It is the season of old stories as we gather (or not) with friends and family. Often these relationships are ones that have endured through time even if you didn’t meet often. We relate to these stories if we see the people in real-time or just in our own heads.

Stories are a type of relationship. They show how to relate to other people, things, or in our case, the water.

Just like you can get stuck telling the same story about your weird uncle, you can get stuck in your same story about the water. As humans, we like the comfort of repetition. It feels safely familiar even if the familiar is uncomfortable.

Have you ever been to a memorial and listened to other people’s stories? Only to find out they didn’t think the uncle was weird at all. Their story was very different from yours. You may now feel like you missed out.​

It is not too late to create new stories about your relationship with the water. It is not too late to change your understanding of how the water works and how your perfect body and the water work together. What do you want your water story to be?

Check out these swimmers stories:

Jodi’s story Youtube​

Marie story Youtube​

Charlette to Youtube​

Swimmingly,

The post What story do you tell yourself about swimming? appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Once a story stopped you from doing something you didn’t know how to do yet. Mine was a story with the title Wants to Learn to Row.

What is your title and story?

It is this story that is stopping you. Not your skills or abilities. It is the story you tell yourself to feel safe. However, you know that feeling safe by staying away doesn’t mean you feel good.

Can you relate to this story about staying in a warm safe bed or getting up to do something hard?

When I stay in bed until it is too late to make it to rowing practice I feel good and terrible. When I get up out of my bed in the dark and cold at 5:11 am to get in the boat as a wobbly beginner I feel terrible and good.

No matter what choice I make there will be risks, experiencing negative and positive feelings and safety. One choice lets my future self down. One choice shrinks my world. One choice feeds my negative self-concept and one expands me into a new story I desire.

Do you know why we offer the opportunity to go on an amazing swim vacation together?

It is so you have an opportunity to be more than you thought was possible. To show yourself that you can live your dreams right now.

In the Foundation One class in Hawaii, all you need is a swimsuit and a curiosity to learn to swim.

In the Advanced class, all you need is to have completed a Foundation One class or the equivalent in Private Lessons, be able to stand up from your front and back float and have a curiosity to learn.

You are ready right now. Claiming your spot will take you out of hiding and wishing and into growing and expanding right now. The sooner you decide the more you will grow.​

Do not miss out. There are only 3 spots in the Foundation One class left and 4 in the Advanced class.

​Deposits must be made by Nov 5 to keep our resort block of rooms. Click here now to join us in exploring a whole new world.

This is a story you do not want to be on the sidelines for.

It is the most fun ever. I cannot wait to swim with you!

Swimmingly,

The post Insider Tips: What is stopping you? appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Your palm, right? So simple. You connect your flat palm onto the surface and then push.

This is also how it works in swimming. So why do we see people use the side, back, or even cupped hands? This is because they are not connected to the feeling in their hands.

Feeling that sensation is key to learning the physical skills of swimming. Connecting to this feeling is often missed because our emotions block the connection.

Emotions are generated by thoughts like:

• I want to get it right
• I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do
• Someone needs to tell me what to do
• I can’t get this

Any of these thoughts can produce anxiety or a lack of confidence and trust in the process.

These emotions do not leave very much space to be curious about the sensation in the hands.

What thoughts or frame of mind would you need in order to be curious, attentive, or ready for discovery?

When you want to learn, start at the top with your thoughts and beliefs. This drives every action.

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post Insider Tips: Key To Learning The Physical Skills Of Swimming appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Fact: Most people’s legs and arms droop down like jellyfish 

Myth: Floating takes work

Fact: Floating is a physics principle, not an activity.  Rubber balls float & rocks sink

Myth: When people are vertical in the water with their head out, they are floating

Fact: This is treading water and it is a pinnacle activity coordinating many different skill sets

Myth: You need to float to be a good swimmer

Fact: Olympic swimmers do not float

Myth: Floating is only a beginner skill not needed for safety 

Fact: Being able to be completely still, physically and mentally, is the key to safety in the water

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post 5 Facts and Myths About Floating appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Your palm, right?  So simple.  You connect your flat palm onto the surface and then push.  

This is also how it works in swimming.  So why do we see people use the side, back, or even cupped hands?  This is because they are not connected to the feeling in their hands.  

Feeling that sensation is key to learning the physical skills of swimming.  Connecting to this feeling is often missed because our emotions block the connection. 

Emotions are generated by thoughts like:  

• I want to get it right
• I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do
• Someone needs to tell me what to do
• I can’t get this

Any of these thoughts can produce anxiety or a lack of confidence and trust in the process. 

These emotions do not leave very much space to be curious about the sensation in the hands.  

What thoughts or frame of mind would you need in order to be curious, attentive, or ready for discovery?  

When you want to learn, start at the top with your thoughts and beliefs.  This drives every action.

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post How to have Better Hand Connection in Swimming appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Let’s run through an exercise where all change begins. It will get you on to the path you most desire.

What are your thoughts about deep water? Write them all down. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Fill up a paper without editing.

Then take time to sort your thoughts and see which ones are reality-based and which are purely your imagination. It is likely that most of them are imagined and untrue.

Sort the ones that you imagined into useful and not useful categories.

Here are some examples of thoughts that are not useful:

• It is scary
• I don’t know what to do
• It is not safe
• I have to know how to tread to be safe

Here are some examples of thoughts that are useful:

• I know the pace that is right for me
• I can figure out the steps
• The water works the same in shallow and deep water
• I do not go beyond where I can stay connected to myself

We have thousands of thoughts a day. Most of them are not true and not useful. Becoming aware is step number one.

What you desire most simply takes following the steps.

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post Insider Tips: What does the deep end mean to you? appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Here are three quick tips from the Foundation of Change to keep in mind when considering open water swimming or activities.

1. Do not get ahead of yourself. Be where you are.
2. Having fun feels good.
3. Let whatever step you take to be perfect.

Ok, so this is not your typical open water tip because I know you are smart and capable and want to know what no one else will tell you. Let’s break these down a bit more and make them applicable to what you might want to do in a lake or the sea.

Do not get ahead of yourself. Be where you are.

Close your eyes for a moment and visualize yourself standing on the shore. What do you see, where does your vision go? I will guess that it goes across the horizon, out to the vast open space. We love to watch the sunset over the ocean. We are drawn to the open space but we can also feel hesitant because of all that open space. Here is the key point: you are not in all that open space. You are standing on the shore. You are standing on the shore breathing, safe, and in control. When you consider any open water activity you must embrace the practice of coming to where you are physically in that moment.

Before you get in you can plan about where you will or will not go. Lake beaches are really good starting points because they often lack current and have roped-off areas with known depths.

Watch our video on how your mind and bodywork together in water:

It can seem like a good idea to constantly think ahead, but it steers you away from the present time. The present time is the only place where you can be in control. Looking to the future can leave you feeling scared, stiff, anxious, out of air even when you are standing on shore with nothing going wrong at all.

Take a few moments to get present at the actual physical location. Then you can begin.

Having Fun Feels Good

Your feelings drive everything you do. The whole point of summer activities is usually to have fun. This is the best test to see if you are doing the right thing for yourself. Before you do your open water activity, check and see if you are having fun or just hoping you will have fun in the future. If you do not know how to have fun right now, what makes you think you will know it in the future? Practice what you want right now.

When you take all the should, other judgments of fun, and your own self-criticism you will need to ask the question, “What is fun for me?”. Asking this question with genuine openness can give you space for where you need to be so you can feel safe. When you feel safe you exponentially increase your ability to have fun.

Go ahead and put the lifejacket on with joyful ownership. Get into the water holding onto the back of the boat. Discover the ocean at a Kei-Kei beach (kids beach in Hawaiian).

It is not useful to expect yourself to be anything other than who you are right now. This only creates self-judgment and puts a halt to fun. Which do you want: to expand your fun or increase your judgment?

Let Whatever Step You Take Be Perfect

When we teach you how to swim we break the physical steps into small pieces, steps so small it actually allows you to learn. Most of the time students think they need to take huge steps or make those huge steps be perfect.

You will know when the step is too big because you will feel overwhelmed, confused, scared, out of control, unnatural or you won’t remember what happened. You have 2 choices after this experience: believe you got it all wrong or let it be perfect. ​

When you say you got it all wrong we usually feel bad. This is the opposite of step #2. When something feels bad we tend to turn away or get shrink into ourselves.

When you let it be perfect we usually feel better. This is leaning into step #2. When you see it as perfect, you can realize that maybe the step was too big. Then that can give rise to a choice to make it simpler, easier, and more fun? Curiosity is a growing emotion. This is how you find the right step. But it often takes the wrong step first. This is not a problem.

Many of our students came to us because they were snorkeling on vacation, but felt scared. Or have said “no” many times to an invitation to spend time on someone’s boat. Find what you did right in these stories. Find what you are curious about and recognize the smaller steps so you can enjoy them.

It is not about doing all the things. It is about doing something right for you so you can be the amazing human being that you are.

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post Insider Tips: Open Water Swimming appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Many if not most students say treading water is one of their goals. Perhaps this is true for you too?

Before you start to learn ask yourself the most important question: why.

Why treading? What does it mean to you?

When I say what does it mean I’m am talking about why it matters to you. What you think you will be able to get from treading?

This is a very important step to be clear about your desires. Make a list.

From your list, you will want to see if treading is the only way to accomplish the items, the easiest way, and the most efficient way. Often the answer is no.

Treading water is a pinnacle activity. It is the accumulation of many different skills both physical and mental with a final result of being able to tread. When we talk to students who have learned to tread they often cannot really remember the process because it is not linear. As you develop as a swimmer with confidence, not overworking, feeling safe getting air in many ways, knowing how to rest, and many other areas you magically build up to the activity called treading.

One very common place we see swimmers start to tread is after jumping in the water. They are so excited about this pinnacle activity that they want to start talking and connect with others in their joy that they just start treading.

The fastest way for them to stop treading is when I point it out to them. This is when they remember, “I don’t know how to tread” and it falls apart.

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Foundation of Change Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post Is Treading Water Your Goal? appeared first on Orca Swim School.

Now that January has ended, we start to ask, “wait what happened to my New Year’s resolutions: the goals, wishes, hopes, or intentions?”  

This year I kept my New Year’s goal simple.  I committed to dance once a week.  Now if you’ve followed me for a long time, you know this is not as simple as it sounds.  For years, I’ve said that I want to find someone who teaches dance the way I teach swimming. To develop my self-concept (feel like a dancer), while developing the physical skills.  Because yes, alone in my kitchen with some random music playing, I have been known to make a little wiggle and squiggle around that some might call dancing, but inside I didn’t feel like a dancer.    

This year will be different.  In the past, I’ve made the same error so many of us make to keep ourselves from changing.  If you actually want to grow, your focus must be on the growth zone.  

When you want to learn something new or make a change in your life, (dancing, loving your relationships to stepping onto a scale while being kind to yourself) we could put it into a pie chart.

Choose your goal.  Any goal from dancing to swimming, loving your relationships to stepping onto the scale with kindness.  This is what it looks like when you accomplish your goal.  

This is your goal, fully realized. 

When you start a new goal, the pie chart may look like this:

If you have ever missed a goal or dream it is because you spent your time on the red part of the pie (unknown). You thought about it, worried about it, and were overwhelmed with all the different steps involved. 

You will always go where your thoughts and attention are directed.  

The red zone can be overwhelming, feel impossible, confusing, and hard.  If you focus on the red zone, the goal will fade away (look for the next article to tell you why this makes you happy).

What you really want is to grow the green zone, no matter how big or little it is.  The goal is to expand the green zone, to build up the green part of the pie to widen its area.

The focus needs to be in the green to expand it. 

Now you may be screaming, “BUT I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!!”.  Your brain is wired to keep everything the same, “no changes please, just keep it the same so I don’t have to work hard”.  

This is when the green zone can help you answer with what you do know.

For my goal to dance, I need to answer with what I know about dancing.  I can actually dance in my kitchen…all alone with no one watching.  Showing myself that I do know things allows my brain to build on this self-concept with confidence.  

What do you know about your goal? What can you do already?

Before even coming to a class you are able to, choose swimwear, visit pools, watch youtube lessons, dip your toe in with online membership.  These are things you can do without overwhelming fear.  Let yourself do these. This counts. This focus on the green growing part will allow you to expand it.,  Expanding into it. 

As you expand the green zone, little bits of the red will start to become fuzzy lines of yellow.  You will be tempted to chase something in the red zone.  But stay in the green and get curious about the yellow.  Expand yourself.

Use the yellow zone to be curious; Be willing to explore, ask good questions, and investigate.  Allow yourself to grow with confidence, grace, and ease.

When you are ready for some help expanding your green growing zone, we are here for you.  Join us at the pool, if swimming is your goal.

Do you have a non-swimming goal?  Get started with building your Foundation of Change with Cori as your life coach.  

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post Expanding into your goal appeared first on Orca Swim School.

In case you didn’t know already how amazing our office manager is already here she is:

She is in ice-cold water as part of her Wim Hof class.  When we go hiking she is that person who will take a dip in the Alpine Lake if there is snow or sun.  The high pitch yelp followed by the vigor of feeling alive!  

I’ve considered taking the Wim Hof plunge or the New Year’s polar plunge.  It is on my one day list.  You’ve got one of those too, right? 

Watch Below:

Jump-In Membership

If you’re like many adults, you’ve been frustrated or embarrassed that you weren’t free to swim “like everybody else.” Half of adults can’t swim, like you! We meet them all the time. They’ve tried every system, including the traditional programs, with no success.

Since 1999, we’ve helped hundreds of adults overcome their fear and discomfort in water with our proven system built on the Jump-In Membership. Our Jump-In program uses the nuts and bolts of mindfulness to address the root of the problem and will transform the way you feel and think about water for the rest of your life.

The post A New Look at the New Year’s Resolution appeared first on Orca Swim School.