Are you tired of swallowing mouthfuls of water every time you try to float on your back?
Do you envy those graceful mermaids who effortlessly lie on the water’s surface like they’re sunbathing on a floatie? Well, fear not, my friend, because in this article you will unlock the mystery of why it looks so easy but can be tricky to learn. Let’s dive in.
When was the last time you were in a brand-new place that was unfamiliar to you? A place that could even be a bit dangerous if you make a wrong move. Sounds and smells that are not unknown, but a little off from your regular everyday life. Perhaps the place even reminds you a little bit of that time you were young and needed an adult to help you out.
Now imagine yourself in this place with a guide. And the guide said, “See that table in the middle of this unfamiliar place? Go over there and lay down on your back with your arms and legs out, belly and chest open and up. Then RELAX!”
Ack run. Run! This is sounding like a horror movie. Yet this is exactly what happens to most adults who are learning to swim. Then after the horror movie scene is done they feel embarrassed or critical because they just can’t seem to get it or relax.
If this is you, would you be willing to give yourself a little break? A little empathy and understanding that it makes complete sense why you are not at ease.
Just like it would be normal to be tense in our imaginary place if the pool is a similar situation it would be normal to be tense there too.
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Step #1 is to come to calm down BEFORE attempting to back float
Now I’m not talking fake it til you make it kind of calm. When someone asks you, “How are you” and you yell an auto-response FINE!
Let’s notice for a moment what actual real calm looks like on land. See how you would walk with grace and ease. How you would feel safe enough to stretch out your body and move your body in easy comfortable ways. This is the way you want to feel in the water before even thinking about back floating.
When we stop looking for comfort in some future place we can begin to understand that we can build from a place of comfort. This reduction looking for comfort results in relaxing the body right now.
Step #2 is to be 100% comfortable (and happy) underwater.
For many people, the goal of back floating is to keep their face out of the water. This begs the question why? Good swimmers do not feel an urgency around keeping their faces out to the water. We all do of course come up for brief moments to inhale, but the real happy place is under the water.
When there is no worry about being under the water then there is less pressure for a backfloat to “work”. This reduction of pressure naturally results in relaxing the body.
Step #3 is to know your buoyancy level.
For the people who float, only a very small percentage of their body is out of the water. Most of the body is under the water.
For new adult swimmers trying to float is about coming to the surface or being held up. Then when anything doesn’t seem to go up we think everything is sinking.
When you learn what your buoyancy is without trying to go up there is less effort being used. This reduction of effort naturally results in relaxing the body.
Step #4 is to know what parts float and what parts do not float.
You are not a rubber ducky or ball. Your different body parts have different densities and therefore different amounts of floatie-ness. Hint hint feet do not float. Do not expect them to. It is not a problem.
Beginning swim instruction for adults is about understanding how your body and the water work together. It is not about trying to look like other swimmers’ front crawling and side breading up and down the lane.
When you stop trying so hard to be like a picture in your mind of what it’s “supposed to be” then your criticism and judgment will be less. The reduction of criticism and judgment naturally results in relaxing the body.
Step #5 throw out all your assumptions about correct back floating
This is the biggest blocker to learning how to back float. Having a preconceived idea of what it should look like. Going in with a picture of what it “should’ look like means you will try to make your body into that shape or position. This inherently makes floating awkward and weird. Kind of like being at a party and suddenly wondering what to do with your hands. Anything you do doesn’t seem right.
When you stop trying to be right then it leaves room for curiosity and discovery about how it works and letting that be right. The reduction of trying to right naturally results in relaxing the body.
Learning to swim as an adult goes beyond being told what to do with your arms and legs. It is about what to do with your mind and how you feel. This is what gives you access to understand what is going on with your arms and legs. The key to calm confidence in deep water.
Swimmingly,
