Is the calm, passive water of an empty swimming pool a problem for you?
Olympic swimming great Aleksander Popov said, "The water is your friend...treat it kindly and it will help you move."
Our aim at Swimming Without Stress is to help you improve your relationship with the water by working on the coordination of yourself. We work in and out of the pool with you, going back to basics, helping you to release unnecessary tension, guiding you through new movements and teaching you to swim with ease.
We've been helping adults and children learn to swim or improve technique, through one to one lessons, since 1996. Author of Swimming without Stress Ian and Cheryl Cross run residential courses throughout the year in North Pembrokeshire. Chie takes single, weekly lessons in Oxford. Read testimonials of people we've helped.
**January and February (up to half term) Swimming Without Stress & Croft Farm Special Offer. One night's free stay and £5 off per lesson. A 3 night break in a small cottage with 6 lessons is just £465 (saving £75). The pool's quiet between lessons at this time of year so it's a great time to come. If it's cold on the coast, you can get the sauna on.**
The harder you try to compensate for your difficulties in water, the less enjoyable and beneficial swimming becomes. Swimming Without Stress helps you learn to trust the water so it helps you move. Following the principles of The Alexander Technique and The Shaw Method, our lessons focus on relaxing your neck, breathing easily and letting the water support you; gliding through the water instead of struggling against it.
We have taught hundreds of non-swimmers to enjoy swimming. If you are afraid of water, your relationship with it is likely to change from the first lesson.
We have helped an equal number of practising swimmers become more at home and efficient in water, happier about the process of breathing and able to swim for fitness. If you want to swim in triathlons and swimming is your weakest discipline, we can show you how to swim without exhausting yourself for the rest of the race.
read more...
You can learn with Ian and Cheryl Cross through individual intensive swimming courses in Cardigan Bay, or with Chie Cross through weekly individual lessons in Oxfordshire. Oxford | Pembrokeshire | Rest of the U.K | Outside UK |
When learning weekly, momentum can be lost. With individual, intensive swimming lessons, you can make a lot of progress in a short space of time. Individual attention enables you to go at your own pace. Groups are inevitably made up of people with different abilities, which may be intimidating or frustrating. read more...
Our lessons are for individuals or two sharing. Courses run throughout the year, usually term time only.The intensive, residential course is from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon and includes eight 45 minute swimming lessons. 6 lessons over 3 days is another option and less intensive courses of one lesson a day are also available. read more...
Come on the Swimming Without Stress Secret Spots Trip
"If there's magic in this planet, it is contained in the water." Loren Eiseley, 1957
We'll collect you from your cottage and take you to one of our favourite, secret swimming spots.
We'll bring lifejackets and wetsuits and, weather permitting, you'll be able to try a bit of wild swimming, river or sea, paddle with us in our safe and stable Canadian canoe or have a go in our very easy to handle sit-on-top kayak. In the sea if conditions are right, we may swim or paddle into spectacular caves. We often see seals and sometimes dolphins.
Before heading back, we'll warm up with tea or coffee and reward ourselves with biscuits, cakes or even a tipple from our hip-flask.
" Just have to tell you that I have read your book so many times that I went to a business store to have it spiral bound. It has been a source of motivation. My husband is calling me his "mermaid" because every day I "have to get to the pool!" - Valerie, US
" Julian and I had a great time at the weekend learning to improve our swimming. Julian is able to swim every day at the moment so is making full use of the lessons and practising hard. I managed to practise on monday and amazingly found it very relaxing after a horrible day at work and a hard run. I was even looking at the other swimmers 'clashing and bashing' around as they swam and felt very sanctimonious!! The best thing is that I got out the pool feeling calm! I am eager to swim tonight and looking forward to more practising and am sure that it will continue to help me relax! I have to say its the first time I have looked forward to swimming! " - Sara, Leicester, October 2008
Patented Positive Pressure Fit system to improve fit and reduce "racoon eyes" effect. Special soft closed-cell foam gasket molds itself to your facial curves and allows you to achieve a leakproof fit without having to over-tighten the goggle. UV protected and Antifog. "Feeling is believing." Image shown is Barracuda Predator £8.99 sale price. Our Price: from £8.99 sale price
" I received my order this morning - that's an amazing turnaround. I'm totally impressed and will be recommending you to the other mums I see at the children's swimming lessons. " - Andrea
Women are more likely than men to go swimming for regular exercise. According to a survey into the nation's exercise habits (for the National Lottery Good Causes) 10% of women swim regularly compared to 7% of men.
But what percentage of these women who swim for regular exercise swim breaststroke with the head held out of the water, not knowing how to let the water support them or how to breathe out under the water?
Head up breaststroke puts a lot of strain on the neck and back and makes relaxed breathing impossible. It may do more harm than good. In the Uk a lot of women swim like this.
If you’re just getting into a pool training regime for the autumn, beware of lane rage. A swimming pool is like a microcosm of the modern world. But for you it can be a place of meditative calm… it’s your choice. read more...
With memories of Olympic legend Aleksander Popov training with a snorkel back in the
90s, we were intrigued by the Swimmer’s Snorkel by Finis and thought
we’d try one out. Not put off by Finis’s motto under the logo on the
packaging, ‘Swim Hard’, Ian has tested the snorkel during recent
training sessions with some surprising results. read more...
We like to listen to
suggestions for new ranges and feedback on existing stock.
One goggle we don't really like is
back in stock – it’s a niche market but we’ve had
enough requests to make us think we are not always right. This is
the Barracuda B300 – worth a try if all else has failed,
some people swear by them.
When you're doing front crawl: the leading arm when you turn to breathe, mine goes down and my face then goes down and I can't take breath properly and I take in water, how best to fix that? read more...
I can only breathe on one side when I am swimming front crawl. Does this matter? I am getting conflicting advice!!! Also I don't swim breast stroke often as I suffer from backache generally but when I do I like to swim 2 strokes under the water then breathe but I am told I should breathe with each stroke but that means I strain my neck. read more...
In my swimming lesson we are told to breathe out jump in the air and touch the
bottom of the pool and swim back up.My problem is no matter how much air I breathe out I cannot get to the bottom of the pool as I always float back up
before Ii get to the bottom of the pool.Why is that? read more...
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