Saltwater therapy

For Josephine Sando, you can take the girl out of the sea but you can’t take the sea out of the girl.

Josephine simply delights in the beach.

She grew up holidaying at a shack at West Beach with her family and fondly remembers her father teaching her to swim at about the age of 4. 

“He loved swimming so I got the love of the water from him,” Josephine said.

 “Summer is the time of year I love best because I’ve always loved the beach and anything to do with the beach.

“It gives me just a great sense of joy and no matter what the weather is really, I love it." 

For many years she even went for a swim in the ocean everyday, through winter as well.

A retired teacher, Josephine lives on the dunes at Tennyson with her husband Eric, who prefers “to go for a dip rather than a swim”.

But both of them thrive in their seaside environment.

Although Josephine finds her passion for the water difficult to put into words, she enjoys the marine life - l such as the dolphins that visit the beach in front of her home - as well as the spiritual feelings of calm and serenity that swimming in the ocean evokes.

With her body more susceptible to the cold now, Josephine limits her beach swimming to the warmer months and when the water turns cold she attends The Philip Kennedy Centre Health & Fitness Centre pool to get her fix.

The Health & Fitness team has even managed to find her a swim training belt which allows her to make the most of the smaller pool by swimming on the spot! 

“I feel really grateful to The Philip Kennedy people, I think what they offer is hugely beneficial in all sorts of ways,” Josephine said.

 “There's some people really struggling - like what I was like when I had a broken leg - but you see them coming out after whatever they have been doing and just the different expression on their faces is beautiful.” 

Josephine said she started “seriously swimming” for fitness after she broke her back from falling off a slippery dip at an adventure playground when she was about 40 years old.

Swimming has been key to rehab after all of the serious injuries Josephine has had, which also include a broken leg, a broken arm and recently an issue with her shoulder.

After a diagnosis of Osteoporosis at the age of 60, Josephine also started Yoga classes once a week and has been attending regularly ever since.

The rest of her week includes walks along her beloved coastline, spending time with family, friends and a few book clubs or discussion groups to keep her mind and social life active.

However, Josephine has such an affinity for the sea that she likes to go with the flow for most of her week and “not have too much” to tie her down. 

She has passed her spiritual connection to the water onto all five of her children, and likely all 14 grandchildren as well!