butterflies orbit
in helter-skelter arcs,
but never bump.
Orbit [Haiku]
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Category Archives: Movement
Movement [Haiku]
Be Water [Free Verse]
The floating feather
that eludes my grasp
isn't haughty or gleeful.
It just rolls, slips, glides,
and is gone.
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The Dance [Free Verse]
What force dances one
into this lovely state?
Light & ecstatic,
Blissful but calm.
Each breath a drug
that sends delicate
shimmers rippling
through the universe.
What force, indeed?
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Swimmingly [Free Verse]
Swim through the world
- effortlessly -
Don't crave speed;
Maximize the glide.
With each stroke,
Sail as far as the limbs
will send one.
Don't thrash. Don't splash.
Don't gasp.
Feel the catch. Feel the pull.
Don't let short, wild motions
exhaust one.
Breathe!
Be wary of drag.
Put less effort
into propulsion,
And more into streamlining --
Shoot through the void,
without struggle.
Never lose sight of the value
of a good glide.
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The Big Drift [Haiku]
downriver drift;
ferries & fisherman cross
without collision.
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Coiled [Haiku]
neck coiled,
egret hovers stock still
to snap up a fish.
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PROMPT: Leisure Time
That’s trickier than it seems. I quite enjoy reading and many forms of bodily movement activities (e.g. swimming, yoga, taiji, qigong, exercise, etc.,) but I’d count them more as personal development activities than leisure activities. (Even something as seemingly non-purposeful as juggling.) I sometimes watch TV / movies, but I don’t know that I’d say I enjoy that so much as find it an opportunity to zone out.
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Nine Dragon Wall [Free Verse]
If you stare at
stone dragons
long enough
their stone-chiseled
forms will start
to glide
in tracked loops.
A steady motion of the
sinuous segments
unbroken by cloud.
They move slowly
and steadily --
never breaking off
into a new course.
Some figure-eight,
Some circle,
but never do they
come off the wall.
Their movements never
menace.
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BOOKS: “Swimming: Made Easy” by Terry Laughlin
Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Any Swimmer to Achieve Fluency, Ease, and Speed in Any Stroke by Terry LaughlinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Google Books Page
I learned a lot from this book’s emphasis on how to smooth out and lengthen one’s strokes. The author describes his approach as teaching “fishlike” swimming, and effortlessness is emphasized.
The book covers all four of the strokes one sees in competitive swimming (i.e. crawl [a.k.a. freestyle,] backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.) For each stroke one learns how to improve balance, stroke length, and fluidness, as well as a bit about breath and coordination.
The book is presented in two parts. The first is the more theoretical bit and the second describes drills one can use to improve one’s technique. Part one is longer, more detailed, and written in more readable prose. Part two is shorter, more picture-laden, and tends to stick to bullet points. Photos are monochrome, mostly from above water level, and of varying degrees of clarity / informational value.
My biggest peeve with the book is that it frequently breaks into advertisement for other products (i.e. DVD’s [dates the book, as I’m pretty sure no one has an operational DVD player anymore] and gear.)
I’d recommend this book for readers interested in learning to swim more efficiently. The book is geared toward competitive swimmers interested in shaving time, rather than recreational swimmers who are just interested in a move pleasant experience (e.g. if one swims for fun, one will probably not be running a sequence of drills as that kind of defeats the fun of the activity.)
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Tiger Riding for Beginners 