I am going to write today about how I learnt a different language
of the body recently. Please note I am not using the phrase ‘body language’. It
should aptly be the ‘language of the body’. Is there a difference? There should
be in the context I am going to speak. Language is a form of expression and
general perception typically confines it to the limits of linguistics. When we
explore beyond the conventional, we shall be amazed to know how many languages
are out there around us – that which we never consciously take notice of ever
in our lives. There are languages of the tongue, which we all are familiar
with. There are languages of the eyes, which people in love know to speak.
There are languages of computers, which coders and programmers manipulate for a
living. There are languages of the soul, which philosophers tend to. And then
there are languages of the body, which the human body learns to express.
Dancers, Gymnasts, Actors and even martial arts experts will
tell you what this language of the body thing is. It is an expression of the
body, with a meaning, structure and grammar on its own. It has to be learned
like any other language. It can be used to communicate to and fro with people who
know the same language. The language of the body that I am going to talk about
today is that of swimming and my terrain is a swimming pool in the summer
vacations where I signed up for a swimming course at the age of 21.
