I love swimming and I find it an enjoyable way of exercising! I can undoubtedly say that now although this wasn’t always the case when I was learning to swim. It has taken me quite a while to be able to say that I truly enjoy swimming.
Learning to swim by holding onto a pole
I grew up, as many did in the UK, learning how to swim while holding onto a long pole held by a swimming instructor who was not in the water with me, but standing on the side of the pool yelling. I would hold onto this pole for dear life gasping for breath, feeling terrified of letting go. Eventually when I did let go and somehow managed to stay afloat, the pole would follow me, giving me a little prod now and then. This made me feel even more terrified.
Then, as I was learning to swim, it was all about keeping my head above the water at all costs. I felt that if I went underwater, surely I would drown. My time in the pool was full of gasping through my mouth, swallowing and breathing in water, spluttering, not being able to see (no goggles offered at the time), feeling terrified of being splashed or pushed under – and a little bit of swimming!
I’m sure many people can relate to this – swimming for survival is the way many learn to swim. For me there was a severe lack of joy and a great deal of anxiety associated with learning to swim this way.
Later on as an adult I bought myself a pair of goggles and taught myself to swim breast stroke while putting my face partially under the water. This was progress but I was still full of fear of getting a mouthful of water and not being able to breathe.
Learning to swim – breathing through my nose
About two years ago I was introduced to a completely different approach to swimming by Simone Benhayon…
I was invited to breathe in and out through my nose, not my mouth. This initially created more panic in me as I couldn’t imagine ever being able to get enough air. The gasping was an old and ingrained habit! But slowly, slowly I taught myself to do this… initially by not swimming and simply getting used to being under water and breathing out through my nose. I began to find a beauty in this and marvelled at the quality of my breath under the water and the wonderful bubbles that I would create. This felt gorgeous, and for a while it was enough just to do this.
After a while, with the help of my goggles, I felt confident enough to go completely under the water and glide along while breathing out my amazing bubbles. No swimming involved… just gliding and stopping, gliding and stopping. I found a joy in this which felt totally different to any other time in the water. It started to feel like fun!
Over time I have taught myself to swim front-crawl (freestyle) while breathing through my nose. It is still a work in progress, but I am discovering how to remain connected to my breath (and my bubbles!) while swimming. I can still panic a bit, but what I have discovered is that if I take in water while breathing through my nose it does not go into my lungs, therefore I am not going to drown! This discovery has just been amazing, and I have become more and more confident in the water.
Staying with my breath and the bubbles, focussing on the quality of my movement and the sensation of the water (instead of focussing on the fear), has changed my experience of swimming completely. The feel of my body moving through the water can feel absolutely divine.
Growing confidence – in the water and in life
A few days ago I went for my swim, and without thinking I just began to swim. I pushed off into crawl, immersed myself in the water, breathed out my bubbles, enjoyed my body and the way I was moving in the water, and found that I was feeling joy while I was swimming. Even coming up for air was joyful! I cannot express how amazing this feels.
This ongoing experience is giving me growing confidence in my life too. The same principles apply when breathing my way through life. By enjoying the quality of my breath and my movements and staying with myself in every moment I feel more joyful and feel that I can embrace life more fully and without fear.
Breathing through my nose as I was re-learning to swim has enabled me to find joy through swimming; it has truly made a difference to how I feel about being in the water. It has also made a big difference to the quality of my life. What an incredible gift! Thank you Simone Benhayon.
By Rebecca Turner, Beauty Advisor, London, UK
560 Comments
Not until I heard Simone Benhayon talk about the fact that we learn to swim out of fear of drowning did I ever consider what a terrible and unsupportive foundation that is – certainly not enjoyable and the terror and fear you describe, holding on to a pole and trying to stay afloat, I can also relate to.
Amazing sharing Michelle about growing confidence in the water! Swimming can sometimes be fraught with a panic, a need for survival, or even then competition. Its important to enjoy something like swimming as its very beneficial for our bodies and our fitness!
Re-learning to do things is always a humbling experience. Quite often I have found I have grabbed on to something I’m proficient at and use the skills in a re-call mode, but this is robbing us of feeling the delicateness and openness of the occasion which is how we would perhaps be a part of it on the first time.
Loved your sharing Rebecca, its beautiful how life changes around when we start connecting to joy within. I too have become more confidence with the breathing technique Simone has shared, it takes all the panic out of swimming. I love water and swimming so much more joyful now.
When I re-applied the way I go about swimming, from a connection to my body then a number of things changed, I could breathe through my nose with ease, there was a natural sense of trust and like I didnt need to gasp for air or keep pulling and kicking in a way like I am trying to get to the other end. I also noticed the feeling of “squad training” energy not be present and could feel how there were so many instructions about technique and form which simply did not aid the feeling of connection in the water. What’s the point of making it ‘look good’ or ‘right’ and ‘polished’ if there is no fun or enjoyment?
Its amazing how so many things change, by technique and by strength when we are applying wisdom to them for instance feeling connected to our body in the pool, and breathing through our nose instead of our mouth, and not being breathless or exhausted from swimming, but having fun and enjoying the water! Same could go for a lot of things we do.
Loved your story Rebecca, as it an absolute promotion for the true way of swimming, which should be fun and easy and not a way of surviving. The bubble part of your sharing made me laugh: I for sure will pay attention on my bubbles from now on.
Its remarkable to think that learning to swim as a child could be so cruel and lacking in understanding. I think an instructor in the water, particularly in the initial period of learning is so important. Swimming should be something that is enjoyable and allow a freedom in the movement. Thanks for sharing your story Rebecca, the level of patience to develop your swimming and breathing through your nose feels like a key part of the process.
Re reading your blog inspires me to pick up regular swimming again, as I love swimming and the reflection the water (and our bubbles) offers us.
I enjoy swimming in the way by breathing through my nose and by doing free style too. I see how much lighter I move through the water, than some years ago. It shows that I am also lighter energy in my body, the water’s reflection is clearly indicating that.
It’s very inspiring to read that it is possible to swim in a way which takes away all of the panic of being in the water, and to be able to be confident with your face in the water without having the water go up your nose, which is a horrible sensation is worth exploring.
“…. swimming for survival is the way many learn to swim. ” Very true Rebecca. Learning to breathe in and out through my nose and thus feeling confident swimming free style has changed my attitude to swimming. Thanks to Simone Benhayon and her beautiful warm pool in Somerset.
I used to struggle swimming and although I could swim breast stroke I had no idea how to do the front crawl. I found breathing and coordinating my legs and arms a real challenge. I then took part in an amazing 2 day course with Simone Benhayon called “swimming without survival” and it had transformed how I view being in the water. I now find I can swim the front crawl and I love to practice it!
I swam a lot as a child and teenager, but then as an adult dropped it. It was upon meeting Simone Benhayon and understanding and feeling for myself the benefits of swimming with a certain quality that I now swim weekly again. It supports me hugely in life if I am open to listening to what is magnified to me about my life and I cannot imagine now not swimming as there is always more to become aware of and or deepen in myself .
Oh I would love to have the opportunity to re-imprint the way I was taught to swim and to bring that back into my life as part and parcel of my exercise rhythm. Who is to say, from reading this blog and the comments we couldn’t give it a go as a start?!
I agree with Leigh’s comment, I had a pool session with Simone Benhayon yesterday, incredibly healing and the water really does magnify how I have been living my life.
In July I had a swimming session with Simone Benhayon, I very rarely get into the pool, on holiday yes but thats about it. This was a very revealing session that exposed a lot about how I was living on land in my life in general with this perception that I could not swim (figuratively typing). So in September I went back into the pool, not for a session, but just to see if I had changed in my approach to life since. I could feel very much like you shared Rebecca an old sense of how I was taught to swim and how I felt during those swimming lessons. Towards the end I found that gasping for air was such a drain on my system whereas breathing through my nose felt much more supportive and that my movements were supported by the medium around me. It’s like the pool magnified how I go about living life and just goes to show when we take notice in the greater detail of life we can learn so much more about the whole.
Swimming for joy rather than swimming for survival. This is a beautiful way of relating to life and the way we live.
I love that Mary and it reminds me of how free and playful I can feel in the water and how to bring that flow and lightness into my daily life.
Wow Rebecca that is crazy that you get taught to swim by a pole. It shows the lack of humanity we bring into businesses when at the end of the day it is always all about people first.
I love what you share here and how you have re-imprinted your swimming experience thanks to Simone Benhayon.
Being able to get in a pool, swim and to have the way and the quality I am swimming in reflect back to me how I am living is truly remarkable. Through having pool sessions with Simone Benhayon I have totally changed the way I view swimming, not only do I now love swimming, I also see and use it as the healing it is.
Swimming in the way you have now learnt is definitely divine and how we should all be taught how to swim. There is no need for, or benefit from, fear based swimming…. when swimming in the way Simone teaches provides everything we could want plus offers us connection to a quality that can be taken and lived outside of the water as well, and as such support to transform our lives.
As a child I used to swim a lot, I loved the water and grew up training in swim squads and going to the beach with my family. It was my favourite thing to do. Then I broke my nose a few times and I used to find it difficult to swim, I would panic when I was in the water as I couldn’t get a proper breath. This went on for years and I gave up swimming. Then when I met Simone I learnt to again relax my body in the water and learn how to get a breath through my nose- it made a huge difference and I am now enjoying swimming again.
I love the way you talk about quality and your joy of re-learning to swim, because when we have learnt to do something in a certain way, it is beautiful to re-imprint it in a more loving and honouring way.
When our quality of breath and our movements are equal we leave behind a gentle ripple rather than a disturbing wake, which is very much the same regardless of whether we are in the water or not.
And how extraordinary that such a barbaric way of teaching beautiful young children to swim continues… However the extraordinary Simone Benhayon is revolutionizing this whole teaching process in the UK… What a blessing
I love how Simone Benhayon teaches swimming and everything else that comes with it about Life. I swam a lot as a child and was always confident in the water however I would push and strain my body so there was no quality which is pretty much how I was on land too. Now when I swim it is simply about my breath and building consistency and connection with my body. In this the quality and ease I swim is so much more gentle and I find whatever I learn during my lengths transfers to my day and being on land and in life if the same quality is what I choose.
“Then, as I was learning to swim, it was all about keeping my head above the water at all costs. I felt that if I went underwater, surely I would drown.” I had the same fear, so i would close my eyes and swim. I preferred back stroke as i could see everything and felt more in control. The fear of drowning did not go until is started to use googles when i got a lot older. Now i love preferred its really joyful and full of fun.
I love swimming and I learnt to breathe through my nose with Simone as well. It took a while to change and relax with this new way of breathing, there was often fear associated with it at first and I would struggle to breathe at times and take in water, this was always reflecting to me something about the way I was living that I could learn from. Now when I swim the nose breathing happens more naturally and it supports me to stay connected with my whole body and not to push ahead and swim as fast as I can but to enjoy each moment and the quality this can bring.
I find no other activity can I feel each part of the body move in every stroke. So learning the ways we can make swimming effortless are really fun and very supportive for our health . What I find in the water is that often I will go into old habits of trying and pushing, but in fact with the right technique and gentle breathing swimming is effortless and the beauty is everyone can learn to do it. Sharing our joy of being in water and how swimming can be easy is something that feels really important as swimming really should be for everyone.
Every time I have a swim session with Simone Benhayon I learn something, feel another revelation in my body and have something else I can work with in life after I am out of the pool. I recently had a group session with her and learnt when I get myself out of the way and instead make it about my connection to the Universe there is a flow, ease, simplicity and grace not the upward struggle I have lived many times. I was never confident in water (or life) but both are slowly changing as I have more confidence within my body and have deepened the relationship with myself .. forever work in progress. How people have learnt to swim is shocking! Being followed and prodded by a pole is surely common sense that it is not the most loving or supportive way for the learner! With Simone it is the complete opposite, she is in the pool with you, you feel her support, love and care without ANY judgement, she gives you permission to be which I guess is why she has won so many awards for her teaching and continues to do so ✨
Growing up I enjoyed swimming but now I can honestly say I love it, I took many years of teaching myself to swim as I only learnt the basics in lessons as a child, and it was so worth it, as now I can glide effortlessly in the water and make swimming whatever I want it to be. Swimming should be effortless and it should feel fun moving in the water, and there is no reason this is not attainable for everyone. Making the bubbles as you did Rebecca is a great place to start, enjoying the water first, then the learning becomes easy from there.
I can relate to the panic and fear around learning to swim and being in deep water. I am sure many people can relate too. To breathe through our nose while swimming was unheard of until I was introduced to Universal Medicine. It sounds so much more natural, supportive and loving for our body. I noticed when we go into survival mode, fear and panic we tend to breathe through our mouth. So, swimming while breathing through our mouth we are telling our body it is in fear and panic mode. No wonder I never really enjoyed swimming, I often felt I could never get enough air, my body was always tenses and hard, hence the tendency to sink instead of floating effortlessly. I would love to learn Simone Benhayon’s swimming technique.
For me re-learning swimming was very important as I originally learned to swim to survive and not to drown. That means that every lap I swam was in this energy. I was not aware of it, in fact this was the normal way to be in the water and I have to admit also outside of the water. To survive my day was my normal way of living. Since I have re-learned swimming like you have so beautiful described, my life has changed as well – I am much less exhausted and can work so much more only because: “Staying with my breath and the bubbles, focussing on the quality of my movement and the sensation of the water (instead of focussing on the fear), has changed my experience of swimming completely.”
It gives me great confidence hearing how far you have come developing your swimming style, especially considering you had a bumpy start and anxiety surrounding swimming. I love Simone Benhayon’s swimming techniques but have not yet been able to commit to practising and achieving what you have. I am very fearful in the water, I was never able to swim freestyle, even back when I was breathing through my mouth. The only style I could do is doggy paddle and breast stroke, never being able to dive has been a shameful subject too. Your story gives me hope for change, if I commit to practising, thanks for your story.
It is so amazing to find an instructor who teaches that swimming is about joy not about survival. Simone Benhayon brings a certain quality to her swim sessions which allows the swimmer to learn so much about themselves. I always come away from swim sessions with Simone feeling more clear and more true full.
How great to work with a fear of water, many have significant fears when being in water brining up much anxiousness.
I’m finding that keeping connected to me whilst I am swimming is what makes swimming enjoyable and not a chore or a marathon. It means that through this connection, I take me into each arm movement, each breathing cycle. I am very much there, present and aware rather than off in the mind somewhere, checked out on my next to do list priorities. No, mind and body are in synch, like they should be.
I remembered some of my lessons of swimming from school days as I was reading. We did not have a pole to hold on to but white polystyrene boards each that were our connection to staying afloat I remember kicking my legs wildly at first when I realised they would sink and possibly me too if I didn’t keep kicking. There was no talk about breathing that I remember. The lessons were definitely fear provoking rather than assuaging which I am am sure they were intended to be. Luckily my mum loved swimming so persuaded my Dad to have a swimming pool built into our garden. This was a huge bonus for me because the emphasis became more one of play and exploration. Later my own love for water found me training in water therapy and spending several years practising this. My life in the water is continually changing and having for the last several years been having water sessions with Simone Benhayon I too have discovered so much more about myself and how my movements in the water reflect how I live on land.
Before having swim sessions with Simone Benhayon I swam for survival which meant my nervous system was constantly in flight or fight, now having learnt how to breath through my nose, I am actually enjoying swimming and have turned something that I used to find quite stressful into something I now love.
I was fortunate to be visiting the Sound Foundation in Somerset (UK) and had the opportunity to enjoy the swimming pool located there. The water was beautifully warm and felt like silk on my skin. When leaving the pool I felt as if I had had a healing session.
I love swimming to Rebecca and I am in the process of learning to swim whilst breathing in and out through my nose; I have had glimpses of gliding and connecting to my breathe and it does feel divine.
Thank you for the gentle reminder and motivation to feel the gloriousness of gently gliding and connecting to my body.