When we go to the beach for a swim, I’ve made a habit of diving into the breaking waves and opening my eyes to relish the thousands of bubbles that create bubble therapy.
I haven’t any proof that there’s any substantial benefit to my eyesight but deep down inside I feel it’s doing me some good.
Not all readers live by the coast or in warm-water countries where they can do the same, but they can blow bubbles instead.
Bubble therapy (bubble blowing!) is recommended for people with Asthma, Down’s Syndrome, Autism, stress reduction and of course lifting the spirits of people in care homes.
When stressed, a bottle of water and liquid soap will do a far better job than magnetic toys, mini sand gardens or the momentum balls of a Newton’s Cradles.
Why? Because the act of blowing bubbles forces people to stop what they’re doing and focus on their breathing. In turn this helps lower anxiety levels.
It’s both a metaphor for transformation as well as a means of creating rapid change in an energy structure. Energy is being created and destroyed and re-created constantly. Bubbles remind us of this.
They destabilise a rigid structure by following the natural flow of energy, which is in a constant state of flux.
For children, blowing bubbles helps with visual tracking, developing motor skills, hand-eye co-ordination and the development of speech, language and hearing.
- A bubble has no noise and thus indicates silence.
- Bubbles in your dreams represent childhood fun.
- Blowing bubbles as an exercise positions and strengthens the tongue for sounds produced in the back of the mouth.
- Bubbles signify relaxation, peace and good fortune.
…..and don’t forget half the fun is in popping them as well.
The earliest recorded use of the word was by a lady called Marie Maud in 1350. She used the word ‘Burbles’ (also a great word!) to refer to the bubbles of water with which children were playing in her work Legendae Catholicae.
A couple of centuries later along comes William Shakespeare. In Macbeth he writes ‘The Earth hath bubbles as the Water ha’s’ (I.III. 77).
Back to the modern era.
We walk the local beaches here in Bali most evenings.
Last week we came across a family with what can only be described as a bubble machine, preloaded with soap and water.
When the machine was placed on the sand and turned on the children were screaming with joy as they tried to catch airborne bubbles before they floated past. Beyond the children were two dogs frantically trying to bite the bubbles that the children missed.
You can imagine how much fun that represented to all involved….and us watching.
I’m already looking forward to me next beach swim.
Graeme Dinnen
PS This guy has really taken the art of bubble blowing to a new level.
