Miracle Swimming In the Media

By MELISSA EISELEIN
The Press-Enterprise
For decades, Nancy Van Landingham hid a secret that was too embarrassing to tell anyone -- even her closest friends.

Van Landingham, 65, of Rancho Mirage, could not swim and she was afraid of the water.

"I never had fun it in, never trusted it. I certainly didn't like water in my nose, eyes and my ears," she said.

Van Landingham, who has finally overcome her apprehension, is hardly unique. With summer around the corner, city recreation departments and private swim instructors are getting ready for the swim-lesson rush. Not all of the students will be children, however. Some of them will be adults.

Instructors say some adults want to learn to swim for the low-impact aerobic exercise, so they won't feel left out at pool parties or because they want to spend time in the water with their children. Then there are many adults who would like to swim but either fear drowning or believe they are too old to learn.

Pam Shore, of Corona, owner of SwimChamps, offers private lessons in her backyard pool, charging $175 for six 30-minute sessions. About one out of every 30 calls is from an adult seeking swim lessons. But few adults actually enroll, she said.

"As you talk to them on the phone, you can hear the fear in their voice," Shore said. "I've had people who I've talked to extensively on the phone and didn't sign up, and some that have even paid their deposit who didn't show up."

Shore said teaching non-swimming adults is like teaching a child. It requires a lot of encouragement and comforting words, she said.

"I let them know that I'll be swimming with them as I teach them to relax. We work in the shallow end," Shore said.

The Temecula Community Services Department is among the Inland public agencies that offer adult swim lessons. They are held at 9 a.m. Saturdays through May 10; the next session runs May 31 through June 21. The cost is $45 for residents and $55 for non-residents.

Van Landingham overcame her fear in November after completing a swimming course in Palm Springs with Melon Dash, founder of Florida-based Transpersonal Swimming Institute. The program is unlike any swimming lessons she had as a child or young adult in her 20s, Van Landingham said.

"It's different than lessons. You go to get rid of your fear of water and you end up swimming. It's quite a concept," Van Landingham said.

Dash teaches her classes in 12 cities in eight states: California, Hawaii, Florida, Montana, New York, Colorado, Texas and Massachusetts. People attend from all over the country, she said.

"A lot of people make a vacation out of it," Dash said.

Last fall, Van Landingham signed up for a one-week beginning course and a one-week follow-up course. The Palm Springs course costs $1,788 for one week and includes a hotel room shared with another student, insurance and five days of instruction and group therapy.

"I call it water therapy. ... We talked about our fears and what we are experiencing," Van Landingham said. "You spend one hour in therapy and two hours in the water in the morning, and then one hour in therapy and two hours in the water in the afternoon."

During the first week, Van Landingham learned to keep the water out of her nose as she put her face in the water, float on her stomach and float across the pool while kicking her feet. By the end of the second week, she was at ease in the water and was diving into the pool, she said.

"You dive in; you're going to come up. Just put your hands in front of you and start kicking," Van Landingham said. "Water is such a friend. The water works for you. You cannot sink. It's impossible. Your lungs are like life vests."

Staff writer Jennifer Whitaker contributed to this report.

Reach Melissa Eiselein at 951-368-9285 or meiselein@PE.com

NEVER TOO LATE

Here are some locations where adults can learn to swim. Many other cities offer youth swim lessons as well:

Moreno Valley Parks: 951-413-3280

Temecula Community

Services: 951-694-6410

SwimChamps in Corona: 951-603-0911

Transpersonal Swimming

Institute, Palm Springs: 1-800-723-7946