Fear of water: An abnormal and persistent fear of water. Sufferers of aquaphobia experience anxiety even though they realize the water in an ocean, a river, a lake, a creek or even a bathtub may pose no imminent threat. They generally avoid such activities as boating and swimming. Around the house, they may fear the water in a shower or tub and even desist from bathing therein.

Any object with a specific gravity less than1.0 will float in water and anything greater than 1.0 will sink. The human body has a density slightly less than that of water and averages a specific gravity of 0.974. Therefore, we float. Lean body mass has a typical density near 1.1 and fat mass has a density of about 0.9. Therefore, an individual who has a high percentage of lean body mass will require floatation devices. In contrast, an obese individual will have a specific gravity considerably less than 1.0 and will float more easily.

Most children (and several adults) fear water. The swimming pool is viewed by a child as an ocean that will engulf him/her. Making children get over a fear of water requires a lot of patience from the parents. Very often, parents enrol their kids into a summer camp to overcome this fear, but the whole exercise boomerangs. This happens because, during a summer swimming camp, the coach has to tend to several children who have different aptitudes and different levels of comfort with water...

For those with a fear of the water, it is not irrational or something to be minimized, it is very real. No matter how long you have lived with your fear of water, or to what degree your fear is, you can learn to overcome your fear and interact with the water in a positive way. The Mind, Body Awareness Programme is the first of its kind, and is the simplest. It will guide you through a foundation of steps, which will help you to focus in a positive way, and you'll feel terrific.

A fear of water. A non resourceful state, negative feeling, an unwanted reaction, a pattern of behaviour experienced by an individual, which prevents the swimmer from learning a water skill or freely entering a mass-volume water environment such as a swimming pool, sea, lake, ocean, or river.