An Experience from a PLWHV

*The Benefits of Winter-swimming on Me*

As an aerobic exercise, winter-swimming can help the practitioners stay fit, strengthen their constitution, and boost their immunity to ward off diseases.

Its world-wide popularity can be manifested by lots of facts and figures, which does not need to be exhausted here. But I would like to share with you my experience of twelve years swimming in winter that has demonstrated remarkable effect on my HIV contraction.

 I was tested HIV positive in 1997. In the same year, I was advised by Doctor R, who was also a fan of winter-swimming, to start winter-swimming as an alternative treatment, in hope that the exercise could boost my immunity and slow down the viral progression. I took the advice with delight and have been doing the sports ever since. The benefits have been huge. So far, nothing negative has happened to me and I still remain healthy. No development of any HIV complication in more than a decade, as far as I know, I have been the sole case in Beijing if not in China .

 While hardening the constitution, winter swimming can even build up your mental capacity. A positive mentality can offer the best cure to fight against diseases. Lots of people collapse or even die not because of diseases but because of the huge pressure upon their mind, therefore, finding an outlet for your mental pressure is the most important thing for people living with incurable diseases. No any drugs in the world can be better than your own immunity, and winter swimming can offer the perfect combination of the two.

 Next, I would like to share with you my own feelings of swimming in winter. First I usually go swimming in natural waters, where I can relax at seeing the beautiful environment and breathing the fresh air. After I take off my clothes, my body is covered by sunshine and brushed by the breeze (it will be chilly winds in the winter), then I plunge into the water and start to swim like a fish. It is such an enjoyable feeling and can do good to both my body and my mind. The excitement and pleasure that I feel can last for a long period of time and it is good to everyone including the general population. The elderly winter-swimming goers in their seventies or eighties around me are much fitter and look much better than their non-practitioner peers, which can show that the workout can indeed greatly improve people’s health. After I took to winter swimming, I have rarely got a cold and can recover very soon from some minor condition. My bad appetite and sleep have been greatly improved. Not only have I become stronger over the days, but also the endured pressure lingering on my mind has been released. The latter improvement was indeed a surprise. This is also why I have been practicing winter swimming for years, because the workout called by the medical community as the ''gymnastics of the blood vessels has given me a second life.

 What should be noted is that practicing winter swimming should be based on one’s initiatives. Those who want to swim in winter must not be afraid of the cold. Only in this way can they stand the cold. Such a strong will power is also very important for living with HIV. I have come so far step by step, all because I have faith that swimming in winter can help me and others win the battle against HIV!

 It is hoped that my true experience can lend itself to millions of the people living with HIV and the people researching on and interested in the virus. Please find my contacts as follows should anyone desire to approach me for further enquiry or information:

 Email: happylly212@sina.com <mailto:happylly212@sina.com> Name: David LI De.

[This article, as all other articles in published on this website, does not represent the views of hivworkshop.com]