Halliwick in the water – what is it about and what are its benefits?

Thanks to the Halliwick method, everyone, regardless of age, disability, and movement problems, can feel free and safe in the water. This method allows you to acquire swimming skills, the most important part of which is to get pleasure and joy from being in the aquatic environment. Halliwick in the water – what is it about and what are its benefits?

Halliwick is a swimming learning concept for both healthy people who are afraid of water and for people with disabilities, with physical and learning disabilities. The origins of this method go back to the 1950s. Its principles and assumptions are developed to this day, with its basic program created by hydro-engineer James McMillan, a swimming trainer from The Halliwick School of Crippled Girls in London.

Halliwick in the water – what is it about?

What do the Halliwick activities in the water look like? Swimming lessons take place slowly, at a pace adjusted to the participant, and the basic principle is to enjoy being in the water. Although classes are held in groups of several people, each participant has his own instructor who watches over his safety and physical and mental adaptation to water. Learning to swim here is strongly associated with fun, there are elements of a game, competition, and mutual motivation. However, these are not random activities, but special tasks selected based on the principles of physics – in particular body mechanics, hydrostatics, and hydrodynamics.

The Halliwick program in the water

Swimming lessons using the Halliwick method are based on a 10-point program. Specific points include, among others, psychological adaptation to water, independence from the instructor, sense of happiness in the water, breathing control, balance in stillness, learning to move and only at the very end: learning basic swimming movements.

Halliwick in the water – what are the benefits?

Halliwick in the water guarantees a number of benefits for the development of the body of adults and children with disabilities. It is a method of learning to swim, which supports their development, improving the stability of the torso, controlling breathing and head movements. Thanks to Halliwick in the water, it is also possible to normalize the muscle tone, increase mobility in the joints and improve the efficiency of the body. These are physical benefits, but let’s not forget about the mental ones, which are: controlling the fear of water, improving the mood, as well as increasing social competence.

Halliwick in the water – summary

Halliwick in the water is more than a method of learning to swim for the disabled. Combining fun with learning allows adults and children with various levels of disability to learn basic swimming movements in a pleasant and stress-free way. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of acquiring this skill for the further physical and mental development of people with mobility and sensory problems. Especially since there are few disciplines that are as safe and beneficial to the body as swimming. But it is thanks to the Halliwick method that a child or adult disability does not exclude the possibility of learning to swim. You can find out about it at the iSwim Academy, a swimming school with qualified instructors and relevant experience to which we invite children from Dublin 12, Dublin 24, Dublin 3 near Tallaght, Clontarf, Crumlin and near the airport to learn swimming.