Why are you here?

Your story is unique, but your reason for coming here is the same as hundreds of thousands of others.
You are afraid of the water, and therefore of swimming. The thought of climbing down a pool ladder for a lesson is enough to put you into a sweat.
It may have taken several tries to just get to that ladder.

This fear has been with you for years.
You might trace its roots back to a certain moment, of a warning of certain drowning if you fell in the water or of a teacher or family member trying to teach you.
He or she probably meant well, handing down their traditional version of, "OK, swim!" And surprise, you couldn't. Well, maybe a baby seal could've.

 

What didn't work for you

Teaching swimming varies across cultures, but almost everywhere lives the belief that swimming is so natural, especially for young children, that little teaching is needed. Some youngsters might luckily manage to "swim" a bit if tossed into a pool, but this is not the way to learn to swim.

It didn't work for previous generations, either. You've seen vacations at the beach, pool parties and boating trips come and go. Forced to watch the other adults and kids, you wished you could join in.
Worse, you were at risk of real danger should you accidentally fall into the water. You may have had lessons before, usually in a group, sometimes privately. And here you are, still afraid and uncomfortable.

 

Welcome

Here you will learn to breathe while in water.
I promise you won't need to go to a pool right now, either. You will, however, be ready for pool lessons when you've learned what I'll teach you. There are no tricks, and I have nothing to sell.
Each fearful student of mine has gently and safely learned to relax and swim, always for the same reasons:

• First you understand how breathing works and how it's related to every move you make in the water.
  How could you think about anything else first?

• Next, you relax a bit because you understand breathing, and your relaxed body will learn basic swim strokes.

• Throughout all this, to repeat – you won't worry so much about breathing because you already understand how to get your air.

Sound like a plan? Here we go.