Art of Swimming / Shaw Method

Portugal Swim Retreat -spaces available.
Monday July 6th to Friday July 10th. Based at the beautiful Holmes Place, Quinta da Beloura, Portugal.

Many swimmers feel comfortable in the pool but uncertain in open water.

No walls.
No lane ropes.
No black line to follow.
Just the sea.

This year, one of the exciting additions to our Portugal Retreat is guided sea swimming along the beautiful Sintra coastline.

The sea invites a different way of swimming.

Less effort. More awareness.
Less fighting. More floating.
Less control. More trust.

Through the principles of the Shaw Method, you’ll learn how to work with the water rather than against it, discovering a calmer, more enjoyable and more natural way to swim.

Join Jotipal and me for five days of swimming, Alexander Technique, yoga, sea swimming, relaxation and renewal.

Learn in the pool.
Explore in the sea.
Discover the Art of Swimming.

To fin out more call +44 7947 398 982 or to book visit:
https://www.artofswimming.com/portugal-retreats/

What if swimming felt easier, calmer and more enjoyable?

Join us in beautiful Sintra, Portugal for a unique 5-Day Shaw Method Retreat designed to help you move through the water with more ease, confidence and awareness.

Whether you want to improve your technique, swim without feeling out of breath, release tension, overcome fear, or simply rediscover the joy of swimming, this immersive retreat offers a completely different approach.

✨ Daily personalised swimming coaching
✨ Underwater video feedback
✨ Yoga, Pilates & mindful movement
✨ Alexander Technique & breathwork
✨ Small groups & individual attention
✨ Supportive, non-competitive environment

More than a swimming holiday, this is an opportunity to explore swimming as a form of moving meditation while enjoying the beauty of Sintra, Lisbon and the beaches of Cascais.

📍 Holmes Place Quinta da Beloura, Sintra, Portugal
📅 6–10 July 2026
💷 £950 (excluding accommodation & flights)

Many people come to improve their swimming. They leave having discovered much more.

DM us for details or to reserve your place. 🌊

Warning: This post contains traces of heresy, humour and mild enlightenment.

Over the years, people have often asked me:

“Steven, what exactly is the philosophy behind the Shaw Method?”

After much reflection, I have finally decided to reveal the truth.

The Shaw Method is not merely a swimming method.

It is Shawmanism.

Now before anyone reports me to the authorities, let me explain.

Shawmanism is the ancient and highly questionable belief that the water may actually know more than we do.

While many swimming systems are built on the idea of conquering the water, Shawmanism begins with a radical proposition:

What if the water is not the enemy?

What if it is the teacher?

Followers of Shawmanism believe in several strange practices:

🔹 That balance is more important than struggle.

🔹 That softening often creates more power than forcing.

🔹 That breathing should be your friend and not an emergency.

🔹 That floating is not laziness.

🔹 That swimming is not simply about getting from A to B but about transforming your relationship with the water.

🔹 That sometimes the fastest way forward is to stop trying so hard.

Practitioners can occasionally be seen standing quietly at the side of the pool staring thoughtfully at the water.

This is known as deep aquatic contemplation.

To the untrained eye it looks like procrastination.

To a Shawmanist it is advanced learning.

There are no secret handshakes in Shawmanism.

Although there is a rather good thumbs-up position in front crawl.

There are no sacred robes.

Just slightly damp swimwear.

There are no gurus.

Only students of the water.

Even the teacher remains an apprentice.

Perhaps the central teaching of Shawmanism is this:

The water does not care how important you are.

It does not care about your job title, your social status, your qualifications or your personal best.

The moment you enter the water, all of that becomes secondary.

The water simply reflects how you are organised in that moment.

Tense?

The water notices.

Rushed?

The water notices.

Trying too hard?

The water notices that too.

But when you soften, listen and cooperate, something extraordinary can happen.

The water begins to support you.

And in that support, many people discover something much bigger than swimming.

They discover a different relationship with themselves.

So if you ever find yourself floating quietly, breathing easily, moving without struggle and smiling for no obvious reason…

Congratulations.

You may already be a Shawmanist.

No membership required.

Just bring your curiosity, your sense of humour and a willingness to let the water teach.

Find out more at www.artofswimming.com

Discover an easier, more enjoyable way to swim at the Art of Swimming website.

Use code SHAWSUMMER for 20% off.

With summer approaching, water safety warnings are already making headlines. Safety matters, but we may be missing a bigger conversation.

The greatest cost isn’t only those who drown—it’s the millions who never discover the joy, confidence, freedom, and wellbeing that water can bring.

Swimming is often seen as a survival skill. What if it was seen as a way to enhance life?

To move with ease. To reduce stress. To build confidence. To reconnect with yourself and the natural world.

When people develop a deeper connection with water, swimming becomes more than a skill—it becomes a lifelong source of health, enjoyment, resilience, and wellbeing.

The goal is not simply to prevent drowning.

It is to help people discover what they have been missing.

Not swim to save your life.

Swim to enrich it.

Save 20% now with code SHAWSUMMER. Call +44 7947 398 982 or visit
https://www.artofswimming.com/contact/

Get ready to fly. Discover the Shaw secret to enjoying effortless butterfly. Book a 5 hour workshop at Golders Green next Sunday. Call 0750 8373363 to book.

Get your swimming ready for the summer. Sign up now to experience the unique Shaw Method approach to improving your freestyle with ease. To book, call Jennifer on 0757 8373363.

We’re really happy to welcome back a valued member of the teaching team at Golders Green — Navdeep Dhillon (Navi), returning from injury.

Navi brings a calm, structured and deeply supportive approach to her work in the water, shaped by her background in engineering, fitness coaching and Thai yoga massage.

Having experienced fear and injury herself, she understands how these can shape a swimmer’s experience, and supports each person in rebuilding confidence, trust and control at their own pace.

Whether you’re:
• building confidence in the water
• returning after time away
• preparing for new challenges, including open water or triathlon

Navi meets you where you are — and supports you from there.

She is currently offering a limited number of sessions as part of a phased return.

👉 You can learn more about her approach here: https://www.artofswimming.com/meet-your-master-swim-teacher/

Day 7
Front Crawl, But Not as You Know It

You cannot crawl until you can walk.

Most people go straight into the water and try to piece the stroke together through effort.

Pull harder.
Kick more.
Try to stay afloat.

For a while, that works.

But look a little closer and a different picture emerges.

The neck tightens.
The shoulders lift.
The body shortens.
The breath gets taken rather than allowed.

Effort increases, yet ease disappears.

At the Shaw Method, we begin somewhere else.

On the ground.
Because before the stroke can work in the water, the body has to rediscover how to organise itself without strain.

Ground work allows you to feel:
How the head can release.
How the back can lengthen and widen.
How the spine can move without effort.
How the arms connect without gripping.

You begin to recognise patterns you could never sense while trying to stay afloat.

This is where re patterning begins.

Then you take that into the water.

And something shifts.

The body lengthens.
The back widens.
The head releases.
The breath arrives without effort.

At that point, it no longer feels like the crawl most people know.
It becomes something else entirely.

The Lengthening and Widening Stroke
The core connects without gripping.
The spine moves more freely.
The shoulders and hips begin to work together.

Balance improves.
Breathing becomes quieter.
Movement feels lighter, both in the water and on land.

Traditional crawl asks:
“How do I do more?”

This approach asks:
“What can I stop doing that is getting in the way?”

That question changes everything.

The water begins to support you.
The stroke begins to organise itself.
What once felt like effort begins to feel like flow.

Cardio for the body.
Medicine for the mind.

If you are curious, start on the ground.
That is where the real change begins.

A New Way to Fly
Debunking the 5 Myths of Swimming

From a distance, swimming well looks effortless. Almost like flying.

Yet most people never experience that. Not because they lack strength or fitness, but because they have been given the wrong ideas.

Look closely at this image. The legs break the surface and create splash. Effort is going downwards rather than forwards. It is close to ease, but not quite there.
This is where the myths begin.

Myth one is that you need to kick harder to stay afloat. The legs are not there to fight the water. When the head is given space and the back begins to lengthen and widen, the legs become light. The kick becomes a response rather than a struggle.

Myth two is that you need to pull yourself through the water. Many swimmers think the arms do the work. In the Shaw approach, the hand meets the water, senses it, and guides direction. It connects rather than forces.

Myth three is that you must take a breath. The moment you try to take air, the system tightens. The neck shortens, the rhythm breaks, and breathing becomes something you manage. Breath works differently. It is allowed. Air comes in because space has been created for it.

Myth four is that more effort leads to more speed. Effort often creates resistance. The shoulders tighten, the back holds, and the body begins to work against itself. The water responds to how you are organised, not how hard you try.

Myth five is that some people are natural swimmers. This idea does the most damage. Ease in water is not talent. It is learned. It is a coordination, a relationship, a way of allowing support.
When these myths fall away, something changes.

The water begins to carry you. Movement becomes quieter and more connected. What once felt like effort begins to feel like flow.

Less like fighting.
More like flying.

The Three Keys to Ease in the Water

Most people think swimming is about effort.

More kick.
More pull.
More trying.

The water does not respond to force.
It responds to whether you are working with it… or against it.

In the Shaw Method, ease returns through three simple anchors:

Breath. Buoyancy. Rhythm.

Breath is where everything begins.

As the face meets the water, many people hold the breath without realising. The jaw tightens. The neck shortens. The body prepares to get out.

So rather than trying to “breathe better,” allow something simpler.

Let the air fall out gently into the water.
Let the face stay soft.
Let the inhale arrive when it is needed.

That alone begins to settle the whole system.

Then buoyancy.

Most people try to hold themselves up. They lift the head, tighten the back, kick to stay afloat.

But the water is already supporting you.

Let the head rest more into the water.
Let the back widen rather than brace.
Allow the water to carry more of your weight.

Nothing extra added. Something unnecessary released.

There is often a quiet moment here. Not dramatic. Just clear.

A kind of Eureka.

From here, rhythm begins to emerge.

Not something you impose, but something that grows out of better coordination.

The breath continues.
The body stays balanced.
Each movement connects to the next.

It starts to feel less like swimming through the water…
and more like moving with it.

Breath. Buoyancy. Rhythm.
Three ways of describing the same shift.

From tension to support.
From control to trust.
From effort to ease.

That is where swimming begins to change.

If you would like to experience this for yourself, come and join us in the water.