DRILL 4: BALANCE IN THE SKATING POSITION

Why We Do It: This is your first opportunity to experience balance as it should feel when

you begin swimming. This is also the first movement in all the Switch drills that follow.

Last, but not least, this is the first drill in which you practice the proper technique for breathing, developing good habits now that you can maintain right through to whole-stroke. Here you’ll learn to breathe by rolling your body to where the air is—rather than lifting or turning your head. The act of rolling your body to breathe imprints the critical habit (when drilling) of finishing every rolling movement in Sweet Spot.

Follow This Sequence

1. Start as in Drill 3, kicking gently. Balance on your back and hide your head, then roll gently to show one arm, and finally extend the other arm. Allow each position to feel great before you move to the next.

2. After “sneaking” your arm up, pause to check: Is the water still at the corners of both goggles? Do you feel like a long, balanced needle slipping through a small hole? Then . . .

3. Swivel your head and look directly at the bottom, rolling to your side as you do. After you look down, pause and check: Are you looking directly down? Are you balanced on your side with your shoulder pointing directly up? Is your extended hand below your head? (Put it deeper than you think you should!) Do you feel great balance—even a downhill gliding sensation?

4. Stay for a comfortable interval, then roll all the way back to where you started. When teaching, we always instruct our students to roll past their Sweet Spot in order to breathe comfortably. If you feel unbalanced or uncomfortable after you roll up to breathe, you haven’t rolled far enough.

5. Regroup in Sweet Spot for at least three yoga breaths before rolling nose-down again; avoid feeling breathless or rushed.