swimming lessons in Solihull                             How We Teach


Learn to swim.  Improve your technique.  One to one adult swimming lessons in Birmingham/Solihull and Redditch, Worcestershire.


Warm pool.  Comfortable depth.  Telephone 01527 857314

 
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Richard's Blog		 Developing a Positive Relationship with Water

The physical process of swimming is easy. The human body in a relaxed state is buoyant in water. Limbs can be used to create forces to move the body through the water. Problems occur when anxiety or fear affect the natural relaxed state of the body,causing muscular tension,which in turn reduces buoyancy and makes movement of the limbs more difficult.

Think of the description "scared stiff".

Of course,levels of anxiety vary dramatically from person to person,but any level of anxiety can be a barrier to improving your swimming.

What causes anxiety or fear?

  • bad experience in the past
  • avoiding water over a long time period
  • witnessing an accident
  • not enjoying the sensation of water on your skin
  • belief that water will not hold you up
  • worry that you will not be able to stand up from a floating position
  • belief that water will enter your mouth/nose/ears
  • etc
How do we teach?

We try to help you to relax in water. We use a warm hydrotherapy pool that is 1 metre deep and a hotel pool that is 1.3m deep.  Both pools have no variation in depth, i.e. no deep end. We are in the water with you providing demonstrations and any support and guidance you may need.

We start by encouraging you to put your face in the water and blow bubbles out through your mouth. We help you to think about reducing tension in your face and neck and to avoid holding your breath.  When you are ready, we support you in gliding with your face in the water (wearing goggles) and encourage you to enjoy the relaxing feeling of floating, whilst slowly blowing out into the water.  We give you as much support as you need by holding your hands or arms.  We then teach you how to comfortably and safely return to a standing position. Once you can glide and stand up on your own, we work with you to explore the water, and how your body relates to it, by experimenting with sculling and kicking to help you build up your trust of the water.  You are then ready to learn the body movements required to propel yourself through the water and take regular breaths.....in other words swim.



Developing Your Stroke

When developing your stroke we encourage you to maintain the relationship you have built with the water.  We teach you to swim with a relaxed and healthy style where you are working with rather than fighting against the water.

Whichever stroke you choose to learn we guide you through a series of individual practises that allow you to focus on the specifics of each movement. We then help you to gradually put these movements together to produce an easy and effective swimming stroke.

Our practises are based on the principles of the Alexander Technique and The Shaw Method of Swimming.