I am brand new to scuba and started practicing clearing my mask last week. I got really frustrated with myself because I kept breathing in water through my nose. I have no idea how I am doing that. It seems so easy. I was breathing through my mouth, but still managed to breathe through my nose at the same time. Any tips on how to break myself of that? Am I just a freak or do other people have this problem, too?
clearing the mask
- Thread starter kgrover
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jsbromley
Guest
kgrover:
No you are not a freak! This is a fairly common problem. A good exercise is to practice breathing using your snorkel, with your face in the water, while not wearing a mask. It is also something that you can practice at home e.g. in the bathtub.
I hope this helps.
Common problem at first. Just make sure you have positive pressure coming from your nose just before lifting your mask to clear. Make sure you don't stop until after the mask has been replaced. Just takes a little practice. It happens to most people at first.
As you follow Jeff's advice, think about drinking through a straw.
jetfixer
Contributor
jsbromley:
It helps to use swim goggles when doing this. The kind that do not cover your nose. Good luck and keep trying!
It's better not to wear anything over your eyes. If you wear goggles, you don't get the full experience and can cause you difficulty when it counts.
Thank you all so much for the great words of wisdom!! I really appreciate the advice and support!! I'll try it without the mask tonight. I just need to practice and train my nose to not inhale water : ) Practice makes perfect, right?
Or as my Course Director used to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect performance".kgrover:
For a full explanation of a very effective method of working on mask clearing skills, click on the search button and the click on advanced search. For the keywords type in mask clearing and then in the username box type in Walter. You should find a thread in which he lays out step by step not only what to do but how to do it in non stressful manner.
Or I could post the proceedure here:
Take your time and practice each step until you are comfortable before moving to the next.
Leave your SCUBA gear in your bag. You only need 3 things at the pool at this point. 1. Mask 2. Snorkel 3. Weight belt with weight.
At no point will you leave the shallow end of the pool.
Take your snorkel off your mask and put on your weight belt. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If you are comfortable, stay awhile until you feel natural. If you have difficulty, think about drinking through a straw while you practice the excercise. Remember, you can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If you need to, you can slowly build up your time until you feel comfortable.
Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until you are comfortable
At this point, you have accomplished three important things.
1. You lowered your anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. You became an expert in no mask breathing.
3. You know you can breathe with a flooded mask.
Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Repeat this until you are comfortable. Don't forget to stand up and catch your breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water you allow into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When you are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When you've reached the point you can clear it easily every time, see how many times you can clear it on one breath. After you are at this point, clearing your mask will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish.
Remember, you can always stand up if you feel uncomfortable.
Take your time and practice each step until you are comfortable before moving to the next.
Leave your SCUBA gear in your bag. You only need 3 things at the pool at this point. 1. Mask 2. Snorkel 3. Weight belt with weight.
At no point will you leave the shallow end of the pool.
Take your snorkel off your mask and put on your weight belt. With your mask on the pool deck, your snorkel in your hand and your weight belt on, get into the shallow end of the pool. You should be where when you stand you are no deeper than chest deep, waist deep is even better. Put your snorkel in your mouth and breathe from it. Now, bend over and breathe through your snorkel while you dip your face into the water. If you are comfortable, stay awhile until you feel natural. If you have difficulty, think about drinking through a straw while you practice the excercise. Remember, you can always stand up straight to end the excercise at any time. If you need to, you can slowly build up your time until you feel comfortable.
Next, practice dropping underwater, allowing the snorkel to flood and coming up to blast it clear, leaving your face in the water. Continue until you are comfortable
At this point, you have accomplished three important things.
1. You lowered your anxiety level by working in a no risk (shallow) environment.
2. You became an expert in no mask breathing.
3. You know you can breathe with a flooded mask.
Now, put your snorkel down and pick up your mask. Put it on and drop down to your knees. Break the seal just enough to allow a small amount of water in. Clear the mask. Do not pull out on the bottom, merely push in on the top while looking up. The biggest mistake most people make is not looking up. The second most common mistake people make is not exhaling through their nose. Keep your mouth closed. Repeat this until you are comfortable. Don't forget to stand up and catch your breath between clearings. Now, increase the amount of water you allow into the mask to about ¼ flooded. When you are comfortable with that level, move to ½, then to a fully flooded mask. When you've reached the point you can clear it easily every time, see how many times you can clear it on one breath. After you are at this point, clearing your mask will be easy. You will have reached it in a step by step manner that was easy to accomplish.
Remember, you can always stand up if you feel uncomfortable.
Laser
Guest
Walter:
I clear my mask all the time without looking up?? In fact, sometimes I look down?
Am I weird?
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