To swim efficiently, you must master Balance first. I’d go so far as to call it non-negotiable. But the effect of learning Balance can be much more far-reaching. It certainly was for me.

In September 1988, I met Bill Boomer at a coaching clinic and learned that ‘the shape of the vessel matters more than the size of the engine.’ Boomer also said that Balance is the foundation of vessel-shaping–his term for streamlining your body. Though I’d been swimming for nearly 25 years, and coaching successfully for 16 years, prior to that day I’d never heard a single mention of Balance as a swimming skill—much less the most important one.

Soon after, I visited Boomer in Rochester NY to learn more about vessel-shaping and watch him coach his University of Rochester swimmers. While there, I asked Boomer to show me how to balance. He had me perform a drill while kicking lightly in a prone position with my arms back–except for the kicking, very similar to our Torpedo drill. When I aligned my head and hips, as instructed, and shifted weight forward to my chest, my hips instantly rose to the surface and my legs felt light. I was moving just as fast, but with a noticeably easier kick.

I repeated the drill several times, memorizing these new sensations, then swam a length of whole-stroke. My stroke felt stunningly different. For 25 years, my legs had felt ‘heavy.’  But after just a few minutes of practicing a simple drill, they felt light.

While the new ease I felt was exciting, the effect of the experience of swimming in balance would be much more far reaching. It changed my whole sense of what was possible—for me and all swimmers:

  1. I’d swum only sporadically, and without real enthusiasm, for nearly 20 years since college, with no purpose other than to get exercise. Since that day, I’ve been a passionate swimmer, and my passion for swimming has only grown.
  2. Prior to that day, the only changes I’d experienced in my swimming had been marginal and temporary. After months of hard training, I could swim longer and faster—but that effect disappeared as soon as I stopped training. The change I experienced through Balance was more dramatic than anything I’d ever known, and has become permanent. Not only do I now feel positively brilliant every time I swim but—even after missing practice for several weeks—I recapture that feeling immediately upon my return.
  3. Experiencing such a fundamental and striking change made me realize that, though I’d swum for almost 25 years that day, I still had much to learn. And in fact, I’ve continued to learn new skills and discover new insights (kaizen!) for over 25 years since.
  4. At age 37 (when I was introduced to Balance), I thought my best swimming was 20 years behind me. In reality, the best was yet to come! As a result of learning Balance, and many other discoveries that followed, I’ve improved continuously through my 40s, 50s, and 60s.

No More Struggle

The most limiting aspect of swimming is the sinking sensation. When your hips and legs drag below the surface, it’s impossible to feel comfort or ease, your endurance and speed are sapped, and your arms and legs are so preoccupied with fighting the sinking sensation, they’re limited in their ability to aid in streamlining or propulsion.

Poor balance is the reason only 30 percent of American adults can swim 25 meters. Besides the fact that ‘survival swimming’ is exhausting, the sinking sensation makes it impossible to enjoy swimming—or to anticipate eventual success. That constant sense of lacking control also blocks the calm focus needed to learn new skills.

However, if you can solve such profound problems, you should also gain a sense of confidence in dealing with future challenges along the way.

When you eliminate the sinking sensation and feel a sense of control over your body you immediately feel much more ‘at home’ in the water. You also achieve the foundation for every skill that follows.

Balanced Body, Focused Mind

The effects of balance practice on your mind and psyche are as profound as those on your body. Total Immersion’s balance learning sequence—in combination with structured use of balance-oriented Focal Points—has been designed to prepare you cognitively as well as physically for a successful learning experience.

A combination of targeted mental focus with unhurried movements and moderate heart and respiration rate puts the brain into a state of relaxed alertness known as the Alpha brainwave pattern (8 to 12 cycles per second.) Cognitive scientists call this the Superlearning zone.

Learning, practicing–and feeling–Balance creates a ‘virtuous loop.’ You feel good physically and mentally while Swimming in Balance, That motivates you to do it more–which results in improvement to those positive feelings. So you spend even more time Swimming in Balance.

May your laps be as happy–and balanced–as mine.