happy laps happy laps
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1. the incredible lightness of swimming The key skill is learn ing to breathe and bubble in a horizontal position just a bit closer to how you ll do it while swimming Most students will start by maintaining strong support with their hands as Rosa does initially then gradually allow the water to support their body weight more and more as we see Rosa do as she gains confidence Alice s reassuring touch helps keep Rosa stable while also giving her the confidence to move toward a posi tion more like Dianne s Dianne shows what happens when you relax fully The more she relaxes the lighter she feels until finally her hands float free This initial experience in enjoying the full support of the water can be a wonderful confidence builder The smaller and quieter your bubbles the longer you ll be able to enjoy Floating this way Discover Weightlessness Right This exercise illustrates how differ ent TI swimming is from conventional approaches it also represents an incredibly liberating moment for Rosa after decades of fear of the water The previous exercises in bubbling and floating at the stairs have helped Rosa learn to trust herself and Alice enough to move away from the wall and let Alice tow her a short distance Being towed by Alice for a few brief seconds shows Rosa that swimming the TI way will be completely different from the churning frantic experi ence most people have in their first attempts at swimm2. The less effort or kick you need now to balance the less you ll need ater to drill or swim Rolling Glide Right This will orient you to the rhythmic body roll of TI freestyle When acting as coach support your partner s ankles while she extends into Prone Glide position Turn her slightly to both sides from the ankles Watch to see that she can maintain good head spine alignment and stop rotating if she loses it After rotating at least twice to each side give her a push so she can try to continue rolling on her own If you re the swimmer focus on keeping yourself needle like and learn how much you can roll while maintaining your alignment After launch roll easily from side to side imprinting the movement you ll use in swimming A Few Easy Strokes If you re anxious for a taste of swimming by this point feel free to try a few strokes After launch glide a bit with your head in line and feeling like a streamlined vessel Keep looking down as you take 6 to 8 strokes Don t worry about technique Just reach forward with one arm then the other hold the water in your hand and move it straight back under you Let your legs follow your body in whatever way feels most natural Your primary focus should be on maintaining the same supported body with minimal kick feel ing you have just gained Stroke as gently and quietly as possible for a preview of how relaxing TI swimming will be LESSON 3 BECOMING BAL
3. and how wetness feels on your legs Simply aim to enjoy the feeling of the water lapping on your legs and how they feel lighter while submerged Sit here for 20 to 30 yoga breaths relaxing more with each exhale AFTER ENTERING THE WATER Wash Your Face Right Sit on the steps where you feel safe and com fortable Wash your face or pour water over your head until you feel no urge to wipe or spit until you re comfortable letting the water run off and your breathing feels normal almost bored Blow bubbles Hold the side then take a breath and put your face in leaving your feet securely on the bottom Blow small quiet bubbles When you come up to breathe let the water run off without spitting or wiping Do this until you re comfortable If you feel as if your legs want to float up as you put your face in let them The more you relax the lighter your legs will become On the video you ll see Alice help Rosa to experi ence by supporting her legs at the shins Combo Breathing Right This exercise will teach an advanced water breathing skill Even with water in your mouth you can breathe through either your mouth or nose without swallowing water Crouch so the water wets your chin Take five or six slow easy breaths with your chin in the water Continue until your breathing feels normal almost bored Next let some water into your open mouth Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth five or six
4. child again in the pool at least Conventional wisdom says that to develop the strength and stamina to swim better you first need to grind out the laps say that s a mainly a good way to perfect your mistakes You must first learn to relax and be at home in the water or all those laps will do is make your bad habits more permanent The foundation of the Total Immersion program is a series of thoughtfully choreographed learning games and self awareness exercises guided play that will put you in touch with your body again and teach you the same things that children learn when they have fun in the water The most comforting aspect of this program is that there s no right or wrong about these exercises In fact you can gain a sense of greater freedom by choosing in some cases to do the exercises wrong and discover how your body reacts when you do You re in a safe place so there s no risk in making that choice If you do each step with an open and curious spirit you ll find that each step is designed to reveal how your body really behaves in the water which will help you make informed choices on the smartest way to take advantage of those properties Step by step you ll begin to understand how to move with the water instead of muscling it out of your way Lesson One will show you how to become comfortable and relaxed in the water and how your body naturally behaves in a fluid environment In Lesson Tw
5. favor that leg But swimming is a bilateral skill so repeat this process reaching the other leg for ward As you do tune in to how it feels different to reach with the other leg instead To become a true TI swimmer you ll need to use both sides of your body and brain with equal facility Movements that don t come naturally require mindful practice to learn Egg Float Right In the Jellyfish your limbs serve as outriggers or stabiliz ers In the Egg you take away the outriggers and allow your body to bob around in response to water movement Just enjoy the experience of giving yourself over to the water without resistance or reservation Basketball Dribble Right Our final flotation exercise should be fun for both part ners The partner who is more comfortable in the water should be the basketball first so the less experienced partner can observe before being pressed under It s also a good idea to plan in advance how many times you ll dribble no surprises Being dribbled will reveal each person s buoyancy characteristics A swimmer who bobs up quickly will also achieve balance fairly easily One who bobs up more slowly will need more manual assistance in coming exercises Spinning Right This particularly playful exercise will be your first opportunity to explore how the water s thickness can make it harder to move if you take up too much space or easier to move when you work with that resistan
6. for years without learning to swim They took their first TI lessons just a few months before this video was shot and have progressed so far that they are now teaching TI to adult students BEFORE ENTERING THE WATER Practice Yoga Breathing At home or in a comfortable place at the pool lie flat on your back with legs apart and arms slightly out with palms up Support your head so your chin is neutral not tilted up Breathe slowly and deeply 20 to 30 breaths drawing air deeply into your lungs Feel your abdomen rise as you inhale and sink as you exhale Feel every part of your body relax as you breathe starting with your face neck and shoulders arms and finally legs and feet Feel yourself melt into the floor with each exhale Use yoga breathing regularly to create a sense of relaxation and serenity that you ll aim to recreate in the water Breathe under the Shower At home or at the pool practice breathing with water streaming on your head and over your face Breathe in through your mouth through the streaming water The point of this exercise is to become comfortable simply letting the water run over and off your face without wiping or spitting Breathe out through your mouth and nose releasing tension with each exhale Take 20 to 30 relaxed breaths until you feel as free of tension as during yoga breathing Dangle your legs Sit on the steps or the edge with your legs dangling in the water Notice your breathing
7. solo but a partner can still be very helpful in giving you feedback on how your move ments resemble those on the video Practice UnderSwitch 1 Start as in UnderSkate When you see your hand under your nose switch and roll to LV position on the other side Take three yoga breaths and check your balance Then swivel nose down to Skating position pause and repeat in the other direction 2 After you ve mastered the basic movement give attention to these focal points one at a time Focus on doing one thing really well each length Don t begin sneaking your hand until you check head and hand position and that your shoulders are still stacked e Switch when you see your hand and switch all the way to your Sweet Spot Think of breathing this way Take your belly button to the air your head just goes along for the ride e Switch through the smallest possible hole in the water and drill silently WHAT COMES NEXT Mastery of US will give you a skill that will let you swim many laps with graceful fluent efficient movements You ve taken an important step in making the water a welcoming place and learning to move through it with flow and ease but that s just the first step Total Immersion swimmers are lifelong learners and we have many ways to help you get even more satisfaction and enjoyment from swimming America s most popular swimming stroke is the crawl most popularly known as freesty
8. some momentum Continue towing as you position the swimmer s head with the face parallel to the surface and with water touching the corners of the goggles Note For some students this head position may feel very deep in the water You may need to encourage the swimmer to trust you and release neck and shoulder muscles e Release the swimmer s head and continue walking Walking backward to provide draft is a great aid to their maintaining a relaxed kick Check and adjust head position as necessary and lightly press arms to sides Resume towing as needed SOLO PRACTICE Once you ve both achieved ease and comfort you re ready to try some solo practice which you can initiate by launching your partner from their feet Practice with these focal points e Feel just as you did while being towed particularly head position and sense of effortless support e Kick with a compact silent flutter lightly flicking your toes toward the surface Study the underwater video sections to observe how shallow and gentle the kick is Arms pressed lightly to your sides no sculling or bracing e With practice aim to travel more quietly and with less effort If you feel yourself losing balance just stand up breathe deeply to relax and resume with a push from the bottom Your momentum will aid as towing did Your main goal is to replicate the sensation you felt while being towed SWEET SPOT SS This is the rest and recover
9. ANCED AND SLIPPERY Now that you ve experienced the freedom of weightless effortless movement Lesson Three will teach you to swim as fish do This process will be different from the conventional crawl stroke done so awkwardly by most people we ll teach you a swimming style that will be easy to learn so you can quickly begin gaining all the bene fits and pleasures of swimming fluent laps And the skills we ll teach you will also serve as the perfect founda tion for going on to learn the traditional strokes but with a difference From the beginning you ll develop habits of flow efficiency and ease rather than struggle BALANCE ON YOUR BACK BB The prone balance positions in Lesson Two provide valuable insights about ease in the water but are limited by your need to breathe In this exercise you can experience the support of the water without having to do anything special to get air As the Swimmer do the following e Begin kicking gently as your coach starts towing Relax and allow your coach to position your head Pay particular attention to your head feel the water at the corners of your goggles and the bottom of your chin with ears underwater We ll use this head position for all nose up drills Lean into the water with your upper back but keep your shoulders relaxed then notice how that affects the position of your hips and legs As the Coach do the following Begin towing from the shoulders to provide
10. Paltz NY December 2003 Copyright 2006 Total Immersion All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying printing recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Total Immersion
11. aditional instruction we give them far less emphasis here Once you learn how to move your entire body easily and naturally with the water it becomes almost inevitable that your arms will follow the efficient fluid pattern that propels you most effectively With Happy Laps you ll explore your movements in the water in a free and informal way before channeling your increasingly natural relationship with water into formal strokes And once more please don t think too much Your senses will tell you how you re doing What feels right is right THE TOTAL IMMERSION BUDDY SYSTEM While some swimmers will feel comfortable doing these exercises on their own we ve designed the Happy Laps program to work best as collaborative learning In teaching thousands of swimmers in TI workshops and classes since 1989 one of the most exciting discoveries we ve made was how dramatically a Buddy approach accelerates progress In the Buddy System swimmers learn in pairs taking turns in two roles The swimmer who learns the correct positions and movements with help from their partner The coach who helps the swimmer find the right position offers support as needed assists with momentum by towing or launching then releases and continues observing the swimmer to assist in any way that may be helpful ADVANTAGES OF THE BUDDY SYSTEM Learning to be comfortable balanced and slippery in the water presen
12. an already swim far or fast there will be learning opportunities in these exercises that make their swimming even better The symbiotic experience of switching between teaching and learning provides deeper understanding for both partners at every stage And the best part of using the Buddy System is that you can begin creating your own Total Immersion Community of intelligent mindful swimming A partner who shares your experience and goals gives you an invaluable support system During these exercises you ll experience water in all the ways you do when you re swimming but you ll be freed from the pressure to swim right or to go fast Experiment with each exercise for as long as you want repeating it as many times as you want Your goal is not to do them correctly but to do them in a relaxed and Fluid way to turn each exercise from unfamiliar and possibly a little awkward into smooth and easy Learning to swim this way will also put you in a frame of mind to appreciate the value of practicing swimming in the mindful spirit of yoga and tai chi We have consciously designed Total Immersion to be practiced as a moving meditation in the same way as yoga and tai chi And once you begin swimming mindfully you won t want to swim any other way The best way to start comfortably is not to get in over your head Literally strongly suggest practicing all of these exercises first in shallow water as shown on the v
13. ce effectively Try some experiments Tuck your body tightly to see how easy it us to spin Open your tuck to experience more resistance Use smooth arm movements to experi ence effective propulsion then hurried choppy movements to experience how they waste energy The lesson a streamlined body and smooth propelling movements will use the least energy After that try the following Spin in one direction then in the other e Spin with your left arm only Then with your right arm only Spin both left and right with your left arm only then go each way with your right arm These will teach you about bilateral skill and coordination Find the fewest arm sculls to complete a full circle with each arm in each direction e How many complete circles can you make in each direction before stopping to breathe With your eyes closed spin exactly one circle to the right then exactly one to the left These exercises will teach you about movement efficiency TEACH YOURSELF FISHLIKE POSITIONS These exercises depart completely from traditional swimming instruction I ve watched many classes where beginning swimmers were urged to kick the water into a froth or tear awkwardly at it with their arms They wear themselves out yet hardly move no wonder so many never learn to swim In TI instruction we want you to start by learning to do hardly anything and glide seemingly forever Like the floating exerci
14. e easily than we do Faster too While the fas some fish have been clocked at over 50 mp than the fastest humans using a third less They re not gifted they just know what all which is a thousand times denser than air harder the water resists you Small wonder test human swimmers travel only about 5 mph at full throttle h It not only looks easy it is easy Dolphins swim 10 times faster power fish know how to avoid drag how to simply slip through the water Being slippery is far more important than being powerful because when you re trying to move through water the water acts like a virtual wall The harder you pull and kick the we find smooth relaxed swimmers so fascinating How can they get so far so attractively on so little energy THREE MISTAKES EVERY HUMAN SWIMMER MAKES To swim better tomorrow you must unders tand what s holding you back today Chances are you ve thought there was something wrong with you because 1 You find it difficult to float The most common misconception is the notion that you re supposed to float on top of the water This is in fact impossible No matter how buoyant you are sinking into the water is what the human body is designed to do every part of the human body except for the chest cavity is non buoyant The first step to swimming well to moving through the water with the great est of ease is to learn to sink clev
15. e but awareness Humans don t have to be taught to walk or run because those abilities come naturally to us land based creatures but no one learns to swim well without at least some instruction Swimming well seems difficult because milli ons of years of adaptation to life on terra firma ruled by the laws of gravity have made it exceedingly difficult to move easily in a fluid environment ruled by the laws of hydrodynamics Humans in water are like fish out of water A handful of us manage to muddle through with extraordinary effort but swimming well and efficiently has always been harder than it needs to be The crowning irony of course is that while we re struggling mightily to become a skilled swimmer an accom plished swimmer makes it all look impossibly smooth and easy Anyone watching beautiful swimmers instinc tively appreciates what they do And when we do observe the world s best swimmers both dolphins and Olympic swimmers we see the same qualities grace economy and flow This natural ease universal among sea creatures is rare among humans as the water frothing lappers at any health club pool graphically illustrate It s probably this stark contrast between fish gliding through an aquarium and our fellow humans churning up pools that makes skill more impressive to us than raw power ever could be The serenity and grace of a middle aged swimmer who can flow like wate
16. eep water out of your nose In the final sequence on the video Vik main tains gentle downward pressure as Dianne releases air slowly until Vik can push her down with less resist ance On the bottom wrap your arms around your head and tune into the sense of peace and serenity When you want to return to the surface signal your partner Notice how Dianne rises in balance while Vik s legs come up more slowly This difference is common between men and women and more pronounced in lean or heavily muscled students Both Vik and Dianne learn that you fall up not down in water When you trade places and help your partner submerge you ll feel just how much the water pushes back as you try to press them down When your partner achieves a high level of confidence you can stabilize them on the bottom with a foot on the back LESSON TWO WEIGHTLESS IN THE WATER Lesson Two exercises show you how to position your body and distribute your weight to get the water to support you completely and effortlessly Once it does you ll be able to move through the water with an ease you never dreamed possible Your partner will become even more valuable in aiding your comfort control and learning here too FLOATING EXERCISES The first four exercises are purely about learning to float If you re an adult and haven t yet learned to swim comfortably it s not likely you can persuade your rational mind afte
17. en to use smooth and coordinated whole body movements for propulsion 3 You run out of steam too soon Even highly conditioned marathon runners wonder where all their fitness went the minute they begin swimming A couple of laps and they re done for Where did all that endurance go Here s where If you haven t first learned to relax in water to be supported by it to slip through it almost any attempt to go faster will wear you out Total Immersion shifts the focus away from pushing harder against the water to learning to work with it When most of your energy and attention have been refocused on keeping yourself slippery you ll be amazed how much easier it will be to swim any distance at any speed That s why the fastest swimmer in the world today Alexandre Popov spends most of his practice hours becoming slippery rather than swimming hard You will soon too FIRST START PLAYING AROUND When it comes to swimming well kids have the right idea swimming is just another form of play The fact that they re learning as they play is a bonus But in their water play they gain an instinctive understanding of the freedom and flow that being nearly weightless offers Adults typically play too little and worry too much about getting it right and in the process make improvement a struggle instead of a pleasure And since traditional instruction leads to frustration anyway it just makes things worse The solution Become a
18. er extending your bodyline in whatever position you re in lower your arms by degrees then raise them again to see which arm position helps you most 4 Lean into the water on your breastbone to see if that helps make your hips and legs lighter 5 After you ve done all you can to become more horizontal on your own let your partner lift your legs to a horizontal position If you re the partner do it with the lightest touch possible As coach you can also make sure your swimmer s head is right on the head spine line When alignment is right you ll only see a small sliver of the back of the head above the water Then launch your partner into a glide if they balanced on their own do it with a light push If you needed to help lift the legs give a stronger thrust While gliding how does it feel to be perfectly balanced Tune into and enjoy the relaxing feeling of being supported by the water IYX Right These exercises will be an experiment in gaining more control over your body position by exploring how you can affect your equilibrium with your arms and legs IF you can improve your balance in a Y or X position then try to maintain that sense of better balance when you extend yourself into the position again You and your partner should help each other as needed as you work toward awareness of how to stay balanced with the least effort When assisting your partner pro vide the lightest possible support staying al
19. erly in a horizontal position instead of legs first like a capsizing boat In a horizontal position you give the water much less surface area to resist making progress far easier You find your ideal body position by getting your head aligned and redistributing your body weight until you feel the water support you Once you stop fighting to stay on top you ll be amazed at how much energy you have to move ahead Our self guid qe ed Discovery Exercises will take you through the steps that help you find this floating sweet spot 2 The water holds you back Why do you tire so quickly In large part because most of the energy you expend goes into making waves and turbulence not into effective propulsion Again this is the result of a mis taken notion most people have about how you re supposed to swim Most swimmers figure that since they propel themselves by pulling and kicking swimming better means pulling and kicking faster and harder That s a good way to churn up the water and tire yourself out but a bad way to gain speed Again consider fish No arms or legs so no pulling and kicking But speed to burn with just a few tail flicks because they are perfectly balanced beautifully streamlined and propel with fluent whole body movements Our self teaching program will teach you how to comfortably master the body positions that will allow you to slip through the water with the greatest ease and th
20. ert to allow your partner to achieve the best possible position they can without your help Prone Glide Our final series of Lesson Two exercises will foreshadow how effortless and enjoyable swimming will be when you become Fishlike Take your cue on how to assist your partner from the first clip where Som launches Linda with a feather light push If your partner needs help in getting horizontal reach under his knees and lift until he s balanced from head to toe Maintain contact and support as you move down to the feet Then hold your partner lightly by the toes and walk him around a bit allowing him to sense how it feels to part the waters moving forward without doing a thing After launch see how far you can travel without kicking Don t begin kicking until you ve done five or six assisted glides Each time try to travel a bit farther by staying more balanced and extending your bodyline into the longest sleekest position possible When you re gliding motionless as far as possible you can begin kicking barely enough to keep your legs from sinking and to maintain momentum Kick quietly and gently keeping your legs inside your body cylinder This light minimal kick is typical of TI swimming Next practice self starting glides without a partner Push off the wall balance and streamline and see how far you can glide without kicking Or push from the bottom into a long lazy glide Try to travel a bit farther each time
21. es you feel great inside and out But too few people ever discover that because early swim ming experiences can be so discouraging lt happens most to folks probably not unlike you who may be wary of the water to begin with and who quickly find themselves fighting to stay afloat struggling for air and probably reluctant to leave the shallow area For many people that s all the proof they need that they just don t have what it takes to become a swimmer Or they may be discouraged by the prospect that even if you can find instruction appropriate for an adult with years of frustrating experience it could take years to become a real swimmer But with Total Immersion it doesn t have to take long at all As we ve seen with countless thousands of hopeful swimmers you ll be surprised how much you can learn each time you step into the pool This self teaching book and video can be the first step in changing your swimming experience every bit as dramatical y as all the Total Immersion students before you have This Tl program offers what has been for many aspir ing swimmers an impossible dream a simple clear common sense approach to learning to move through the water easily comfortably and so pleasurably that your practice time becomes the healthiest most reward ing part of your day Too good to be true No it s not The hopefuls who hang up their bathing suits for good after a couple of Frust
22. feet after release try some solo practice Just a short dis tance at first then longer as you feel able giving your attention to these focal points Try to feel as much as possible like you did while being towed e Start each repeat with head hidden in BB then rotate just slightly to reach SS e As you rotate keep your head still and stable Water should touch the corners of both goggles at all times Slip through the water as cleanly and quietly as possible If you feel a bit less comfortable on one side try to tune into what you do on the other side and try to make both sides feel similar Active Balance AB This will help you improve your feel for SS by practicing it in a dynamic manner As you rotate to each side your goal is to consistently find your most comfortable position Employ the Buddy System much as you did in SS but with more attention to keeping the head hidden and perfectly still as the body rotates back and forth In solo practice your main goal is to rotate with gentle weight shifts and without help from your hands or extra effort on your kick Stabilize on one side for three yoga breaths before rolling to the other side LENGTHEN YOUR VESSEL LV This drill teaches a lesson that will be most valuable when you begin swimming that you reduce drag and can move faster and more easily when you extend an arm to lengthen your bodyline In fact you should become so slippery in this positi
23. happy laps by Terry Laughlin Copyright 2006 Total Immersion All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopying printing recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from Total Immersion Inc For information contact Total Immersion Inc 246 Main Street Suite 15A New Paltz NY 12561 Revised December 16 2003 Total Immersion Inc Congratulations on purchasing Happy Laps This is the most important video we have ever produced because it is designed to meet the most fundamental need in swimming how to swim for health fitness or pleasure with absolute comfort and confidence Happy Laps is the first Total Immersion learning aid to address the real basics how do swim without fear of sinking how do breathe in water and how do move with such efficiency that will be able to swim graceful nearly effortless laps for as long as like While the video is self explanatory this user s manual includes guidance for a successful learning experience and detailed tips for each step in the progression For additional free articles on smart satisfying swimming please visit www totalimmersion net WHY TOTAL IMMERSION CAN TURN ANYONE INTO A SWIMMER Swimming is the closest thing to a perfect exercise a weightless virtually injury free year round body toner that mak
24. ide we ll again do solo practice for short distances Give your attention to these focal points Start in BB and rotate to SS before sneaking your arm overhead Then try to feel as you did while being towed long sleek and relaxed Keep your head hidden with water at the corners of your goggles and lay back until your hips and legs feel light If you feel less comfortable after extending your arm return it to your side regain your balance then extend the arm weightlessly without changing your body position e Keep your extended hand in the position in which you feel the least strain but it might be useful to experiment with a palm out position which can help prepare you for nose down positions to come The main benefit of this drill is in mastering the lack of effort or struggle that Jennifer shows in her solo practice That comes from a long slippery balanced bodyline Aim to feel this way on both sides If you have any difficulty feel as effortless as Jennifer looks try the drill with fins to experience the relaxation that s so important in balance drills FISH In the Fish drill you ll learn to balance directly on your side in the nose down position the only time you ll be balanced on your side is when you are nose down Fish is also the easiest way to learn to keep your head directly in line with your spine as it will be in every skill to follow As the Swimmer do the following Star
25. ideo That guarantees you ll feel relaxed and in the mood to have some fun knowing that if your play doesn t go exactly as planned getting out of trouble is as simple as standing up You ll know as any kid would when your body has learned its lessons well and it s time to head for the deep end And when that finally happens you ll wonder why you waited so long for your second childhood LESSON ONE AT HOME IN THE WATER Lesson One will help you develop a comfortable trusting relationship with water understand its properties overcome common fears and build the confidence to move on to mastery of balance drills You ll let the water do what it does naturally while you calmly experience how your body behaves in a fluid so you can move without resistance or inhibition Eliminating tension will allow you to progress more easily through every step of our learning process In Lesson One you ll also learn how to breathe comfortably while in the water and how it feels to glide short distances effortlessly Follow these steps at your own pace moving from one to another as you feel ready A note about our demonstrators At age 6 Rosa Wilson helplessly witnessed a young friend drown in the ocean and has never been able to enter the water since In the lessons on our video working with Alice Laughlin you see Rosa s actual first venture into the water in over 50 years Vik and Dianne Malhotra took conventional swimming lessons
26. imple movement to the Skating drill Progress to UnderSkate after you ve become entirely comfortable with solo practice in Skating The main skill to imprint here is to be sure your head is still in line and your shoulders are still stacked when you see your hand under your nose Solo Practice e Start in Skating position and check Head position shoulders stacked and arm angling DEEP with your palm and fingertips down Sneak your other arm forward Use this as your mantra as you do Wipe your belly See your hand Check your balance e Check that you re still on your side with shoulders stacked when you see your hand then slide it back to your side and roll all the way back to your nose up LV position Keep that laser line feeling as you do e Practice on both sides until it s second nature to stay balanced on your side when your hand is under your nose UNDERSWITCH US We ve come to the final step in our Happy Laps progression For the brand new TI swimmer this will be swimming for you an exercise that allows you to enjoy the satisfaction of doing lap after fluent lap UnderSwitch provides all the health and wellness benefits of swimming while also giving you a foundation for acquiring a whole range of advanced skills Just watch Jennifer and Tobey on the video to see what a beauti ful way this is to move your body through water balanced sleek graceful and comfortable UnderSwitch is designed to be done
27. ing For someone who felt threatened by the water to start with this is essential to building confidence Near the stairs as Alice releases her to glide the last few feet on her own Rosa has a truly magic moment of knowing the freedom that weightless swimming can bring Even a glide that brief can help overcome years of fear and inhibition If it helps you feel more secure let your partner tow you toward the wall or stairs before releasing you to glide on your own the last few feet Gradually extend the glide When you ve become truly comfortable again almost bored with tow and release let your partner launch you from your feet as Vik does for Dianne Dianne doesn t have to travel very far in these solo glides to deepen the imprint of ease and flow This kind of relaxed effortless travel is the essence of Total Immersion style swimming Doing it six or eight times over gradually increasing distances will give you your first invaluable lesson in balance Experience Calm Some students have described achieving an almost spiritual sense of being one with the water while doing this exercise After Dianne learned it herself she taught it to her mother who had never learned to swim in 60 plus years The first time Dianne helped her mother to relax on the bottom then float up it was such a powerful experience she began to cry tears of joy and release As your partner presses you down bubble just enough to k
28. le largely because it s the fastest way to cover any distance from a sprint to a marathon Freestyle is swum by all kinds of swimmers from recreational to competitive Unfortunately most swimmers even those with years of expe rience swim it inefficiently never experiencing the bliss of swimming it with the kind of flow and grace you ve seen on this video Tl Freestyle is always satisfying and so economical that you can learn to use it to swim almost any distance You ve already begun the slightest exploration of it at the end of Lesson Two To take the next step you can learn a TI Freestyle with the aid of our DVD Freestyle Made Easy which builds naturally and seamlessly upon the foundation you started here and guides you through a series of sequential skills You ll learn How to continue working with a practice partner How to further develop your balance skills e How to create rhythmic propelling movement in advanced The most effective stroke timing with ZipperSwitch drills And how to transition seamlessly from drills to a beautiful stroke with Overswitch drills You can also get instruction from expert Total Immersion Teachers in a workshop setting with other swimmers like you or in private 1 on 1 classes Find information about all the ways Total Immersion can help you become a complete swimmer at our web site at www totalimmersion net Or call us at 800 609 7946 Happy Laps Terry Laughlin New
29. ng for momentum Towing allows these swimmers to master balance and ease with greater comfort and fewer concerns about sinking or momentum The added momentum is invaluable in helping them learn to do the drills solo because it s far easier to conserve momentum than to generate it when you ve lost it When swimmers with a weak kick are towed then released they may lose headway quickly If you re acting as the coach resume towing for a moment then watch to see how long they maintain it and how they re kicking Repeat as needed In most cases your swimmer will gradually learn how to maintain momentum for longer stretches Repeated experience of traveling through the water seems to help them acquire better hydrody namic awareness Gradually you should be able to tow less frequently and more briefly While coaching it s sometimes helpful to tell your swimmer exactly what you are going to do i e I m going to support your feet now or I m going to move your arms closer to your sides This minimizes disruptions to concentration and helps your swimmer stay relaxed Finally if you have any doubts about your qualifications to coach set your mind at ease Coaching in the TI Buddy System takes no expertise at all You only need to recognize ease and sleekness compared to strug gle and awkwardness Compare your partner s positions with those on the video and objectively report what you observe
30. o you ll learn which body positions allow you to slip through the water with the least drag and commotion Finally in Lesson Three come the skills of Fishlike swimming pro pelling yourself with unprecedented ease and speed by learning to swim with your whole body instead of just your arms and legs HOW YOUR BODY LEARNS BEST The most helpful thing you can do for yourself is to trust your instincts The human body is a marvelous learning instrument teaching itself through routine life experience how to move balance lift climb and carry usually on land Swimmers who began as children learned a lot of their natural swimming ability in the same instinctive way As a result they usually can t tell you how they came to swim so efficiently because so much of what they do is intuitive The Total Immersion program gives you a second chance to acquire that instinctive ability for yourself in much less time than it usually takes children We ll guide you through a series of exercises that will let you learn as opposed to teaching you how your body naturally behaves in the water and how to become per fectly comfortable with that Think of these exercises as structured playtime a more organized path to learning what child s play at your local pool would have taught you years ago And for now please don t worry about your stroke Though stroking and kicking are the starting point for tr
31. on that you can tow very effectively by just a single fingertip as you see Mark do with Alice on the video As the Swimmer do the following Begin in BB and allow your coach to help you rotate slightly to your SS Follow your Coach s cue to sneak your lower arm to full extension slightly below the surface and allow your Coach to position it Then tune into the sense the traction on your hand gives you of having a long sleek bodyline e Focus on slipping through the smallest possible hole in the water during towing and after release e Use the lightest possible kick to maintain balance and momentum after release keep that kick inside your body cylinder As the Coach do the following e Assist your swimmer as needed as they begin kicking in BB and rotate to SS Check head position and head spine alignment and assist in positioning After your swimmer sneaks their arm forward help position the arm and hand correctly The hand should be just below the surface and the arm fully extended but relaxed Particularly watch for a backward bend ing wrist correct this so the hand is straight or slightly flexed Tow gently to emphasize the ong vessel feeling If your swimmer is a sinker or weak kicker tow for as long or as often as needed for them to learn to maintain minimal momentum without over kicking SOLO PRACTICE After you have each traveled easily after release for 30 to 40 feet on each s
32. or gently assist their adjustments Pay particular attention to head position and alignment Minor misalignment in head and neck is usually multiplied many times in the legs As the swimmer your task is mainly to allow your partner to guide you and to tune into how you feel when they say you ve got the position right 1 Memorize how your head torso limbs and general position feel at that moment so you can replicate them without help 2 Remember the feel of ease and comfort you expe rience while being towed and stay as close as you can to that sense after release In particular keep your kick as streamlined supple quiet and gentle after release as when being towed Don t kick harder if you feel yourself slowing Instead focus even more on sleekness and balance WHO CAN BE YOUR BUDDY What is most exciting about the Buddy System is that it can empower literally anyone to teach anyone else how to swim with ease efficiency and pleasure The TI program has proven so simple and foolproof that hun dreds of TI swimmers who had never done any teaching have told us of exhilarating success in helping other swimmers learn the TI way The Happy Laps program is designed so you can teach and learn effectively with no special experience or knowledge Two complete novices can absolutely help other effectively at every step But you can also invite an already experienced swimmer to be your partner Even if they c
33. r all these years that you can get the water to support you Instead you simply need to do floating exercises over and over until you know in your bones that the water wi support you every time So do these exercises repeatedly until you feel completely secure in that knowledge Instant Flotation Right The most buoyant part of your body is your lungs This exercise teaches you how to use the air in your lungs in TI we call that your buoy to create instant flotation It will work best if you start with a deep breath and bubble out only enough air to keep water from invading your nose Just reach down for your toes and presto feel yourself suspended in the water Once that happens just enjoy the sense of rocking back and forth gently Regain Your Feet The safest feeling for any new swimming student is when they have their hips over their feet and their feet solidly on the bottom When their feet come off the bot tom and their hips float out behind they will often feel vulnerable This exercise teaches you how to stand securely and introduces your first bilateral coordination skill When you re ready to stand from the Jellyfish float keep your head down and reach forward with one leg then draw both arms back Keep your head down until your foot is solidly on the bottom and your hips under you Then draw your arms into your sides and stand You chose to do it with that leg because your brain is wired to
34. r itself up and down the lane seems a more elegant accomplishment than the power oriented speed of youthful competi tors And that elegant swimmer could be you whatever your age For while most of us have little chance of recapturing the power and athleticism that world records require the grace and skill of that older swimmer who may be very much like ourselves are within our grasp Ask Don Walsh a Total Immersion teacher who decided to dedicate himself to stroke mastery at age 49 then swam 28 5 miles around Manhattan at faster and more physically impressive peop fascinate everyone t age 50 and 52 Today Walsh is stopped regularly at his health club by envious fellow swimmers curious about how he learned to swim so beautifully There are plenty of e around here he relates but it s my smoothness that seems to Or take Mark Seides a Total Immersion workshop alum who resolved to improve his stroke after watching 72 year old Ben Reynolds glide up and down the pool one day There was this older guy swimming alongside me and l d never seen anyone look so smooth and relaxed in the water asked him where he learned to swim like that and when he told me Total Immersion GOING TO FISH SCHOOL knew wanted to learn the same thing And he did So what can we learn by watching fish First of course is that they move through the water much mor
35. rating attempts are simply victims of two basic facts 1 Swimming unlike walking or running is a Fundamentally unnatural activity for humans We instinctively try to bully our way through the water throwing up a commotion that would mystify any easygoing fish and suggesting that nature never thought of us as aquatic beings in the first place 2 When we seek help for our churning exhausting strokes we re often taught in a way that actually makes it harder to swim easily gracefully and effectively Both problems are easily solved First we can get back what nature left out a fish s instinct for maximum speed with minimum effort Total Immersion has proven again and again that virtually anyone can learn to swim easily comfortably and enjoyably Second we re not permanently stuck with the bad habits we ve devel oped This video and guide will show you step by step a completely fresh way to move through the water a way guarantee will make more sense and that will make swimming easier than anything you ve tried before SWIMMERS ARE MADE NOT BORN Swimming doesn t come naturally The National Swim School Association estimates that only 2 of all Americans can swim a quarter mile without stopping The other 98 either can t swim at all or find it such a struggle that they can manage only a lap or two before running out of gas What these folks lack is not ability or enduranc
36. ses Prone Glides with assistance from a partner are worth doing again and again to deeply imprint habits of ease and grace The first two exercises will teach you how to distribute yourself so the water holds you up without effort The next two will teach you the unmatched joy of balanced slippery effortlessly supported gliding through the water Find Your Balance This will be your most valuable exercise in self awareness to this point as it applies directly and practically to swimming Repeat it many times as each attempt can give you a better under standing of how to reach the most horizontal position with the least effort Start in the Egg float and slowly extend your arms and legs As you see on the video Linda reaches a per fectly horizontal position with ease while Som is angled upward about 30 degrees to the surface Women generally find it easier than men to achieve a horizontal position If like Linda you can do this easily then focus on extending your bodyline another inch or two and on making sure your head is right in line with your spine If your balance is more like Som s try extending a bit more slowly and carefully as follows 1 Extend your arms with hands an inch or two below the surface 2 Slowly gingerly extend just one leg then the other You may find it easier to stay horizontal with just one leg extended then use that leg as a stabilizer as the other goes out to meet it 3 Aft
37. ter When you need to breathe let your coach help you rotate back to the LV position as shown Take 3 yoga breaths before you return to the Skating Position Feel as if you re following a laser line as you rotate between nose up and nose down positions As the Coach do the following e Check your Swimmer s head position and alignment in the Fish position Stack the shoulders if they re not vertical After your swimmer extends the lower arm check that it s palm down and below the head Tow down and forward on your swimmer s hand and flex the wrist to point fingers down Continue towing as much as needed to imprint true ease and balance Keep checking head position as you do You can also assist by pressing forward on the upper shoulder as in Fish SOLO PRACTICE When practicing on your own feel just as you did when being towed and assisted Start with just one or two breathing cycles and increase your distance one breath cycle at a time Avoid any sense of struggle At first start each Skating practice segment from the Fish position later you can begin from the nose up LV position IF you feel a loss of balance angle your extended hand to a deeper position until you feel your hips and legs become lighter Memorize the hand position that produces the greatest sense of balance and use it in the next two drills UNDERSKATE USK This may be the simplest drill in the entire sequence as you need only add one s
38. times Continue until your breathing feels normal almost bored Then breathe in through your es mouth over the water on your tongue and out through mouth and nose Advanced swimmers are EEEE having water in their mouth while breathing This exercise will help you develop the same comfort Bubble Longer Slow your breathing rhythm by making smaller quieter bubbles How quiet can you make your bubbling This will help prepare you for exercises to come in which you ll want to have your face in the water for longer periods with no tension or sense of breathlessness Inhale for two counts and bubble out for four to six counts When you begin rhythmic breathing you ll exhale more slowly than you inhale On the video as Rosa moves just off the steps Alice keeps a comforting hand on her shoulder Breathe Rhythmically Unlike land breathing water breathing is always linked with body rhythms The better you connect body rhythms and breathing rhythms the more effortless your breathing becomes This exer cise introduces that connection Dip just your mouth at first then goggles and finally your entire head as you gain confidence Work toward a rhythm of a brief inhale and a longer exhale The skill you developed under the shower letting water run off your face without wiping or spitting will be helpful here Matching a partner s rhythms as you see Alice and Rosa doing is a good exercise Explore Underwater You might call this exercise
39. ting from BB possibly with an assist from your coach to initiate momentum rotate to SS on one side and remain there long enough to check your balance e Rotate to nose down and kick gently while allowing your coach to guide your head and torso into the right position Memorize these positions particularly the feel of your head position Look directly down and use the lightest possible kick e Return to SS for 3 yoga breaths and allow your Coach to help you refine that position Rotate with gen tle weight shifts trying not to disturb the water e Feel as if you are following a laser line as you rotate between nose up and nose down positions As the Coach do the following Gently or firmly as needed position your swimmer s head after they rotate to nose down and make sure shoulders are stacked Take Jennifer s assist on the underwater view as your cue e You can help with propulsion by pressing forward and slightly down ward on the upper shoulder to improve momentum and balance If your swimmer is still tilted uphill you can also press upward a bit on the lower rib cage Assist as needed in helping your swimmer return to SS with head hidden They should be in exactly the position they started from Observe your swimmer on the second cycle as they continue independently helping as needed e You can also help them rehearse with support from the feet as Tobey and Jennifer show on the
40. ts some unique challenges 1 Many new swimmers are uncomfortable and feel a bit insecure in the early stages of exploring the alien and perhaps threatening aquatic environment The inhibitions that naturally result make it more difficult to respond naturally to the water Your partner can help a great deal in making you feel more secure and learn ing to trust yourself and the water 2 In the beginning new swimmers can t yet recognize important sensations such as Is my head in line Are my hips sinking Is one arm dry from shoulder to knuckles Are my shoulders stacked Your partner can clearly see and help you with the subtle adjustments that will make such a difference in achieving the best position And once you feel it you can then replicate it much more easily on your own 3 As land based creatures we re not accustomed to actively controlling torso muscles to stay balanced horizontally On land we stand on our balance in water we hang from it Your partner can assist you in achieving balanced positions giving your muscles more time to learn how to maintain them USING THE BUDDY SYSTEM EFFECTIVELY Those who sink more easily usually those who are leaner or more heavily muscled and those with non propulsive kicks will benefit the most from the Buddy System Their instinctive reaction to sinking or loss of propulsion is to flail about or kick harder which increases turbulence and discomfort while doing nothi
41. video SOLO PRACTICE After you ve each practiced Fish successfully on each side we ll again do solo practice traveling a short distance just one to two breathing cycles at first Focus on these points e Try to feel just as you did while being assisted particularly in finding the same head position leading with the top of your head and looking directly down Lean just a bit on your lower shoulder to keep your hips and legs feeling light Try to follow a laser line down the pool as you rotate back and forth between nose up and nose down positions with your head also remaining right on the spine line as it rotates Slip through the smallest possible hole in the water with the least water disturbance SKATING SK In Skating you ll experience balance for the first time in a true swimming position and learn to position your extended hand correctly below your head Skating will also reinforce that you breathe by rolling a balanced sleek bodyline to the air rather than by turning or lifting your head As the Swimmer do the following e Start in the Fish position Pause to check that you re looking directly down with your shoulders stacked then extend your lower arm Allow your coach to assist in positioning your arm below your head then check that your nose is straight down shoulder straight up e Continue kicking gently slipping through the smallest possible hole in the wa
42. y position for all drills that follow Sweet Spot is especially invaluable to understanding how to keep good head spine alignment while rotating and keeping your feet and legs tucked cleanly inside your body cylinder Start in BB and rotate very little fol lowing the example of Jennifer and Tobey on the video The goal isn t to roll all the way to your side but to find the most comfortable position As the Swimmer do the following e After your coach assists you to SS tune in to your head spine alignment and slipping your entire body through the smallest possible hole in the water Keep your body rotation minimal SS is more towards your back than the side e Maintain this position after release by leaning back on your shoulder and keeping the water at the corners of your goggles e Kick only enough to maintain balance and momentum after release continue to feel as if you re being towed As the Coach do the following e Use one hand to keep your swimmer s head aligned and stable as you use the other hand to help them rotate to SS Then tow with hands on both shoulders while adjusting head position as needed Eyeball the line from head to toe and correct as needed When the line from head to toes looks aligned release and continue leading e Resume towing your swimmer if they lose momentum Tow and release as often as needed SOLO PRACTICE After you have each traveled easily for 20 to 30
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