Exhaling while Inhaling: How Do I Stop It?

[TooManyHobbies]

I think you mean exhale?

I said that very poorly. The exhale is maintained during the inhale by the cheek squeeze. The exhale at other times is straight from the lungs.
I can't see a way to do this in reverse because there's no way to flex a nostril. I'm thinking it's just a mask leak because OP still pushes a little air out his nose during exhale and increases volume inside the mask, which then seeps out.

 

[TMHeimer]

I don't know if that's what's going on with the OP, but basically it means that you use your cheeks like a bellows to force air trapped in your mouth out between your lips, while you are inhaling (moving your diaphragm down) which causes air to be entrained into your nose and to your lungs. So the air making the sound from the instrument isn't coming from the lungs but from the mouth during the inhalation part of the cycle.

It's not hard to do, try it...

Well that's about what I figured. But I do wonder how you can play musically without the control of air coming directly from the lungs and not "stored' in the mouth/cheeks. I have read up on it, but it still baffles me a bit.
With all my professed great airway control diving, I have not been able to do it with my clarinet. But admit I haven't spent much time trying it.
The "quick inhale" seems to be the catch I haven't bothered to master.
If you can do it, logically you could continually breathe out-- and hold a note indefinitely, not just for 45 minutes.

 

[boulderjohn]

I would love to get a closer look than the video provides--I mean, I want to be in your face. Your apparent exhaling through the nose while inhaling may possibly be something of a delayed reaction to a small exhalation through the nose while exhaling through the mouth.

Years ago I was teaching a female student in the pool, and she had a lot of hair floating freely around her face and head as she dived. At one point I saw something curious--bubbles coming out of her hair. I looked carefully and saw that although she was exhaling through the mouth, she was also exhaling through the nose, and as the mask overfilled, some of it would leak out randomly.

I also had a curious experience of my own on one and only one dive in my lifetime. I normally have excellent airway control, but about halfway through a very basic warm water reef dive, I started exhaling significantly through my nose while I was exhaling through my mouth. "What the Hell is going on?" I wondered. It was absolutely not conscious, and I was absolutely unable to stop doing it. I had bubbles seeping out of the mask skirt throughout the rest of the dive, and I had no control over it. During the surface interval, I was frankly a little worried, but I guess I was more puzzled than worried. On the second dive everything was perfectly normal, and it never happened again.

 

[birdman27]

I also had a curious experience of my own on one and only one dive in my lifetime. I normally have excellent airway control, but about halfway through a very basic warm water reef dive, I started exhaling significantly through my nose while I was exhaling through my mouth. "What the Hell is going on?" I wondered. It was absolutely not conscious, and I was absolutely unable to stop doing it. I had bubbles seeping out of the mask skirt throughout the rest of the dive, and I had no control over it. During the surface interval, I was frankly a little worried, but I guess I was more puzzled than worried. On the second dive everything was perfectly normal, and it never happened again.

I actually had this same thing happen to me this weekend. I couldn't stop it during the dive. I attributed it to over exertion (I was hunting and my wife decided to double time it back to shore). Second dive, everything was back to normal. I can't remember this happening any other times, but I will be on the lookout moving forward.

 

[doctormike]

Well that's about what I figured. But I do wonder how you can play musically without the control of air coming directly from the lungs and not "stored' in the mouth/cheeks. I have read up on it, but it still baffles me a bit.
With all my professed great airway control diving, I have not been able to do it with my clarinet. But admit I haven't spent much time trying it.
The "quick inhale" seems to be the catch I haven't bothered to master.
If you can do it, logically you could continually breathe out-- and hold a note indefinitely, not just for 45 minutes.

I don't know, but accomplished musicians can do all sorts of amazing things. Jimi Hendrix could play the guitar with his teeth, and I remember seeing Pat Metheny control an entire orchestra by himself...

 

[shurite7]

Is this a bad thing? It makes sense that it can be undesirable to do so when using CCR.

I’ve been doing this for years primarily because I have a mustache and water seeps into my mask. In order to stop bubbles from coming out of my nose when inhaling I have to focus on my breathing to stop it.

 

[Ryan Neely]

@boulderjohn, I wondered this, too. I don't see the bubbles if I plug my nose through the nose cup ... but they could then be exiting through the sides of the skirt or from the top of the mask. When we're diving tomorrow I'll see if I can film the event from the front to see if I can get a better angle.

For what it's worth @TMHeimer, while reading your post I thought I'd try some circular breathing myself. As @doctormike stated, this is probably not what is happening (I'm leaning more toward delayed exhalation or the "more gas than necessary" from the second stage). I found it quite simple to make one single, continuous inhalation and exhalation through the mouth for a full minute each simply by leaving the airway open and manipulating my diaphragm. (Maybe I missed my calling as a didgeridoo player. )

 

[doctormike]

Might as well learn from the man himself...!

 

[Hoyden]

A way to be sure that you are "leaking" air from your nose would be to do a short dive with a nose clip on. You will not be able to clear your mask, but you should be able to see/video for short time, If you still get bubbles, it is not the issue that you suspect. If you don't get bubbles... well, then see all of the other posts above.

 

[jwcfbd]

Any chance you could have a bit too much air flowing from your regulator (venturi effect or overtuned) and you are allowing it out your nose?

I was thinking the same thing