David Wright’s early memories of swimming are of standing around on a poolside shivering whilst his school PE teacher barked “encouragement”. He also remembers a near-drowning incident as a toddler, so it was no surprise that as an adult he experienced a profound fear of water. He could swim, with his head up, but in a constant state of tension and worry that he might get water on his face. All that changed, however, when he discovered Shaw Method at his local pool.So why did you decide to seek ...

Angela Alexander loves Iceland. She loves it so much that she has been going every year for the past 15 years. Here she tells us why …There are two things I love about Iceland: the swimming and the bookshops. People think this strange, but Iceland has some great places to swim, and fantastic bookshops.Swimming is perhaps not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Iceland, but I can assure you that it is a wonderful place to take the plunge. Everyone in Iceland swims, it seems to ...

1996 was a big year for swimming. In that year Terry Laughlin published Total Immersion and Steven Shaw The Art of Swimming. Both men were former competitive swimmers who had come to the conclusion that there must be a better, more efficient way to swim and to teach swimming. Both Terry and Steven were influenced by inspirational swimming coach Bill Boomer. Bill Boomer had a great record in working with competitive swimmers since the 1960s, becoming coach to the US Olympic team in 2000. He looke...

Dr Andrew Gellert learnt to swim as a child in Kenya. He loved being in the water from an early age, but didn’t take up swimming seriously until he hit middle age and decided that he should take more exercise …Why swimming? About 18 years ago my sister told me that I didn’t do enough exercise, and, because she remembered how I used to enjoy swimming as a child, suggested I go to the pool. So I started going about three times a week and working on my speed and stamina. I would swim crawl and a bi...

Strictly speaking the pool at the Liquidrom isn’t for swimming in, but since I was lucky enough to visit it last week I thought you might like to know about this unique facility.Located in central Berlin, a short walk from Potsdamer Platz, the Liquidrom is an upmarket spa offering several saunas, an outdoor hot tub, and a most intriguing thermal pool. I visited with my bemused boyfriend, who had never set foot in a spa before. In the event his presence proved to be a good thing because one of th...

So you’ve learned to swim, congratulations! But how do you feel about swimming out of your depth? With so many pools pegged at a level depth of 1.2metres or thereabouts, it can seem like a giant step from the familiar shallows to swimming in deep water. Even those who have been swimming since they were a child can feel uncomfortable in the deep end, and choose a pool accordingly. However, getting confident out of your depth is an important skill. So to set you on your way, here are my top 5 tips...

Jane Watkinson didn’t enjoy her swimming lessons at school: having to be in the pool without her glasses was very disorientating and the teacher was unsympathetic. Consequently she did everything to avoid lessons, didn’t learn to swim, and felt very embarrassed about it as an adult. Then she discovered Shaw Method …Why swimming? As part of my role at work, I facilitate performance mindset programmes where we help people to understand how their mind works and how that affects the way they behave ...

There’s nothing controversial about the phrase, “exercise is good for you”. Most people would agree, but at what age do you think you should stop taking exercise? There are some who play sport in their youth and give it up in middle age, then those who go to the gym in their 30s and 40s but lapse in their 50s and 60s. The reason is often that their chosen regime is no longer appropriate or no longer inspiring. The fact is it is all to easy to lose the exercise habit in your later years and succu...

Art of Swimming runs holidays at Champneys resorts all year round. They are a great way to get intensive swimming tuition from the architect of Shaw Method Steven Shaw, but there are many other benefits  too …1 ) It’s a holiday in the UK that cannot be spoilt by the weatherYou’ll spend much of your time in the heat controlled environment of the spa, maintained at all times at a comfortable temperature. If it throws it down with rain, it’s no problem as all you have to do is relax, enjoy the faci...

As a Shaw Method of swimming teacher and editor of this publication I’m often asked by friends for my advice on the best way to teach their children to swim. My answer is, unless you are terrified of the water, take your children to the pool regularly, have fun in the water, and get them started yourself. Judging from the responses I get, more information on what to teach and what not to teach would be welcome, particularly with the summer holidays and the chance of some everyday swimming coming...

I took up open water swimming only last year as a way to get fit and do something cheap yet beneficial, writes Maureen Londra. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for.The challenges, both physical and psychological, have been enormous, but have not turned me off the idea of getting in the cold, dark waters of the Firth of Forth in Fife, Scotland.Whether my mood is low or I am elated, I love to swim at Pettycur beach near Kinghorn in Fife. There is often not a soul around, but sometime...

Gerry McCabe learned to swim at 3 or 4. He remembers a lot of splashing about in the pool as a child, and even as an adult maintained a splashy style until he discovered Shaw Method …Why swimming? Whilst I would consider myself to be a capable swimmer, I never felt that I was an efficient or stylish swimmer, and always struggled to get my breathing right. I first learned of the Shaw Method when I saw it advertised in my local health club when I lived in North London ten years ago, but it’s taken...

We really believe that Shaw Method is for everyone, whatever your level of fitness or ability. On this very website we say that the Method is particularly good for: confidence building, the learning of new strokes, swimmers with disabilities, improving performance, enhancing the enjoyment of water, and if you are suffering or recovering from neck and back pain. Just recently though, we’ve found another group of pupils who have been using it for a different purpose: to help them recover from seri...

I once described breaststroke as the Cinderella stroke: it’s a bit everyday dowdy, and never quite gets to scrub up and go to the ball. Breaststroke tends to get a bit forgotten when we pick up other more seemingly stylish and status-enhancing strokes like front crawl and butterfly. I think it’s a shame, because when done well it is every bit as graceful and front crawl and every bit as dynamic as butterfly. In fact, although it is the slowest competitive stroke, breaststroke is actually one of ...

Open water swimming could not be more different from pool swimming, writes Pauline Squire. The pool: solid, straight sided, lined, bottomed, laned, and always filled with chlorine. Lakes, rivers and oceans: no lanes, colours ranging from yellow through to black, weed, fish, differing temperatures. Often you cannot even see your hand in the water let alone the bottom or sides, couple this with wind, rain and sunshine and its easy to see why so many are drawn to its attractions. However, all of th...

Art of Swimming, the home of Shaw Method, has been offering pupils swimming holidays for 14 years. Following the success of the recent annual holiday in Marrakech in November 2010, the company is offering two Moroccan adventures this year, one in May and one in November. The holidays are always led by Steven Shaw, the founder of Shaw Method, and are probably the best way to advance your swimming. There are so many ways you could benefit from a week’s holiday that includes at least five days of i...

Jeanne Dodd has loved swimming almost as long as she can remember. 14 years ago she began having lessons in Shaw Method and soon had transformed the way she swam. Now at 84, she still swims regularly and is currently learning butterfly with Steven Shaw.Why swimming? Before I had lessons in Shaw Method I had started swimming regularly. I just thought it was an extremely sensible thing to be doing to keep fit. I was going to have some swimming lessons with a traditional swimming teacher when a fri...

For over 20 years Steven Shaw and his Shaw Method teachers have been getting great results teaching swimmers and non-swimmers to achieve an efficient and almost effortless front crawl. But did you know that the stroke taught now is radically different not only from traditional front crawl, but from how it was taught to Shaw Method pupils in the early days? Jane-Ann Purdy tells the story of Shaw Method front crawl …Front crawl is as old as swimming itself, though it was not until 1844 that it fir...

Shaw Method teacher Sally Smith took up outdoor swimming in the UK last summer, but on holiday to France found lake swimming a much warmer experience …I was camping on the shores of Lac de Chalain in the Jura region last summer, and I so was able to take a daily swim in this stunningly beautiful glacial lake surrounded by wooded cliffs and pine forest. The temperature of the water was such that I was able to swim without a wetsuit, which was a much nicer and freer experience.The lake was shimmer...

Earlier this month I enjoyed an hour in the company of Malcolm Balk (courtesy of Skype). Malcolm is an inspirational Alexander Technique (AT) teacher and running coach based in Montreal. He travels all over the world teaching runners of all ages and stages to transform their technique and improve their performance. Over the past 20 years Malcolm has transformed the way thousands of people run:  he is to running what Steven Shaw is to swimming.How did you get into the Alexander Technique?In 1979 ...