begin learning to swim from your couch
Founder, Melon Dash talks to you about her swimming book here.
BOOK
Conquer Your Fear of Water: An Innovative Self-Discovery Course in Swimming 
Knowing how to swim means knowing how to rely on yourself for your safety rather than on the bottom or the side of the pool. It means feeling safe and being safe in the shallow and deep ends of a pool, in lakes and in the ocean. To learn to swim, you need to build trust in yourself in the water. You need to know you won't inhale water, that the water holds you up, and that you can remain in control with ease. Have you believed you’d “lose it” in deep water? Learn how your body and the water work together. The key to confidence in deep water is understanding how the water works, not learning strokes. Strokes come after confidence. That may be the first learning.
Innovation? This is it! Our 4000 students and 33 instructors worldwide ask, “Why isn’t this the way all swimming is taught?” Unlike other swimming books, Dash breaks down confidence-building—therefore conquering—fear into its smallest steps. They make sense. Finally, success can be yours. Take the easy, fun way. With the basics of confidence and myth-busting games to teach you what your swimmer friends and neighbors know about swimming, you’ll learn to swim the natural way. Get the answers to all your learn-to-swim questions in our book for less than the cost of your next swimming lesson. The book can be bundled with the DVD for savings. $22 + $38, plus save on s/h.
"Just want you to know how much your book gave me confidence to get back in the water again. Slowly, step by step, I spent last summer learning how to enjoy the water. Your reassuring words gave me the patience I needed and the acceptance that whatever stage I was at was ok, as long as I was having fun. And it was fun. By the end of the summer I was doing things I never thought I'd be able to do. And now, though the warm weather's over, I'll probably get myself to the pool a few times just to make sure I'm not dreaming--that I actually could go into the deep end of the pool and, most importantly, choose to do it because I enjoyed it! Thanks so much."
—Phyllis Tashlik, NYC
"Truly amazing. Brilliant."
—Many readers
DVD
The Miracle Swimmer/ Learn to Be in Control in Water, Shallow and Deep: Prevent Panic
You can't learn to swim while you're afraid in water: you have to overcome fear first. The video/DVD shows adult beginners overcoming their concerns about being in the water: the same concerns you have (nose, ears, breath, sinking, deep water, feeling out of control, etc.). It shows the questions they had, the steps they took, and how it works to overcome fear in a gentle, fun, guaranteed-to-be-successful way. $39.95 The video/DVD can be bundled with the book for savings: $38 + $22, plus save on shipping/handling. Available in VHS, DVD, and PAL formats. The dvd and video have different covers but they're the same movie. As of June 16, we are temporarily out of DVDs 'til July 1. You may order it from Amazon.com here. Once there, click on "2 new from $35." Or, you may order our VHS video for $20. Thank you! Sorry for the inconvenience!
What I achieved is just short of miraculous.
If I could give advice to someone who really has a deep desire to learn to swim, I would tell them to first watch your video.......watch it several times. Then, get in the water and attempt to do the simplest of things the video teaches, such as putting your face in the water. It may seem too elementary to the average non-swimmer to be of any value, but it's not. It's extremely important as your video demonstrates. Actually, the one woman in the video who was deathly afraid of deep water was quite an inspiration to me. After four swim lessons at the Y I knew that I would never learn how to swim if I used their methods. They were not addressing my fear of water. In my frustration, I got on the Internet and discovered the Miracle Swimming Institute's web page. Hooray! There it was, an answer to my prayers.
After watching your video, I found that I actually liked the feeling of the water holding me up. It felt relaxing. Your video demonstrates that people float at different levels. My instructor at the Y had taught us that floating perfectly horizontally was the only correct way. Floating at my natural level enabled me to relax in the water for the first time. Plus, it's reassuring knowing that my body's fat content is somewhat average!
What I achieved after watching the video twice is just short of miraculous. In two weeks I went from being a non-swimmer to a floater to an actual swimmer. The video gave me information on how to conquer my fear of water but also provided me with the confidence to try.
I think most non-swimmers believe that nearly everyone else in the world knows how to swim except for them. I certainly did. Knowing how to swim contributes to a sense of normalcy, self-assurance and self-reliance. For anyone that loves being in water (and I always have), knowing how to swim adds a dimension to life that seems unattainable for non-swimmers.
Thank you again.
Sharry, Ohio
More on our swimming book
The book is 336 pages of step-by-tiny-step learning, including 200 photographs and diagrams. The book enhances and fleshes out (yet does not require) our DVD/video, "The Miracle Swimmer/ Learn to Be in Control in Water, Shallow and Deep: Prevent Panic." © M.Dash 2000. 47 minutes.
FYI:
M. Ellen Dash's classes have been featured on NBC's Today Show, MSNBC, CNN's Headline News, NPR, New York Times Play magazine, in the San Francisco Chronicle, Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News, Real Simple, Elle, Aquatics International magazine, Recreation Management magazine, Athletic Business magazine (cover story), Parks & Recreation magazine, Tampa Tribune, Cincinnati Business Courier, Albany Times Union, Minneapolis Star Tribune, All You magazine, KGO's Joanie Greggains Health and Fitness Radio Show, San Francisco, Pelican Press, Open Exchange magazine, Associated Press, and Channel 22 News, Springfield, MA, and numerous other newspapers, radio, and television programs.