And I realised that feeling of belonging is something that had been missing from my life for far too long.

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These days, I go most weeks. Yes, for the swimming—but also for the people, the connection, the sense of community. I spent years housebound, and sometimes bedbound. That kind of life doesn’t lend itself to spontaneous chats or to feeling part of something. I had forgotten what it feels like to belong. To be part of a group. And how vital that is to our wellbeing.

In a way, that realisation makes me sad. I spent so many years thinking swimming was no longer possible for me. Sure, swimming a mile before work was no longer my reality—but if I’d known a group like this existed, maybe I could’ve come just to float, to be with others. It could have made such a difference to my life.

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If there’s something you miss—something that once brought you joy—is there a way you could gently dip back into it again?

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Yes, it may have to look very different. But that’s life with chronic illness, isn’t it? We’re always finding new angles, new ways of doing things. I told myself that because I couldn’t swim a mile, I shouldn’t bother at all. So I stayed away from the water for over ten years. But it wasn’t the distance I missed. It was the feeling of the water. The freedom. The connection.

Now, thankfully, swimming and human connection are part of my life again. And my wellbeing—mental and physical—is so much better for it.

The support of the water eases my pain and fatigue. I’ve slowly increased how much I can swim, and I’m gradually getting a little fitter and stronger. I can now swim further than I can walk. In the pool, I don’t feel dis-abled. In fact, sometimes I wish I could stay in the water and never deal with gravity again.

And that’s how I ended up wild swimming for the first time…

But that’s a story for another time! 😉

What helps you feel like yourself again?

Tell me below 👇🏻 in the comments — what have you learned to do differently, since being chronically ill, that brings you joy? Is there anything you have rediscovered that hasn’t been in your life for a long time? I’d love to hear your stories.

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