Home > About
Our instructors are trained in the Total Immersion technique, which focuses on effortless and efficient swimming through balance, streamlining, and mindful movement. By incorporating these principles into our lessons, we help swimmers develop a smooth and fluid stroke while conserving energy and building endurance. This program was designed to help adults and triathletes whose primary complaint is usually that they get out of breath easily.
The Swim Angelfish Method is a specialized approach that caters to individuals with sensory and learning issues. Our instructors are experienced in adapting swimming techniques to suit the unique needs of each swimmer, ensuring a comfortable and supportive environment. People with all sorts of disabilities and levels of fear have learned to swim without fear, including those with CP, Downs syndrome, and amputee victims. Our emphasis of comfort over skill assures each student that progress will be made at their own pace and with a focus on their particular swimming needs.
We integrate MNRI principles into our swim lessons, which emphasize the activation and integration of reflexes for improved movement patterns and coordination. By incorporating these techniques, we help swimmers enhance their body awareness, balance, and motor skills in the water. This is especially helpful for swimmers with low muscle tone or developmental delays.
It is literally impossible to fail if you try our system.
The essentials of swimming are not about arms and legs, but rather how the water works and how to be in control. It’s not freestyle! Stay comfortable. Go at your own pace. We don’t push you and you hopefully won’t push yourself. To help you replace fear with confidence, we’ll guide you through all the steps you’ve never heard before… Spend time in both shallow and deep water—as you become ready. The ability to rest in shallow water paves the way for movement that’s comfortable and effortless. Confidence builds. You become curious to go to the deep. Feel safe 100% of the time. Yes you! We don’t call it Miracle Swim for nothing.
We believe there is no such thing as a child (or adult) who isn’t capable of learning how to swim. Parents just give up too early. Our emphasis on comfort over skill assures each student that progress will be made at their own pace and with a focus on their particular swimming needs. From the fearful swimmer to the exuberant fearless individual, we address each as an individual, applauding their emotional and physical prowess at every step.
At Waterwaze, we teach swimming to all ages, from 4 months to ninety-nine years old, using a gentle approach that prioritizes comfort over skill with regular progress. We train parents to understand how to keep themselves and their children safe around any body of water.
Our goal is not only to prevent drowning but to share the gift of water with as many as we can so they can enjoy the countless immeasurable benefits of swimming for health, play, quality time with their friends and family, and just overall enjoyment.
Waterwaze offers lessons year-round in our indoor pool so students can maintain and expand their skill development through fall and winter.
Hello future swimmer! My name is Zahava, and I founded Waterwaze Swim Academy in 2014. My first exposure to a large body of water occurred when I was seven years old. I had never been in a pool in my life. I grew up in Brooklyn during a time when pools weren’t very accessible. It was the first day of camp, and the head lifeguard was giving a lecture on the rules while we all sat on the steps of the pool. I got bored and decided to explore. I walked down the steps—and before I knew it, the water was over my head.
I remember just standing there, feeling the water flooding my mouth and nose. I was choking to death. I didn’t struggle or splash. Eventually, a lifeguard noticed that something was wrong and pulled me out. I spent the rest of the day trying to get rid of the burning sensation in my nose and the bitter taste of chlorine in my mouth.
Right after this episode, my mother signed me up for private swimming lessons with one of the lifeguards. By the end of the summer, I had passed the deep-water test, but I was far from comfortable in the pool. It was pure determination and willpower that had gotten me through those lessons. (The fear of getting water up my nose was so strong that I swam with a nose clip for more years than I care to admit.)
Despite the residual trauma, I still loved being in the pool, and swimming became my favorite summer activity. Over a decade later, I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. While working three jobs and being in college part-time (I eventually got an MBA), I began to check items off the bucket list of things I wanted to accomplish. One of these items was to get certified as an LTI (Lifeguard Training Instructor). I had already become a WSI (Water Safety Instructor) at the age of 16, meaning that I was trained to teach people how to swim. Then I was hired to teach at a local swim school on the weekends. I was still a newbie at the time and not very good. But she saw my potential and took the time to teach me how to structure my lessons to get the most out of every child. During the week, I was still working in an office, but in my free time, I was busy researching how to be a better swimming instructor.
Teaching swimming became a fourth part-time job which slowly evolved into a full-time business. Never satisfied with being just good enough, I’m the kind of person who is always on a quest to do things better. So, I began traveling all over the country to learn more about swimming and different teaching philosophies.
I became a Miracle Swimming instructor to specialize in fearful adults. I learned Total Immersion to help triathletes become more efficient with the swim portion of their race. I traveled to Oregon to learn how to teach infants and toddlers in order to prevent drowning worldwide. Eventually, I developed my own program and philosophy. I now have a team of instructors who are trained in the Waterwaze ideology, and we are often able to help the non-mainstream cases. We specialize in children and adults who have been traumatized by water-related incidents.
Waterwaze instructors are trained in Miracle Swim, Total Immersion, MNRI, Infant Swim, and Swim Angelfish methods. At Waterwaze Swim Academy we believe that the swimming learning process is enhanced by a supportive and nurturing environment. Our instructors create a space where adults and children of any age feel understood, respected, and valued. Through positive reinforcement, individualized attention, and a focus on building trust, we ensure each lesson is a step forward on our client’s personal swimming journey.
At Waterwaze, we understand that fear and anxiety around water can be deeply rooted and challenging to overcome. Our experienced instructors are trained in the Miracle Swim Technique, making them compassionate and patient mentors who guide would-be swimmers step-by-step through personalized instruction. With gentle encouragement, they help conquer the fear of bodies of water, instill confidence, and ultimately transform the swimming experience.
Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the US. “Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning,” according to statistics compiled by the CDC. “Of these, two are children aged fourteen or younger.” In the past ten years, Waterwaze has succeeded in healing hundreds of adults and children in various stages of aquaphobia.
People with all sorts of disabilities and levels of fear have learned to swim through our gentle, supportive method, including those with CP, Down’s syndrome, and amputee victims.
Waterwaze has taught thousands how to swim. We aim for all our students to overcome their fear of water so they can be comfortable hanging out in deep water. Waterwaze’s greatest success is gifting countless students with freedom in the pool and open water. Our students now live safer, more fulfilling lives because of what they have learned.