Curiosity question

[TSandM]

My husband had no problem with mask skills at all, but I tended to put my head in a position where I got water running down the base of my nose into my throat and choking me. It took some time to figure that one out. Turns out it's not a problem when actually DIVING, because I dive in a horizontal position, and I just plain can't push my head back far enough to cause the water to flow to my throat. It's the silly thing of kneeling on the bottom and tilting your head back that caused the issue.

Snorkeling without a mask is a great thing to practice before taking your class. Flooding a mask and clearing it is, too.

 

[goldenbear01]

hi hoomi, i learned to swim from an early age and used to spend my summers swimming and goofing off in a pool. one of the things i used to do when goofing off in the pool was to turn somersaults underwater. early on, i found that water kept flooding my nose when i did the somersaults. later on, i learned to exhale through my nose to prevent water from getting into my nose. fast forward many years to my ow training, where i also had to exhale through my nose underwater--i experienced no problems whatsoever. now can't say for sure that it was the experience of exhaling through my nose while turning somersaults underwater that made me feel comfortable exhaling through my nose to clear my mask underwater; all i can attest to is that that particular portion of ow training went pretty ok.

as for feeling comfortable when breathing with your mouth, well, i have a couple explanations for why that part of the ow cert presented little difficulty for me as well. first, when not goofing off in the pool as a kid, i was actually swimming; my swim instructor had also taught me to breathe through my nose--not knowing any other way to breathe while swimming, i became a mouth-breather in the water. but more likely, i attribute my lack of problems breathing through the reg while underwater to more recent experiences. you see, as an out-of-shape former athlete trying to recapture the glory of my youth--when i was about 40 pounds lighter--i soon learned to suck wind through your mouth. naturally, that training acclimated me to breathing through my mouth (nose breathing just doesn't do much for oxygen accumulation when your lungs are crying out for the sweet sweet oxygen after a couple minutes of vigorous cardio).

 

[wjsdive]

I have told sudents that are nervous about a particular skill to take a few seconds and visualize exactly what is supposed to happen when performing a skill just before doing it. It seems to help. You will do fine, Good Luck.

 

[Hoomi]

Okay; if land cardio exercise can be a good primer for breathing through the mouth, I'm in good shape after ample bike rides up long hills. Lance Armstrong I ain't, and usually before too long on the hill I'm gulping down air through my mouth just about as fast as my diaphragm can move it.

It worked out well for my flute lessons, too. My flute teacher was rather surprised by just how long I could hold a sustained note.

 

[redrover]

I've seen a lot of mentions about trepidation over the mask removal and clearing underwater during lessons. Does this tend to be less of an issue with people who have been comfortable swimming underwater without a mask previously?

Not in my case certainly. I could probably count the times I’ve been in a pool or ocean the 40 some years before arriving here - on my fingers and toes.
I'm no free diver, it didn’t bother me, maybe I just didn’t know it was supposed to.

 

[Hoomi]

I'm no free diver, it didn’t bother me, maybe I just didn’t know it was supposed to.

Hee hee. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

Then again, if that was true, then where I work should be the happiest place on earth!

 

[diver 85]

It's different when you're breathing UW with no mask on---natural tendency is to take some water in thru the now open nose.......

 

[cave_diver]

Being comfortable clearing your mask underwater is very important. The difference to swimming is that you are now breathing as well – if you take your mask off, you will still breath through your regulator with your nose open. You have to be able to keep the water out of your noise, even with your mask off.