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1.
Find Your Air
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Wet Testing
So
far you've taken a normal breath with your mouth open.
Let's
tinker with this technique to see how it'll work in water.
Coordinating and adjusting your breathing while swimming will come
later, of course, but we can handle the basics right here.
A 5-second review
Take
a normal sized breath.
Let it out through your mouth and nose in a steady stream.
(If you've had lessons before, this should seem familiar.)
No big inhales, please, you won't need them.
Keep your jaw loose and your mouth a little open.
This will feel more and more natural, as well it should–
you do it all day, anyway.
Your home pool
Up
for a test drive? We'll need a little body of water,
enough for your face to dip into.
Any size or shape container is fine.
Whatever it is will be clean, roomy
enough for your face to fit in, filled with warm-ish water and placed
on a table.
You'll be sitting, looking down over it.
So
go ahead, find your practice pool and come back when you're ready.
I'll hang around; I noticed you have some ice
cream in your freezer.
Um, do you mind?
Try this at home
OK. We're back and ready to roll. You're sitting at a table, facing your "pool" below you.
Take
a normal breath, relax your shoulders and jaw, and dip your mouth
and nose in.
Your eyes can be open or closed.
Let all your air bubble steadily out your nose and mouth, and then
come on up.
Still there? How was it?
Let's
do it again. Check your shoulders – they'll be loose, like
your fingers and toes. This keeps
your jaw relaxed
so that your mouth can be a bit open underwater.
This part really matters, by the way. Clenched
teeth, clenched swimmer. But not for
you!
Your breath will take 5 seconds or so to bubble out, no more.
See you in a few...
How was it this time? And how do you feel?
You've
come far already. I give you a lot of credit,
and you'll improve with every practice.
So go ahead, repeat, repeat.
I'll be waiting for you while you do some more dips in the pool.
(Meanwhile, I couldn't help noticing that last piece of cheesecake
in your fridge...)
Back
again. So.
At this point you've put your mouth and nose and a bit of your face
in water while holding your breath.
With your mouth relaxed, you bubbled your breath out your mouth
and nose, then came up. You fish!
Excellent work, my friend.
Not so fast!
There's
a final item on the list left to learn before you outgrow that little
bitty pool you're using. Firstly, though, be honest with yourself
and be sure your breathing has been smooth and relaxed.
It never is at first; everyone needs to practice this.
All your future pool moves depend on your relaxed breathing, and
you're not about to shortchange yourself now.
If
you want to practice a bit more before we move on, I'll wait, don't
worry. (Though your fridge looks kind of empty. But I'm the forgiving
type.)
If you feel good and loose, then everyone back in the pool!
(You might want to refill it with warmer water by now.)
Let's not keep lifting your face out of the pool for your air.
Coordinate your breathing
Time
to get your air like the swimmers do.
Your pool should be wide enough for your face and then some. We're
going to coordinate our breathing.
- Start by taking a breath and dipping your nose and mouth into the pool.
- As you exhale, s l o w l y turn your head and neck to one side, rolling your mouth out of the water. Your ear will be submerged.
-
S l o w l y exhale through your mouth and nose as you roll out of the water.
- Inhale
while your mouth is out of the water.
Begin s l o w l y bubbling a little out your nose, even before touching the water again.
- Slowly continue rolling your face back into the water, facing down, bubbling, bubbling.
-
Roll your face back out of the water, exhaling.
Let's do that again.
Try doing the whole cycle of exhale-head roll up-inhale-head roll down steadily and slowly without stopping.
Can you see how a too-big breath will toy with your timing?
You'll be continuously rolling your head to get air, rolling to exhale it, and so on.
Try it, try it.
And don't forget to relax, OK? You learned to walk once, and that took practice, too.
So, here we are! If you haven't noticed, this is momentous, yes?
You have looked that little pool in the eye and gone right in.
Water is water, and you learned a big part of handling it here.
Swimming is based on the same breathing, with the right gear, in a larger pool.
Don't believe me? See for yourself!
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