Tips for a heavy breather

[jonix]

try adjusting your 2nd stage to deliver less air and sip air as you do with a straw on soda. also try finning while you're exhaling not when you're inhaling. and yes you're a big dude and a bigger tank won't hurt.

enjoy!

 

[TSandM]

I disagree with the advice to adjust the second stage to deliver less gas. This increases work of breathing, and makes CO2 retention more likely.

Gas consumption goes down with decreased anxiety, decreased effort, and increased efficiency.

 

[MeiLing]

NO, this IS skip breathing. Not a good idea, especially for a new diver.

I disagree. When you normally breathe, there is a short, natural pause between inhale and exhale of about 2-3 seconds. And if you read the website I posted, they confirm this. How I breathe when I am diving is exactly as the Tai Chi breath exercise described below from the website:

"Tom Mount, president of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers, recommends doing a t-ai chi breath exercise: breathing in for six to eight seconds, a natural two or three seconds pause, then exhaling for six to eight seconds. "While you're doing it," Mount says, "concentrate on breathing with your diaphragm. This is the way we were born breathing. But we lose it through bad habits and our cultural upbringing. You go to school and they say, 'Chest out, shoulders up, stomach in,' that destroys diaphragmatic breathing." Mount suggests this exercise: Lie on your back, putting one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. As you breathe, make sure your stomach rises and not your chest. "Once you learn to breathe with your diaphragm," says Mount, "practice it all the time until it becomes a reflex."

Next time you’re lying on the sofa watching TV, start paying attention to how you breathe naturally and you’ll find that you don’t immediately start exhaling after inhalation. There is a short pause and your airway is open. I just do the same when I’m diving. I’m very relaxed, I do great on air, and I never have a headache!

 

[rdbean]

Not sure that the pause in the breathing cycle is a full 3 seconds, but there is one there. In fact if you ever shoot a pistol or rifle, during that pause is when you should pull the trigger, that's when your body is most relaxed and there's less of a wobble effect . How does that translate to diving? Well you can carry that over to when you press the shutter for photography assuming all the bubbles are out of the way! It's also better since your're not breath holding and rising when taking a picture, providing more stability when you snap that shot.

Cheers and Safe Diving,

R

 

[MeiLing]

Not sure that the pause in the breathing cycle is a full 3 seconds, but there is one there. In fact if you ever shoot a pistol or rifle, during that pause is when you should pull the trigger, that's when your body is most relaxed and there's less of a wobble effect . How does that translate to diving? Well you can carry that over to when you press the shutter for photography assuming all the bubbles are out of the way! It's also better since your're not breath holding and rising when taking a picture, providing more stability when you snap that shot.

Cheers and Safe Diving,

R

I don't count off how many seconds it is when I am doing it, but it is certainly not more than 3 seconds. I just breathe really deeply. I like to think of it as like 3/4 full although it is probably full, but not over-inflated. I've just learned to breath deeply, pause and begin exhaling a couple of seconds later as my body feels naturally compelled to. I'm really relaxed when I'm doing so and feel really in a zen state. And because I know exactly how to get there, I can get there pretty quickly after some particulary stressful entries, claustrophobic moments or a coughing fit.

Safe diving! Always!:thumbs_up:

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

I disagree with the advice to adjust the second stage to deliver less gas. This increases work of breathing, and makes CO2 retention more likely.

Gas consumption goes down with decreased anxiety, decreased effort, and increased efficiency.

I agree completley. The adjustment on the second stage is for when the mouthpiece is not in your mouth, the second stage will not free flow. But when breathing from it, if the resistance is inceased, so will your anxiety levels. Simply, when you increase the resistance, its like pulling a melon through a straw. Eventually, you might feel air-starved. This can lead to some serious problems.:14:

 

[merxlin]

I disagree. When you normally breathe, there is a short, natural pause between inhale and exhale of about 2-3 seconds. And if you read the website I posted, they confirm this. How I breathe when I am diving is exactly as the Tai Chi breath exercise described below from the website:

In my opinion, for a new diver to have to concentrate on holding their breath is a bad idea. Maybe a more experienced diver could do so and still hold their position in the water column. I understand that you can hold your lungs full or empty with the glottis open so you technically are not holding your breath. But a new diver with limited buoyancy skills is more likely to breath hold and that can be very dangerous especially at shallower depths, which is where most new divers have buoyancy issues at the end of the dive.

I still suggest him to get more experience, get more relaxed, get his weighting and trim in line (which will cause him to use more air until he get it correct) and then see where his air consumption is. Once he's got the basics down then he can worry about how he is breathing. The chance of him holding a breath and ascending is just to great in my mind......

BTW, I am not disagreeing with the breathing exercises and techniques that have been described (my wife is a yoga teacher, I am familiar with them) but most are land based exercises, and also talk about a natural pause. Giving someone a time line like 3 seconds can also disrupt that rhythmic breathing while they try to do exactly 3 seconds. Again, maybe if they are more experienced, but in my mind this just teaches them to skip-breath if not done correctly. Just my 200 psi.

 

[dave4868]

BTW, I am not disagreeing with the breathing exercises and techniques that have been described (my wife is a yoga teacher, I am familiar with them) but most are land based exercises, and also talk about a natural pause. Giving someone a time line like 3 seconds can also disrupt that rhythmic breathing while they try to do exactly 3 seconds. Again, maybe if they are more experienced, but in my mind this just teaches them to skip-breath if not done correctly. Just my 200 psi.

Great points merxlin!

IMO, special breathing techniques aren't very useful and can easily be counterproductive, especially for a new diver. The techiques themselves become another task on his seemingly long list or they might become another stressor as they may add to the many new sensations that "don't feel right".

Rather than thinking about his breathing pattern, if the diver simply remembers to keep the dive slow and relaxed and to just "breathe normally", that is, without thinking about it, he will reduce his air consumption and probably be able to become more aware of other technical improvements he can make.

"Slow and relaxed" and "breathe normally" are easy to follow and can greatly reduce anxiety, a major cause of taking in more air than one needs. IMHO, of course....

Dave C

 

[MeiLing]

In my opinion, for a new diver to have to concentrate on holding their breath is a bad idea. Maybe a more experienced diver could do so and still hold their position in the water column. I understand that you can hold your lungs full or empty with the glottis open so you technically are not holding your breath. But a new diver with limited buoyancy skills is more likely to breath hold and that can be very dangerous especially at shallower depths, which is where most new divers have buoyancy issues at the end of the dive.

I still suggest him to get more experience, get more relaxed, get his weighting and trim in line (which will cause him to use more air until he get it correct) and then see where his air consumption is. Once he's got the basics down then he can worry about how he is breathing. The chance of him holding a breath and ascending is just to great in my mind......

BTW, I am not disagreeing with the breathing exercises and techniques that have been described (my wife is a yoga teacher, I am familiar with them) but most are land based exercises, and also talk about a natural pause. Giving someone a time line like 3 seconds can also disrupt that rhythmic breathing while they try to do exactly 3 seconds. Again, maybe if they are more experienced, but in my mind this just teaches them to skip-breath if not done correctly. Just my 200 psi.

I never said that you concentrate on a two to three second pause, if you're relaxed and breathing properly, it's just there. And if you read the part you quoted from me, I did say natural pause.

Inhale, pause, exhale just like one does naturally when they're relaxed. In my opinion and experience, the "always breathe" tagline generally leads to a bunch of newbies down there huffing and puffing like a runaway train because their overbreathing. Yes, one must never hold their breath, but there's no reason to send newbs down hyperventilating either!

And there is no reason, why one can't practice your breathing exercises on land and then apply them in the water when one has everything else dialed in!

 

[merxlin]

Breathe deep and focus on a long, slow exhale. Pause briefly between your inhale and exhale, about 3 seconds. Anything longer is skip breathing which is dangerous and will give you a headache.

I disagree. When you normally breathe, there is a short, natural pause between inhale and exhale of about 2-3 seconds.

I don't count off how many seconds it is when I am doing it, but it is certainly not more than 3 seconds.

I never said that you concentrate on a two to three second pause, if you're relaxed and breathing properly, it's just there. And if you read the part you quoted from me, I did say natural pause.

This is where I got the 3 second timeframe from you.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against divers controlling their breathing and/or practicing breathing techniques ( I do it myself). I just think it is premature to have a new diver do anything but breath naturally. If there is a pause, then there is a pause. But to put in someone's mind to focus on that pause I think (and again just my opinion) may have them concentrating on something that can do more harm than good at this stage of their experience.