Underwater love
Kate Tregaskis gets at one with the water as she learns the gentle Art of Swimming
nderwater. swimming
guru Steven Shaw has the
effortless grace of an aquatic creature. Sheathed in a short wetsuit — half-man. half-seal — he whines from one end of the pool to the other. propelled only by the occasional flick of a limb.
Along with a small group of others. I have come to the pool at the King's Manor Hotel in Edinburgh to learn to crawl. the Art of Swimming way. Most people ‘fight the water‘ when they swim. explains Shaw. aka ‘the horse whisperer of swimming’. By contrast. he is a man who loves water. as is clear when his bald head breaks the surface. his face melting into a Zen grin. It hasn't always been so. Shaw originally trained as a competitive swimmer, clocking up lengths by hunching his shoulders round his ears and contorting his body to make it more streamlined. Burnt- out. sore and no longer enjoying swimming. he gave up and took up the Alexander Technique to iron out his aches and pains. Shaw was so impressed with the technique. he went on to study it, and then applied its principles of postural re-education and body alignment to swimming. In the process he invented a radical new approach to swimming and the Shaw Method was born.
The workshop begins on dry land. with everyone sitting in a circle. AA-meeting style. I wait nervously for my turn. ‘Hi my
Alexander Technique Edinburgh Alexander Centre, 0131 662 4500, www.edinburgh alexandercentre.com
Used to improve posture. movement and muscle efficiency through verbal coaching and monitoring, students are taught about new ways to walk. stand. and sit to correct poor posture. Fans are said to include Paul McCartney and Sting.
12 THE LIST 14—28 Feb 2008
MOST PEOPLE FIGHT THE WATER WHEN THEY SWIM
name is Kate and I am an incompetent swimmer . . .' I begin.
I blame my dad. A teacher and non-swimmer, he spent a rainy
summer standing at the edge of
the local outdoor pool. bawling
instructions at me and the rest of
the class. I now swim with about
GET BACK ON TRACK
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as much finesse as someone continuously thrusting out their arms to stop themselves from falling — or drowning as it‘s called when you‘re in the water. I know I'm not alone. The fact that swimming is still taught principally as a means to stop people from drowning exacerbates the problem — not to
mention the Baltic temperature of
some pools.
So does the Shaw method work‘.’ Initially I was taken aback by how much it is like a martial art. ‘While it takes 500 repetitions to
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learn a new movement it takes five thousand repetitions to re learn one.‘ Shaw tells us. There is no quick fix then. A single workshop is only ever the beginning of the journey. The revelation of the day. however. is beginning to have a different relationship to the water ,_ not us something that you fall through. but as something that buoys you tip: a magical. gravity-free playground through which it is possible to glide effortlessly. a sensation that feels like flying. ‘Swimming should be playful. reflective. meditative. and a break from our busy and pressured lives.‘ says Shaw. Yes. this is swimming. but not as we know it.
DETAILS
One-to-one lessons and shared tuition in the Shaw Method will be available from Tue 5 and Wed 6 May at the Nuffield Fitness and Wellbeing Centre. East Kilbride and the King's Manor Hotel. Edinburgh. respectively. Steven Shaw will be back in Edinburgh on Sat 2 and Sun 3 May running workshops on crawl. backstroke and butterfly. The first three people placing a booking for any of these workshops will receive a free copy of The Art of Swimming book by Steven Shaw (rrp £12.99).
I Bookings can be made by phoning 0845 604 7970. For further Information w3/f: wwwartofswimm/ngcorn