Conquer Your Fear of Water

By Melon Dash

It's okay to be afraid in water. In fact, most adults in America are. Many say, "I love the water." But put them into water over their heads in a pool, and 46% of them (92 million out of 200 million) are afraid. Put them in deep open water (lakes, oceans) and 64% are afraid. That's 128 million American adults. Ask them to put their heads under water and 39% are afraid (Gallup Poll, 1998). Yet all of them, and you, were born to be swimmers.

What is swimming, anyway?... I believe that swimming is not about doing a perfect stroke. My definition of swimming for purposes of this course and my classes is confidence in water, especially deep water. Confidence in water automatically brings ease in water, being able to move from here to there without tiring, being free to play, and having a choice about what to do. It brings a curiosity about deep water. "Is the deep water the same as the shallow?" and in the answering of that question, a student learns that yes, it is....

Everyone is born a swimmer. Everyone is born a talker and a walker, a reader and a driver. You weren't born knowing how to do these things already. You were born with a blueprint within you to learn them. You just needed the steps....

The essential ingredient is control. Despite the fact that swimming has been taught to millions of people without teaching control, the method that was used was not based on universal principles that worked for all students. It has never worked for students who are afraid. Nor does it teach true safety. The millions of students who did learn to swim---became confident in deep water—were in control. But the teaching method presumed that students were in control, and therefore control was never identified as Step 1....