People often tell me they feel calmer on the water (I relate!), even if they don't know why. Sometimes they only realise it afterwards - shoulders dropped, breathing slower, head quieter.
When you're on the water your body gets information that says 'you're safe'. The movement is rhythmic (most of the time!), the sounds are steady. There is no sudden demand for attention like traffic, phones, or people talking over you. Your nervous system likes predictable input, and what gives you that. That paddling rhythm helps switch the body out of the fight-or-flight and into a calmer state. You're still alert - you have to be - but it's a different kind of alertness. Not the clenched-jaw, braced-for-impact sort. More of a steady, switched-on calm.
There's also something about being slightly out of your normal environment. On the water, you're not multi-tasking. You can't rush. You have to pay attention to wind, tide, balance, direction. That pulls your brain out of old loops and into present moment. Again, your nervous system likes that.
Here at Och Aye Canoe I see it a lot with people who arrive wound tight, exhausted, or carrying more than they realise. They don't always talk about it - and they don't need to. The water takes a lot of the work for us.
This isn't about "escaping" stress. It's about giving your system a chance to reset. To remember what calm feels like. And once your body remembers that, its gets easier to find it again - on and off the water.
If that sounds like something your body could use you're very welcome to come and experience it yourself with myself and Och Aye Canoe. No pressure, no expectations - just time on the water, properly looked after.