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Surfer’s Back: Is Having ‘Good Posture’ All It’s Cracked Up to Be?
![Just like a pumping day at your local, James Nestor’s 2020 bestseller Breath, The New Science of a Lost Art offers wave after wave of surprising insights about one of our most basic, and often overlooked, biological functions. No spoilers here, but Nestor’s investigative journalism takes us from exploration of ancient Eastern cultures who’ve practiced effective breathing techniques for thousands of years to practices like Sudershan Kriya, Pranayama, Tummo Breathing and more. On the way, Nestor argues that changing the way we breathe can fight infection, improve the health of internal organs, stop asthma, allergies and snoring and sleep apnea, and “jump start athletic performance.” As I finished Breath, I couldn’t stop thinking about how all of this applies to surfing, especially since Nestor is an avid surfer whose home break is Ocean Beach, San Francisco. When I spoke to him, the author, who has written for the New York Times, Scientific American, Surfer’s Journal and many others, immediately made it clear that nasal breathing, as opposed to the mouth breathing many of us rely on, can help surfers of all levels in two major ways. First, think back to the last tough paddle out you endured. Did you find yourself panting out of your mouth when you finally made it out the back? When paddling, Nestor recommended, "focusing on only nasal breaths.” Why? “You want your breathing to be steady and normal, and you want to use oxygen efficiently,” he explained. Our noses act as a buffer to control the amount of air we can take in and take out, allowing us to extract much more oxygen and maintain healthier levels of carbon dioxide, which allows for better circulation. Nasal breathing also helps lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve brain function and calm the entire body down. When surfers see a huge set on the horizon and paddle to outrace it, many breathe rapidly through their mouths and into their chests, and these shallow breaths are inefficient. The key is to resist the urge to take in as many rushed, shallow breaths as you can, but “instead take fewer, longer breaths.” “If you feel like you’re not getting enough, it’s bullshit,” he said with a laugh. “You just need to train yourself to breathe deeper.” Slower nasal breathing not only brings in more oxygen; it also releases less water, so you don’t start dreaming of your favorite Gatorade flavor before your first wave. There is a flip side to this idea of slow, even breathing as a key for improving surf fitness. I asked Nestor about pro surfers like Slater and Hamilton doing Wim Hof breathing before surfing, and how these practices fit into his theories. “The first three to four minutes of any cardio is miserable, right?” Nestor asked. “The reason,” he explained, “is that your heart rate and blood circulation hasn’t caught up with your athletic performance.” Therefore, “breathing up” before a session “gets your heart rate up, gets your circulation going, and starts delivering oxygen to all those hungry cells.” Nestor offered that surfers can get creative and make up their own breathing exercises as long as they capture the spirit of Wim Hof preparation, which should produce slower breathing, more energy, and less stress on the paddle out. Nestor advised that the next time I paddle out, I take “about 30” deep, quick, purposeful breaths before charging. “Then let it out, keep your lungs un-inflated for as long as you can, take one deep final breath, hold it. Release, and then try paddling out." Not to get into the weeds here, but the reason for the hold is that holding your breath causes carbon dioxide levels to rise, and when this happens, blood vessels dilate and the oxygen in our red blood cells disconnects and feeds our cells. Conversely, when we suddenly leap into the water without adjusting to the rate of exercise, our heart rate goes up and we don’t absorb as much oxygen, and this slows circulation and blood flow to the brain. We also talked about how Nestor’s research relates to hold downs. Whereas big wave surfers like Hamilton have their breath work down pat, Nestor and I agreed that while we don’t see many surfers in the lineup nasal breathing, we do see a lot of wave riders sucking wind, and that carries over to being held down or caught inside. “If you see a hold down coming, and you have time, then I would suggest you take three huge breaths — you can exhale through the mouth — and on the final one, go all the way up and let out about 20 percent of that breath, so you’re holding at a capacity of about 75-80 percent,” he suggested. If you hold “too much pressure in the lungs you’re sending your body stress signals,” and less air is “better for your musculature and lung capacity” when in this situation. Now, if you’re up, riding a wave and you’re suddenly headed for a beatdown, Nestor advised to “take whatever breath you can before you fall,” adding that when a surfer becomes tense or panics, they’re already using more oxygen. I’ve tried taking slow nasal breaths while surfing and jogging, and I can attest to the fact that at first, it feels counterintuitive. While abruptly switching to nasal breathing during high-intensity exercise like surfing will be challenging for most, surfers should work towards making nasal breathing their default setting. On a day where the waves are small to medium-sized, try “focusing on nasal breaths,” Nestor volunteered; but on a bigger, more critical day, don’t “freak out” if you mix in a few mouth breaths, or have to play around with technique. “Even breathing with pursed lips,” he added, “calms your heart rate.” According to the author, the “perfect breath,” is about 5.5 seconds in and 5.5 seconds out. I told Nestor that I struggle most with the elongated exhalation in this process and he suggested what he called a “goofy trick”: “Take a big breath in and count from 1-10. When you’re almost out of breath you whisper it, [and] go to the limit.” He simulated this trick over the phone and by the end his voice had faded to a raspy whisper, every bit of air released. The author also suggested counting steps to parse out breaths, which he does at the airport — about six steps per breath. While the numbers may vary for individuals, “if it’s a little uncomfortable, that’s where you want it.” When I asked Nestor if there was a “perfect breath” when it came to surfing, he took me back to the basics. “All normal breathing,” he said, “starts with the same foundation, whether you have emphysema or you’re a big wave surfer, and 95 percent of the population doesn’t have this skill right now.” Embracing breathing adjustments benefits not just surfers, but everyone. “You can tailor your technique to suit yourself,” and it all depends on your goals, fitness levels and the waves you want to ride. “If you’re really charging,” Nestor said, and threw out the example of surfing Black’s with an eight-foot gun on a big winter day, “you need to pay attention to your breathing. And if you don’t have these practices in your back pocket, you should start focusing on them.”](https://staging.theinertia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/breathe.jpg)
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