Floating

July 13, 2013 — breathing, floating, pool safety, swimming, water

raft floating

floatation devices

deep end with supervision

experimenting

free time

safe and fun

Floating is a pleasant sensation that requires letting go of the edge.  Floating has a lot to do with breathing;if you think about it it is obvious.  Inflation of the lungs floats the thoracic cavity.  Body fat floats very nicely, so having the right distribution is helpful to effortless floatation. Tension will sink the body, so this effort to attain emptiness and nothingness is impossible to fake.  Most people reflexively hold their breath in water, and are unaware of their breathing altogether.  Athletic muscular people often can’t swim very far because they exchange very little oxygen with shallow breathing.  Tension and fatigue set in quickly when you have no air to use during an aerobic activity.  Fully exhaling underwater is the first step to doing everything else you ever want to do in water for the rest of your life.  Once you know you can exhale, and have changed your reflex by blowing bubbles each time your face is in the water you have begun to take control of the situation.  Since there is a natural fear factor, this is not so much an intellectual practice as a physical one.

Teaching a young child to float, blow bubbles, and eventually swim is a chance to instill confidence and self esteem. Both parent and child develop confidence and build trust during this important introduction to a dangerous environment in which they can easily drown.  Fear is entirely appropriate for non swimmers around water, no matter how old they may be.  A parent or teacher’s job in showing young children the pleasures of swimming and water sports is to draw clear safety guidelines.  Adults must set boundaries, define rules, and perhaps for the first time in a kid’s young life, assign appropriate punishment for violating pool or lesson rules.  Even if kids are good strong swimmers they can potentially be injured or injure others if left without any supervision or guidelines. In order to preserve the joy and fun in visiting the pool or lake use common sense:

• Never assume another adult is watching the kids.
• Balance practice time with free play time.
• Teach games that challenge level of skill with risk (boundaries clearly set).
• Encourage stroke or diving practice early in the session, not when the student is tired.
• Understand you are modeling risk assessment more than anything.
• End before dehydration and mayhem ensue.
• Use all kinds of floatation devices to stay safe as well as comfortable

The same rules apply for adult swimmers.  Pace yourself and stay safe.  Doing nothing but floating on your back in the water taking deep breaths can become easy, but it requires complete focus.  Start in shallow water and work up to going deeper.  Like the backbend in yoga, the trust fall into water requires a level of confidence that can only be acquired through practice.