I have now had three out of my five swimming lessons. The fourth one is tomorrow and the last one on Monday. I can honestly say I barely remember the first lesson but I think that’s a good sign. Because we’ve been building on things I learnt in that lesson each time, and every time we do, those things become more and more natural, gradually easier the more I do them. And because I took the advice of the people teaching me and booked the lessons with only a few days’ gap between them, muscle memory is kicking in and that’s making the whole experience a bit easier for me too
I have gone from the person who could only do ‘head out breaststroke’ to the person who was comfortable breathing out underwater holding onto the side of the pool. And from there to the person who could breathe out underwater while kicking her legs and propelling herself from one side of the pool to the other. And then adding in the scooping movement of the 
arms – only underwater until the final lesson. After that we added in the ‘push and glide’ movement for extra momentum and also worked on the breathing rhythm as well as making the breathing out more ‘explosive’. In my most recent lesson we addressed rotation. That was, for me, when it all started to come together and feel more like the front crawl I recognise. Up until that point the elements had been so broken down into small parts that I sometimes felt as though five lessons wouldn’t be enough. I was worried I wasn’t progressing fast enough or well enough. I had nothing and nobody to compare myself with. Often my instructor would be amused to hear a cry from the middle of the pool – “I don’t even feel like I’m moving at all!” This isn’t helped by wearing four floats on each arm. But he explained to me that it’s essential to slow me down and for him to see more clearly where I’m doing well and where I can improve
And it’s made me think about a lot of the skills I have acquired during my life and how I’ve always been perhaps too keen to run before I can walk. And I’ve been lucky because I’ve had enough of a mixture of intelligence and flair to get by – more than get by usually – without doing the groundwork. Without concentrating on building solid foundations. When I think of how I hated scales and theory when I was learning to play the piano. But then found I could sightread well enough to get away with it. So I did. When I think of how I hated the grind of grammar when I was learning French and Spanish. But then I found I had a talent for languages and could speak them well enough to get away with it. So I did. So this is a new experience for me. Learning bit by bit, element by element. Gradually putting them together until they are happening automatically. And only then do we move on to the next step
And I have to say I’m finding the process satisfying. And I can see clear parallels with clients who come to me for hypnotherapy. It’s all very well turning up because you’ve put the time aside and paid for the session, but there is so much more to it than that. It’s about committing fully to the process. It’s about not giving up if it doesn’t work at first. It’s about determination and courage and perseverance
So if there’s something I can help you overcome, something that you think might be holding you back in your life, why not email me at caroline@carolineadamshypnotherapy.co.uk, or give me a call on 07775 860043
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