Secret to breathing without mask?

[khblair]

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.

very good advice. keep your head down. water cant travel uphill

 

[Thalassamania]

I hate to admit this but I seem to have more problems than average with breathing without the mask. Water just wants to come in my nose, driving me crazy. I practiced this skill in the pool last night for about 30 minutes with a snorkel and seemed to get a little better, but not as much as I would like and I was wondering is there is a trick that you might have discovered to make this easier? I was certified back in 1976 and remember dreading that skill then too.

Reveal your secrets to me!

You need to learn to control your nose and mouth independently. Practicing breathing with a snorkel and no mask works for some, but it is a "discover the right way by accident" approach that for a few may never succeed.

First you need to understand the problem. When you breathe through your mouth you create an area of lower pressure in your pharynx (remember airplane wing lift, Bernoulli's Principle, etc.? If not, Google and review). This tends to suck air from your sinuses and nasal passages, which in turn sucks water into your nose. This reduced pressure is very slight and can be solved by head position. Most people will not get water up their nose if they're looking down with their facial plane is parallel to the surface. Water can also be kept out of your nasal passages by exhaling through your nose.

Try this exercise first: Stand in chest deep water, no mask, no snorkel. Take a deep breath. With your head still in the air exhale alternately between your nose and mouth. Make the exhalations short bursts. You should be able to do between five and ten on a single breath. When you are comfortable with this, take a deep breath and repeat the exercise with your face in the water. Do this five times.

Now take your mask and put it on. Duck down into the water, flood your mask and bring your head back up into the air. Your mask should remain full of water. Now talk. Say your name and address, recite a poem or song lyrics, the pledge of allegiance, anything ... it does not matter. What is important is that you talk and do not cough. If you cough, repeat the exercise (back to the short bursts) and try again.

Once you can talk comfortably and not cough, take a breath and exhale into your mask (the water will run out). Once you can accomplish this exhalation you should have no further problems. Swim a few laps with no mask breathing through your snorkel to gain some confidence that your problem is behind you.

If you try it, let me know how this works for you.

 

[cuddlefish]

I gave myself a mental slap in the face. That seemed to work ok.