sea swimming

No is for No!

N is for No! I went for a swim this morning, around 6.45, catching the low tide. The waves were crashing a bit, quite strong, following one quite quickly after another. There was something rather sweet about it. It reminded me of an obstreperous toddler stamping their foot and shouting no! then fortifying their view with downright refusal to cooperate on bloody anything. The sea was like that. Bolshy, almost knocking me over, pushing me west if I didn’t stand my ground. Except I could stand my ground, or I [...]

Penelope Overton2024-03-10T09:33:34+00:0010 March 2024|A to Z of Life Coaching, acceptance, coaching, life coaching, no, respect, sea swimming|Comments Off

How we’ve all heard quite enough about cold water swimming

I was going to write a post called what I have learned from swimming in the sea in winter. Ten short points, nothing particularly original, a bit about endorphins, a bit about doing the thing you think is impossible and possibly a mention of brown fat. Then I saw John O'Farrell’s tweet (gently) mocking ‘yet another’ cold water swimming piece in yesterday’s Guardian, plus a string of like minded comments. So I didn't. I'd write about shame instead; referencing Brené Brown, wondering what shame does to us, how it differs [...]

Penelope Overton2021-03-24T10:52:19+00:0024 March 2021|exercise, lockdown, sea swimming, winter swimming|Comments Off

Not drowning but braving

I woke up last Sunday, a mild dose of anxiety making me feel slightly sick – the struggle of lockdown, the crisis in the world and not knowing when it will end. A dip in the sea, that would do the trick. The high tide was going out. The water was murky and turbulent; swimmable but with a definite edge and a lot less peaceful than the flat water we enjoyed at the beginning of the month. Normally, I get changed quickly once I’m on the beach, get in, get [...]

Penelope Overton2021-01-28T14:04:37+00:0028 January 2021|anticipation, brighton, change, choice, coaching, coaching skills, decisions, fear, Hope, sea swimming, self compassion, winter swimming|Comments Off