We received some feedback this week from a lovely pupil who came to Croft Farm last year. I’m sharing it because it made me think about what happens when people return home at the end of a course with us. 

Does it matter whether you keep the work going in a local pool? How important is it to go to the water as a regular part of your health regime? Is it enough to have the knowledge, confidence, that you can approach the water without fear and interact with it in a meaningful way, any time. 

Or should a course with us be the start of a journey with the destination swimming up and down for exercise? I guess it’s up to you.

Email from Edna:
This time last year I was looking forward to going for my Swimming Without Stress lessons.  If you had received an email from me every time I’ve thought about you, your mailbox would have been overflowing!  

It was such a special experience, even better than anything I could have imagined and I have been enjoying the memories ever since.

In the few days following I managed several more sessions in a couple of different swimming pools, floating face-down in the water like a jelly fish (making the life-guards a bit uneasy at first!).  

Unfortunately, my skin reacted very badly to the water and as a result I haven’t been able to go swimming since then.  While that has been something of a trial, I’ve been enjoying your blogs very much. And I haven’t given up hope of being able to come back for a ‘refresher’ when skin condition improves.  In the meantime, I’ll continue to live on the memory of the whole lovely experience of stress-free swimming and Alexander Technique sessions.             

                    
I do hope that you are both well and are keeping busy, passing on your fruit of your expertise and insights to many more people.

Warmest wishes from a grateful recipient,
Edna

My reply:

I remember you well, doing some nice Alexander work in the garden being among the memories.

Lovely to receive your feedback. I tend to think that the act of submitting oneself to the support of the water doesn’t need too much repetition. And it isn’t necessarily something that needs to be built on. To know what to think so you can do it at will is enough.

I also experience adverse reactions to chlorinated water in public pools these days so tend to avoid them. Croft Farm pool (with its skin-friendly, shallow water) is  a lovely place to work on what I find most beneficial.

If you’d like to come again, it would be great to see you. Maybe you could enjoy the pool without having too many lessons. And we could do some more Alexander Technique work.

Delighted that you’re enjoying the blog. Thanks again,

Ian