Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Yes, you can learn to swim. No matter what happened to make you afraid. I Am Water Safe. You Can Be, Too. No kidding, no exaggeration. I Am Water Safe Jun 18    READ IN APP   Cruising calmly in deep water Upgrade to paid If I am water safe, everyone can be water safe. If I’m water safe, you can be, too. Not because I was a tough case but because you and I are made of the same basic stuff. It doesn’t take a special talent or disposition to become water safe. You just need to believe it’s possible, know the fun steps—and take them. But becoming water safe is not what most people think. What is water safe? To be safe in water—shallow, deep, pool, ocean, lake and river—you need to know your buoyancy—inside and out. You need to know how to keep water out of your nose. And how to get air. You need to know that it’s in your best interest to prevent getting tired: rest first. When you know these things in your gut, you’ll be water safe. It’s helpful to know that if you’re being tossed in waves at the beach, you’ll want to hold your nose and keep your elbows tight to your body. And if you’re in a rip current, simply float on your back happily until the flow stops. Eighty percent of the time, it returns you nearly back to shore. Then calmly wave for help with one hand. When you know these things in your gut, you’ll be more water safe. You may have noticed that there’s no mention of freestyle or any formal stroke. Right. They’re not necessary to be safe. New rules of learning to swim for safety’s sake Here are my new rules of learning to swim: It has to be fun You have to be comfortable You may not push yourself You should expect—and demand—satisfying answers and correct information You must tell the truth The instructor’s goals must be your goals Strokes are off the agenda The public has been taught messages that have prevented millions of people from learning to swim. There is no blame. There is simply the history of people doing the best they could. It’s not your fault if you haven’t learned to swim. It’s not their fault that they gave you misinformation if they didn’t know it was incorrect. But I have told them. It’s up to them to follow up. How you can be water safe, too First, find out what your misconceptions are. Those will change your entire outlook. You are afraid in water because you don’t know the water. Understand that you need not blame yourself for not learning to swim in past attempts. There is no blame. Let yourself off the hook if need be. Find out that you float. Many people who are actually floaters believe they don’t float. They lie back in the water, kick up their feet (thinking they should) and feel their feet dropping back to the floor. They stand up and conclude that they don’t float. But did they notice that when their feet were on the floor, their heads were not? Their faces were above the surface. What was holding their heads up? The water. That’s floating. Find out how you float: what position are you in? Horizontal? Diagonal? Vertical? Each one is perfectly good. Do you accept your float or do you fight it? Practice keeping water out of your nose. If you exhale through your nose, you cannot get water into it. Any time your nostrils move through the water, open end first, exhale through your nose. If you’re under water, don’t look up unless you exhale through your nose while you do. When you’re gliding along, holding your breath, you can’t get a new breath until you’ve let out the old one. Blow the old one out while your face is still down in the water and when you come up for air, inhale a small but comfortable breath. Don’t even think about getting new breaths until you are supremely happy in a front float. Follow your curiosity and play in a setting where you feel completely safe. Play is what the doctor ordered. Kids’ lessons and adults’ lessons need to be about fun. Everything needs to be fun—at least fun enough to keep everyone’s attention and curiosity percolating. Leave the pool while you’re still feeling good. You deserve an explanation of why your past efforts and lessons haven’t worked as one would expect. I know you’ve given it your best shot. In my opinion, you deserve a full-throated apology from the giant learn-to-swim agencies for disseminating misinformation about how to become safe in water, for not knowing it was misinformation, and for employing personnel inexperienced in curriculum development for afraid adults. In the absence of that apology, I make it on their behalf. I know that may sting the giant agencies. No offense, Bill and company! I am telling my truth based on considerable experience. I ask them to come to the table. Swimming students, come to the table with us. If I’m proven wrong, I’ll eat my words. Keep going to the pool. And make it fun.  Thanks for reading I Am Water Safe. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Upgrade to paid Melon Dash’s writing is backed by over forty years of evidence gained from working exclusively with thousands of afraid-in-water adults. Her Miracle Swimming School for Adults (MSSA) is the only school that has focused on teaching afraid adults over a full career. Her experience and that of the students have disproven many messages of current swimming lessons. MSSA is located in Sarasota, Florida. Melon is a nickname for Mary Ellen.