My swimming saga !

The deadly-deep, unexplainable, unmanageable, unfriendly, uninviting, mass of wetness (cold, dark blue and clammy!) that terrorizes me and many others like me. Well no points for guessing as I am talking about much obvious "WATER ".I become overwhelmed in the water,the panic, then loss of breath, then more panic,then gasping for air, then sheer terror, then spluttering, then coughing . Water has always been as one of my greatest fears .After many, many years of avoiding water (with the exceptions being daily baths, showers,and enjoying with friends around the shores)I finally decided to take the plunge.

My mom and dad don't know swimming . My mom is highly scared of water and she never wanted me to learn swimming either. So ,I had to face resistances other than drag of water. Whenever I would make an attempt to learn swimming I would have my mother's fear resonating in my mind and I hesitated to even try to to swim. The older I got the more I resisted it until finally, I was a woman afraid of water. Why? Fear of water found a voice in my mum (u can drown and die ), and finally a root in my heart.

Today's world has presented us with unprecedented fears .Everything we eat can cause cancer and the air we breathe is dangerously polluted! Global warming is melting both poles, major cities on both coast lines are in danger of encountering Tsunamis. We should indeed make kids stay indoors for fear that a meteorite may fall on them.

Like most of you, I watched the Japan's recent earthquake , the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai , the assault that closed the door to innocence and opened the deadly door of fear that we never knew prior to the incident.Fear gained a voice in Mumbai from which we are yet to recover. Fear has little effect until it’s given a voice. Stand in a crowded room and yell “Snake!” and watch the chaos take over. Granted, looking at an inferno does perpetuate some fear, but when you give it a voice fear takes control of the entire situation.

Surprisingly, fear and faith are transmitted the same way. Both require a voice to multiply and be effective. “Faith comes by hearing” . You need to be receptive. . The negative report of fear is easily received and believed. Our hearts melts in fear very quickly and very few have the courage to fight after hearing such things. Once fear is communicated, courage is banished unless the shield of faith is proclaimed to protect the warrior. So you need to let faith will loom over fear. It’s all in what you listen to and what you speak. Who are you listening to and what are you speaking, faith or fear?

I decided to trust water and take a plunge . It took me 9 months to win over my fears and give voice to faith. I tried to swim last year but failed miserably. I try having a reasonably good amount of knowledge before starting any activity if not
knowing everything about everything I’m doing at all times and be the BEST ever at everything. When it came to water, no way could I let go and just relax enough to let the buoyancy of the water help me along. NO WAY. So i went through lots and lots of youtube videos and decided to join swimming classes with a heavily pounding heart.
Just the night before the morning I was to have my first class I had a nightmare in which I saw my maths teacher drowning.(By the way ,I love maths and I have nothing against my maths teacher.) So i gave it a pass day and missed my first day class .The second day I gathered all my courage , directed my thoughts on perceiving water as a positive element, and put an end to my water fear .

On day one the pool and I weren’t so friendly due to tot the simple fact that I was afraid of the water. Especially when it came to learning how to float when I didn't know how to stand back from the floating position. I literally thought that I was going to die. I have to admit that I was screaming and yelling for my instructor to put me back up to my feet to stand back in the pool, but after two days it was different. I finally wanted to try floating without being afraid of water. The key being continuous practice ,belief in the instructor and my abilities , the zeal to learn, and strong will power. I have started kicking , using my hands but the only hurdle which now remains is the breathing .I can hold my breath and stride out purposely for nearly half a length – but then I need to stop, catch my breath, and start again. Any time I try to turn my head to breathe, I get all out of time and end up with a mouth- or nose-full of water. Choking on half a gallon of water is not my idea of fun. So this is the next step I need to work on .

So far, with my experience in learning how to swim, I have learned the following things.

- Don't panic and make peace with water . TRUST water. Remember when people panic they drown so just RELAX.
- Gently deal with your fear before expecting to make any headway with any swimming technique
- Believe in yourself and remember that you can always overcome your fears . the author of secret has rightly said that you can always make your dreams come true if you really desire to .
- Don't think too much on "why I can't swim while the kids around do it so wonderfully"
- Now is the time , you are never too old to learn . Learning is a constant process, so just start learning instead of thinking you are too old to learn.
- Try try again , the more you try the more you overcome your fear and more you want to learn .
- Seek help from instructors , friends to get proper guidelines on how to swim
- Move step by step . Try to gain expertise in step 1 before jumping to step 2 .
- Be strong headed and don't don't give up .
- Try to seek advise from people around in the pool . Don't hesitate in asking kids :). I interacted with people at all levels from the novice to the pros swimming in my pool and gathered my learnings . Believe me it really helps talking to people. You really do gain from other's experiences.
- Stop listening to people who say, “What? It’s easy. Why can’t you swim?”
- Its difficult but you have to settle down with a dark ugly skin . Chlorine really damages your skin . You can use sun-screen with spf 30+ for protection.

So, my goal is to complete a full lap of the pool without stopping. That,ladies and gentlemen, will be a history-making moment, and will cause waves of excitement .

Soon will i be a dolphin surfing in the ocean .