Learn to Breath with Ease in the Water While Swimming

The principles of breathing are extremely important and show that the subject merits far greater consideration, particularly in relation to swimming, than is usually given. In the water, of course, the test of effective breathing is to be able to swim without worrying about it at all. It should feel as if an easy and regular breathing rhythm is integral to the stroke and does not demand any particular effort. Rather like driving a car or accomplishing any co-ordination skill, the initial attention to detail gives way to a greater familiarity with the process that puts all the various aspects of the activity into perspective. The Alexander Technique (AT) encourages a flexible approach that allows us to discover what may be appropriate to any situation or activity. In particular, the fact that exhalation in the water requires more force than inhalation is something that needs to be explored in practice.

Ironically, the very effort of focusing intently on breathing can lead to counter productive tension. In this respect it's worth remembering the lessons of non-doing and redirection. By thinking of eliminating the ways in which we interfere with effective action, rather than by trying to act correctly, we can allow our attention to be redirected so that automatic habits are not constantly repeated. Attending to the experience of being in the water, rather than trying to control the actual process of breathing, is an example of such redirection. These can be particularly useful for beginners or for swimmers seeking to overcome the anxiety about their faces being immersed in the water. Redirection can be beneficial in any learning activity. A Russian proverb says 'We learn to skate in the summer and to swim in the winter'. The meaning is that the real learning takes place when we are not concentrating on it. This principle is similar to the AT principle of 'letting go of the wrong so that the right can emerge', and can be incorporated with benefit into all learning and 'self-instruction.

Do you worry about breathing out when your face is under water? Instead of worrying about breathing, focus on the orientation of your body. Explore the sensation of a streamlined glide with your face in the water. This is a most effective way of helping swimmers to overcome inhibitions about breathing out into the water. By redirecting your attention, you get used to your face being immersed almost without realizing it. From there it's a short step to enjoying the sensation of plunging your face into the water. Then, you can explore different ways of breathing out strongly into the water and coming up rhythmically to inhale. Discover your own rhythms in the different strokes. Do you find it more comfortable to breathe out after every cycle (two arm-actions) of the crawl, or after two cycles?

Swimmers sometimes find that the problem is not so much at the point of putting the face in the water as when the time comes to bring it out. At that point, many swimmers behave as if their head were submerged meters below the surface. Not surprisingly, then, they experience a sense of haste and panic about bringing it out. Snatching the head out of the water often leads to a premature inhalation, usually combined with gulping in an excessive amount of air. Both these actions can cause water to be sucked in to the lungs, with all the attendant discomfort.

It's important not to rush the inhalation in any stroke, but first to let the water around the mouth and nose run away or be expelled by the lips and nostrils. This short hesitation is not the same as holding the breath, but is a considered, preparatory maneuver before breathing in. It provides a space, a split second is enough - in which the necessary mental and physical preparation for the action of inhaling can take place.

Even when the face is submerged, some swimmers exhibit their lack of confidence by breathing out in a jerky or intermittent manner, instead of making a strong, consistent outward exhalation. Because of an automatic tendency to compensate for out-breaths with equivalent in-breaths, such a practice can lead to the uncontrolled intake of water. To prevent the potential for mishap, exhalation into the water should be practiced so that it is unhurried, even and sustained. This can circumvent a whole range of breathing difficulties. Some swimmers reason that because their nostrils are situated higher than their mouth, it is easier to breathe in through the nose and blow out through the mouth. Outside the water, we tend to breathe in through the nose and out through both nose and mouth. But when swimming, however we choose to breathe out, if we're worried about water getting to the windpipe it's advisable to practice breathing in through the mouth.

Different factors interfere with easy breathing in the water. At an advanced level, for example, trying too hard to swim fast can produce a lot of tension which has a direct effect on breathing. For instance, the hunched, narrowed shoulders that characterize the competitive model of the breaststroker at the point of inhalation reduces the potential area available for intake of air, making it harder to take a full breath without effort. A stiff, tense body also impedes comfortable breathing and restricts our ability both to float and to move through the water. The rigid use of limbs and general muscular tension actually encourages us to hold our breath rather than let it flow freely. Some coaches and swimmers take breath-holding to extremes and justify practices that have little bearing on swimming as an art.

Competitive swimming techniques include the practice of deliberately starving the body of oxygen - so-called hypoxic training - in the belief that it magnifies the effects of strenuous activity and is therefore a more intensive method. Whatever results this practice is alleged to achieve, it is undoubtedly prejudicial to both health and enjoyment. Holding the breath for extended periods of vigorous activity - whether with full or empty lungs - puts the body under considerable and unnecessary strain. It may marginally improve the racing speed of the sprint-swimmer, but risks damaging his or her lungs and ability to breathe with ease in or out of the water.