Episode Details

What if fear isn’t something to push through—but something to understand?

Cori Myka shares how her early experiences with mistrust, fear, and childhood trauma shaped not only her relationship with water but also her understanding of how the body holds and responds to experience.

Despite initially resisting traditional swim instruction, Cori taught herself how to swim—and later built a swim school based on a completely different approach: one that prioritises nervous system regulation, trust, and individual pacing over performance.

The conversation moves beyond swimming.

It explores how fear is experienced in the body, how internal narratives form early, and how those patterns can quietly shape behaviour, relationships, and choices.

Cori also shares how working with people living with HIV/AIDS after leaving university shifted her perspective on identity, compassion, and seeing beyond surface-level assumptions.

At the core of this conversation is a simple but often overlooked idea: Real change doesn’t happen by forcing the body forward—it happens by learning how to feel safe enough to move at all.

Key Takeaways

• Fear is often rooted in early experiences, not present reality
• The body can react even when the mind understands something is safe
• Trust is built through experience, not instruction
•  Internal narratives shape behaviour more than external ability
•  Learning requires psychological safety, not pressure
•  Disassociation can become a long-term coping pattern
•  Performance does not equal comfort or confidence
•  Slowing down can be more effective than pushing through
•  The nervous system plays a central role in learning and change
•  Exposure without safety can reinforce fear rather than resolve it
•  Compassion—for others and self—can shift perception and behaviour
•  Healing often happens gradually, not through a single breakthrough

About: Cori Myka is the founder of Calm Within Adult Swim, with over 25 years of experience in adult swim education. She specialises in helping adults overcome their fear of water through a unique blend of mental and physical training techniques. Her mission is to empower individuals to become confident swimmers and embrace personal growth by working with students and certifying instructors.

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