Essentials 1 Course

Essential Lessons for Adults

“Why isn’t all swimming taught this way?

—Margaret Teague, Texas
plus many others

Overcoming Fear is Not Scary at Miracle Swimming...Because We Teach the Essentials

*Miracle Swimming School for Adults has added our new SwimSnax course, a full-day introduction to help you decide whether to take Essentials 1. Click here for our upcoming courses.

Do you wish you could:

get your safety from yourself, not the bottom or the side?
overcome fear without feeling scared?
rest and play in water? Deep water?
Keep water out of your nose?

Until you feel peaceful in lessons, you cannot reach these milestones.

You are not alone

46% of American adults are afraid in deep water in pools
64% are afraid in deep open water
39% are afraid to put their heads under water (Gallup)

Every student is pleased and astonished.

Each year we teach hundreds of adults how to overcome their fear in water.

In 42 years of teaching, we’ve revealed these five facts:

Overcoming fear of deep water doesn’t have to be scary.
Overcoming fear is not derived by pushing yourself to do frightening things.
Being able to swim means the ability to rely on yourself for safety in water over your head. You don’t need formal strokes. Strokes are for efficiency. Feel safe in deep water sooner by learning to be safe before learning to be efficient.
Safety in deep water requires
1. understanding how the water works
2. control in deep water
Traditional lessons, designed for children, don’t work for adults who have fear in water.

This is why our one-of-a-kind swim school has proven to be foolproof. While most swimming lessons dive into blowing bubbles and teaching strokes, we focus on simply being in water first. Learn to be calm for floating, unfloating, propulsion, rolling over, the deep end, etc. Learn at your pace.

Perhaps you’re not a rank beginner… but everyone needs the Essentials.

“Exactly what I needed: someone to hold my hand and instruct with 100% nonjudgement and a lot of patience.” –CW

Being able to rest in deep water for as long as you’d like results from our Essentials 1 and Essentials 2 courses combined. “E1” gets you ⅔ of the way there! It must be taken first.

Essentials 1 SloMo

If you want to learn even more slowly, take Essentials 1 SloMo. Visit this page to read more.

“This is the best gift I have ever given myself. I am so amazed at the amount of information that is taught in such a “short” course. I think back to the first day when you asked what my goals were. I would never have imagined the endpoint today as a goal! I never thought I would be able to be comfortable in the water and would actually LIKE to be in the water!! Just wow! Kudos for creating such a masterpiece framework for teaching someone like me.” —KD

Our Sarasota FL headquarters and we also teach in Atlanta December through March. Our Licensed Miracle Swimming Instructors in West Palm Beach FL and Hawaii teach Essentials 1 and 2. Sarasota also offers Essentials 1 SloMo and SwimSnax, a full-day introduction. Instructors recommend hotels upon request.

Our Instructors

Our instructors have taken advanced training to become Miracle Swimming licensees. They are deeply committed to our philosophy and they love our teaching.

Other Locations

West Palm Beach FL: Sharon Powers, Powers Swim School
Hawaii: Deb Pyrek, Swim Baby Hawaii
Chicagoland (Crystal Lake, currently unavailable as of July, 2025).

You’re ready to finally learn to swim.

Let’s talk about who E1 is perfect for….

Essentials 1 is a small-group (6-8 adults), in-person course for those who are ready to feel comfortable in water and overcome fear so you can enjoy that upcoming vacation, stop feeling embarrassed and avoiding social situations, start using swimming for exercise, and finally have fun splashing around at the pool and beach with the kids in your life.

Whether you...

Have always been afraid in water
Had a traumatic incident that made you fearful
Had a parent who was afraid
Know how to do strokes but don’t feel at ease getting air
Fear that you can’t stay at the surface
Have taken lessons before without success and you’re not sure why it hasn’t worked
Have always wanted to learn to swim and enjoy the deep end
Have read Conquer Your Fear of Water and want help from licensed teachers in this method…

You’re in the right place.

Our licensed instructors will guide you at your own pace through all of the essential information and steps you’ll only find here. Feel safe and comfortable 100% of the time. There’s no pushing and we never say, “Relax!”
We don’t teach strokes like freestyle or backstroke because knowing them won’t help you be calm or safe in deep water.
What will make you calm and safe is learning how to be comfortable in water: understanding how it works, how to stay in control and how to prevent panic.

“It is a miracle, the way they teach. The class was perfect for me. They let me take my time and make me feel comfortable in my own space, no rush, just enjoy the moment.” —OA

Register for the Next Course

See schedule for 2025-26

After this 5-day course you will likely...

Know how to be still and fully present in water even if the thought of it makes you tense now.
Be able to float and unfloat on front and back peacefully
Roll from front to back and back to front in shallow water peacefully
Do reversals peacefully
Know more of how the water works with your body
Understand how to remain in control and prevent panic
See the path to freedom as a swimmer
Have more confidence in water, shallow and deep

You’ll be:

◈ Feeling safe and having a choice all the time

◈ Surprising yourself with your progress

◈ Overcoming fear without being scared

◈ Doing things you never could, because you feel better than you ever did

◈ Receiving satisfying answers to your questions

◈ Being “more yourself” when you leave

◈ Learning in a small class with an instructor and if needed, a spotter

◈ Enjoying individual attention: each student is at a different starting point and learns at his/her own rate, but all need the same information. Therefore, you learn individually, together and at your own pace.

◈Taking a tether home with you to continue learning

Above all, you will be astonished with the progress you make in 5 days with our infallible approach.

Register for the Atlanta December, 2025 Essentials 1 Course Here.

Register for the next E1 SloMo course April, 2026 here

COURSE INVESTMENT

Go to the registration page for a course to see its price.

“A must, especially if you are scared or skeptical about swimming or even this class.” —GS, California

“It is a MUST for every person afraid in water. The value of it is INESTIMABLE and exceeds the course fee BY FAR.” —HM, Germany

If you’re ready to …

Learn with 6-8 other adults (in warmer water than most) who have the same trepidation as you
Have FUN – there is NO pressure and NO competition here
Learn at your own pace — your instructor will never push you

Then we’d love for you to join us for an upcoming Essentials 1 course. The prices and details are at the registration page for each class. Access them above and at the Course Schedule.

Courses are held in hotel pools or rented pools. Hotel guests at the pool are reliably supportive and generous.

Before you enroll in one of the courses, please ensure you’ve read this page in its entirety.

We strive to make the course accessible financially. Payment plans are available: pay according to your schedule in order to finish by 45 days before the start date of the course you wish to take. We are working to make more locations available.

WANT TO READ MORE REVIEWS FROM PAST STUDENTS?

We have hundreds. They reflect the diversity of the ~7,000 students across the nation who have attended Miracle Swimming School for Adults.
READ REVIEWS

WANT TO LEARN, BUT STILL FEELING A BIT ANXIOUS? TAKE ESSENTIALS 1 SloMo.

Essentials 1 SloMo is, as the name implies, a slower version of Essentials 1. It’s designed for anyone who considers themselves to be deeply afraid and needs a little extra time. Graduates of “SloMo” are often eligible to take Essentials 2.

These two students overcame most of their fear in water in five days

We proved that an instructor doesn’t have to be within six feet of students for breakthroughs of this magnitude to happen in five days. Their minds were boggled!