Secret to breathing without mask?

[spacemanspiff1974]

Go to a really stinky public restroom, a gross anatomy lab, a rendering plant or a garbage dump and practice breathing without smelling anything.

 

[300bar]

Go to a really stinky public restroom, a gross anatomy lab, a rendering plant or a garbage dump and practice breathing without smelling anything.

That will do it

 

[tltracy]

In thru the mouth... out thru the nose... in thru the mouth... out thru the nose...... that's what I had to do too.

On my open water dives I sucked the water thru my nose and blew it out the regulator. You'll get the hang of it with practice.

 

[dschonbrun]

I had problems with this too. A Dr. and diver friend of mine showed me something that helps. When you make the letter 'K' sound, you close the flap that connects the mouth and nose (nasopharingial passage). First learn to do this while breathing out. It's almost like pushing the back of your tongue against the roof-rear of your mouth. Feels wierd, but it works. If you can keep the tongue in position... then breathing in is the same way. Staying relaxed and only focusing on one thing helped me a lot.

 

[Buoyant1]

That was my biggest stresser before my classes...when I got the first opportunity, I just got in the pool with a snorkel and kept at it until it became second nature...I snorted a whole bunch of chlorinated water up my nose, but it kept at it and...well heck take a look at my avatar! No biggie anymore!

It'll come...do it, don't think about it!

 

[BabyDuck]

are you pretty good about equalizing your mask pressure and 'holding' that bubble in your nose to the pressure you want it to be?

that's usually what i do - hold a bit of pressure in my nose, not quite to the point of blowing bubbles.

try this, maybe - in the pool (or the tub! ), take a full breath. then duck your head under and breathe very slowly out your nose. maybe several times of this, coming up to breathe in & breathing out very slowly, will give you that 'bubble' feeling. then you can try it with the snorkel.

 

[gypsyjim]

I had to learn to NOT breath out through my nose, as that habit tends to break the seal on my mask and lead to leaking. Just enough pressure to equalize The habit of breathing out through my nose led to problems, and I really had to work to break the habit. I say just practice with the snorkel till you get there and don't teach yourself a habit that you will then need to unlearn. Just my opinion, of course.

 

[mavdog]

I had a problem with this too. touching the roof of my mouth with my tongue is what worked for me.

 

[Walt Stearns]

Breathing of a regulator with a mask comfortably is an art form. For a lot o people it is a big stressor, namely due to water entering the sinus cavity triggers a gage reflex fooling the mind that going to drown.

In the current issue (issue 5) of the Underwater Journal, the feature article is on the mermaids of Weeki Watchee Springs.

Making of a Mermaid:
“..it took three days to reach a point where she was able breath comfortably from the hose in measured breaths. An even trickier
technique was learning to cycle a minute part of each exhalation through her nose, thereby creating an air pocket that provides enough back pressure to prevent flooding the sinuses, yet not have it streaming out in a trail of bubbles.
Over time, the mermaids say their adaptation to air-hose breathing is so complete that it becomes second nature. Even when flipping over backwards and breathing in an inverted position.”

Besides being an interesting read, there are some useful points on working underwater that is not exclusive to them, but to all divers.

 

[Zoomer]

I actually found that if I tip my head down a bit to keep the bubbles from hitting my nose it was a little easier.