As a child my parents enrolled me in swimming lessons. A natural swimmer I was not—the chlorine stung my eyes and my asthma made it difficult to hold my breath for long periods of time. Somehow the timing of my swimming lessons happened to coincide with a cold or flu of sorts; I failed each level numerous times.
By the time I was around 11 or 12 years old, I was head and shoulders above the other students in the class, and the weakest swimmer to boot. It was humiliating. Needless to say, I convinced my parents to let me quit swimming lessons even though my swimming skills were fair at best. I could do a mean back float, tread water for about 10 seconds and swim about 2 meters.
I haven’t looked back since…until recently when my boyfriend and I were planning a trip to Hawaii. Being a former diving instructor, he was completely comfortable in the water and looked forward to exploring the sea life by snorkeling. Great, I thought, we’ll go snorkeling together! But I quickly got a reality check when he pointed out that my swimming skills weren’t exactly up to par.
One Stroke at a Time
I believed that one or two quick trips to the pool would do the trick. I was wrong. In the 10 years or so since I last went swimming, I have developed a fear of water. Where the heck did this come from? I thought swimming was like riding a bike—you’re not supposed to forget! Or perhaps my swimming abilities were paralyzed by my fear of drowning and of failure.
Wearing a swimsuit as an adult is not the same as a kid. Now instead of just focusing on swimming, you’re wondering if that extra cookie you ate for lunch shows and whether or not you have cottage cheese thighs.
I contemplated taking adult swimming lessons but decided against it as I wanted to limit my embarrassment to as few people as possible. So my boyfriend agreed to re-teach me how to swim. Adult swimming lessons are a viable alternative if you don’t have a buddy to teach you—just make sure you have an instructor who is sympathetic when needed and who also knows when to give you a gentle push.
Before we even went into the pool, we hung out in the hot tub, sauna and steam room. What better way to procrastinate relax? We finally started off in the shallow end just to become acclimatized to the water again. I practiced my back float and my personal favorite, the jellybean float (which is a float done on your front while clutching your knees to your chest). A few practice kicks while clinging to the edge gave me a feel for the water again.
Soon I “graduated” from the shallow end (well, actually my boyfriend dragged me to the deep end). Fear strikes the moment my feet can’t touch the bottom of the pool. We practiced treading water and I remembered my past swimming instructors’ directions, “Move your arms like you’re spreading peanut butter and jelly, and kick your legs like an egg beater.” The more I panicked, the more I began to sink.
‘Help me!” I sputtered. Luckily my boyfriend was only an arm’s length away. He reminded me to take deep breaths which surprisingly helped me stay afloat. Next we tried swimming, or in my case doggie-paddling in the deep end between two adjacent walls. This was probably the toughest part as my legs quickly turned to jelly and my breathing became haggard.
Health Benefits of Swimming
The more I went to the pool the more comfortable I became. Although my main motive for improving my swimming skills was to get ready for the trip to Hawaii, I became interested in the benefits gleaned from swimming.
- Cardiovascular – for anyone who has ever swum before, you know the sport quickly establishes the able-bodied from the unfit. Not only does swimming provide a total body workout, it also improves cardiovascular health. Just one hour of swimming can burn more than 300 calories!
- Asthma Relief – playing like a fish can help you build up greater lung capacity and stamina. While there are some circles who believe the chemicals contained in pool water may trigger an attack, most experts agree that swimming is one of the best exercises for asthmatics. The warmth and humidity from the pool may soothe your airways; plus regular exercise is imperative for people with asthma.
- Muscle Tone – have you noticed at the pool that habitual swimmers have nice, lean muscles? Unlike their body-building counterparts, these athletes are fit without looking like the Michelin man.
- Water Therapy – the flexibility and buoyancy of water are two qualities that make swimming or aquatic exercise the ideal physical activity for pregnant women, the elderly or injured. The amount of stress placed on joints is drastically reduced while water resistance still provides a great low-impact workout.
I’m still not an expert swimmer, but the water no longer makes me quiver like a pubescent girl who is about to approach her schoolyard crush. I wonder how many other things in life are similar to my swimming experience. How often do we let fear prevent us from doing something that deep down we know we have the ability to do? If we could all overcome the fears that bind us down, imagine what we could accomplish. Whether your fear is swimming, public speaking, or getting the nerve to talk to that special person, we can all conquer our fears one small stroke or step at a time.
As for my trip to Hawaii, that’s a whole other story.
