The most common complaint in relation to breathing in backstroke is that water spills over the face and gets up the nose, causing discomfort and disruption to the stroke. How does this happen when the face is resting on the surface out of the water? It usually occurs at the point when the arm goes back into the water. At this point the head tilts backwards, following the trajectory of the arm, and water rushes over the face and into the nostrils. The main reason is that the upper body is not sufficiently free and relaxed for the arms and shoulders to act independently of the head and neck muscles. Even so, there’s no need to inhale water – it’s quite possible to retain a vacuum in the nostrils or to blow out through them. Spluttering is invariably caused by alarm, which causes the swimmer to sniff in water involuntarily.

When backstrokers become fatigued and breathless, it’s often because they are tightening their neck and abdominal muscles as an unconscious reaction to the anxiety that their faces might become submerged. It’s as if they are using their muscles to try to hold themselves up above the surface. The overall tightness of the muscular system prevents the free movement of the ribs and diaphragm, causing the breath to become jerky and uneven. The tensed or fixed body position makes both breathing and floating harder.

By attending to orientation on our back and thereby encouraging the release of such tensions, a virtuous cycle can emerge. We can gain greater trust in our body’s buoyancy in the water. This results in greater freedom to move our arms and shoulders independently of the muscles of our head and neck. In turn we acquire increased confidence about being able to breathe when swimming on our back. In this way, we can discover the ability simply to float on our back without anxiety, as well as how to propel ourselves backwards with ease and pleasure.

It follows from this that a relaxed pattern of breathing in the backstroke emerges as a consequence of attention to use. But equally, attention to breathing may itself bring about more relaxed orientation and enable the mastery of this challenging stroke.

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A central concept of the Alexander Technique (AT) is the primary control – the relationship between the head, neck and back in governing the overall use and functioning of the body. The relation of the head to the rest of the body is crucial to establishing poise and freedom of movement, because of its effect on the contraction and extension of the spinal column, the muscles of the neck and upper body – and through these on the rib-cage, breathing apparatus, and our whole musculoskeletal structure. This relationship is truly dynamic: virtually every movement we make involves a change in it. At the heart of the AT is the concept that we can replace unconscious alterations to this balance, which work to our detriment, with conscious adjustments that work in favor of helping us to function efficiently. The habitual response of pulling the head backwards and down is prevented by conscious decision. In its place, at every opportunity, we can discover a more natural and healthy response which allows for lengthening and widening throughout the body.

In the water, even a small re-alignment of the head and neck can have a dramatic effect on the balance and orientation of the body. Because of the body’s horizontal position, the head acts as an important counterweight and agent of balance. In particular, when the head is pulled back in the prone (face-down) strokes, it alters the balance of the whole body so that the hips begin to sink. When swimming on our backs, the same result is achieved by bringing the head forward and up.

Swimmers who concentrate on propulsion through the water commonly focus on their arms and legs, paying insufficient attention to the use of the whole body. As a result, the majority of swimmers have little awareness of how their head is moving relative to the rest of their body when they swim. Many swimming manuals lay stress on ‘body position’ as an important aspect of swimming technique. However, this can imply an over-rigid positioning of one’s head relative to the rest of the body, which militates against good use in the water. It’s not body position, but a forward-and-upward direction and a dynamic balance of one’s whole physical structure that are all-important.

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While we live, we breathe. The regular rhythm of respiration continues without cease every minute of our lives. To recall the Zen saying quoted life hinges on breathing. Awareness of our breathing is useful because it is always an aspect of the present moment, and awareness of ourselves in the present is the basis of the Alexander Technique (AT). It makes sense for anyone seeking to learn the art of swimming to give detailed attention to the mechanism and rhythms of breathing, and to apply this understanding intelligently to developing effective patterns of breathing when water-borne. Conversely, paying attention to the requirements of respiration in the water can enlighten us to a new awareness of its function and effect in our daily lives.

We have emphasized that, for the AT, good breathing is essentially a function of good use. So long as we are well oriented, with both our mind and musculoskeletal system in a state of harmonious balance, we are in the optimum condition to breathe comfortably and fluently. It’s clear that poor breathing habits in daily life can present an obstacle to developing good breathing patterns in the water. But it has also been shown that there are some significant differences about breathing when we swim, which we need to appreciate and incorporate into the way we swim at all levels. In the art of swimming, breathing is itself an art which requires understanding and practice.

Fear and anxiety interact in both obvious and subtle ways with the process of breathing, whether in or out of the water. When we’re afraid, we tend to breathe differently, and when our breathing is disturbed, so is our mental equilibrium. The fundamental fear for the anxious swimmer – that of swallowing and inhaling water – can be greatly reduced by familiarity in practice with the mechanism of the oral seal. This is rarely described in the detail that we have gone into here, mainly because most experienced swimmers and swimming teachers take its operation for granted.

An easy and balanced pattern of breathing is the key to our awareness of the here and now. For those who enjoy swimming, the regular inflow and outflow of breath has both a calming and a revitalizing power, complementing the beneficial effects of the dive instinct. The combination of the unique properties of water with the principles of graceful movement, woven together into a web of sensuous elegance shaped by the ever-present rhythm of the breath, can be a meditative and magical experience. It takes us beyond the pursuit of fitness and everyday concerns into a realm of harmonious sensation and artistic grace.

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What is the Alexander Technique (AT)? Although it is becoming more widely known and practiced, its essence is often misunderstood. It’s not a form of relaxation treatment, massage, or a set of exercises designed to correct bad posture -although it is often used to reduce stress and improve poise. The Technique is primarily a method for teaching us to develop conscious control over a particular set of reactions, which are seen as the source of unproductive habits. The fundamental tendency is to pull the head back and down, either in response to an unpleasant stimulus, or simply because the movement has become an unconscious habit. The effect of this movement is to set in train a series of involuntary and unhelpful patterns of behavior. Automatic physical reactions, with potentially negative effects on both mind and body, are not normally under our conscious control. They are habits into which we fall without thinking, unwittingly developed as a result of pressures imposed on us from infancy. They develop into a tendency to react to situations in ways over which we exercise limited conscious choice.

The Alexander Technique teaches us to re-assert effective command over the way we think and act. It starts by making us aware of how a balanced relationship between the head and back can have an important influence on the body as a whole. It gives us a means of intervening to inhibit the actions that disturb this balance, and so provides a foundation for us to prevent the unhelpful patterns which arise in consequence. It has been described as ‘unlearning the habits of a lifetime’, habits which perpetuate an unhealthy fragmentation of the self. We invariably go wrong when we divorce our mental processes from our physical being. The AT is a practical method for putting us back in touch with our bodies, and thereby bringing about a psycho -physical re-integration, which is particularly helpful in overcoming habits that impede the development of new skills. These principles are applicable to diverse activities in daily life: the AT is used in areas ranging from acting, riding, and golf to learning to play musical instruments and giving birth. The beneficial effects of the AT are widely recognized, and it is recommended by doctors and physical therapists as a method of alleviating a range of common ailments from stress to back pain.

Not only are unconscious habits an obstacle to mastering any creative activity, but they get in the way of enjoying the experience to the full. This is as true for swimming as for any other activity. Swimming can easily become boring if you plough through the water automatically, without any sense of development and exploration. Incorporating the AT brings the whole process to life. By opening ourselves to greater awareness through practicing the Technique, we can discover in swimming a tremendous opportunity for continuing development and endless self-exploration. While AT phraseology sometimes reflects the Victorian era in which the Technique originated, the principles of the Technique have enduring and far-reaching implications for the art of swimming.

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High-speed travel and electronic media dominate our lives and continue to proliferate into the 21st century. They have led to a huge increase in sedentary occupations and have diminished active physical involvement with our environment. Nowadays we no longer need to use our bodies in the way our ancestors did. Alongside technology’s undoubted potential for liberation, the achievements of the hi-tech age offer constant inducements to physical and mental laziness. In the wake of explosive technological growth, the lives of individuals are progressively alienated from activities which require a balanced use of the whole self. Our way of living and working encourages physical inactivity. As a result, the lack of adequate, regular exercise has become a major cause of disease and ill-health in the modern world.

Even when we exercise we want machines to work for us. Technology so permeates our lives that we have come to associate fitness with the latest electronic exercise equipment. Fitness has become a fashionable commodity. Commercial organizations and the media continually reinforce the imperative: thou shalt be fit. We are made to feel ashamed for not being fit or not taking enough exercise. As a result, more people than ever work out, jog, cycle, swim, and indulge in other forms of exercise with fitness as their stated goal. The craze to become – or at least to appear – fit has led to a growing incidence of anorexic emaciation, spinal injuries, steroid abuse, and strained muscles.

On the other hand, many people still resist the pressure to get fit. They actively avoid exercise because it feels like a strenuous, uncomfortable, and tedious way of spending time, despite the insistent reminders that it can make a vital contribution to their health and quality of life. After all, there is clear evidence that regular aerobic exercise reduces the risks of coronaries, strokes and heart disease. It enhances cardiovascular efficiency and encourages fuller breathing, helping to regulate blood pressure and reduce stress. Better breathing and circulation boost mental functioning and hormones such as the endorphins which are stimulated by vigorous activity, have a revitalizing effect on the whole system. For most people, regular exercise brings about a significant increase in energy and vitality. As long as it is performed in an intelligent manner, exercise undoubtedly has the potential to promote health, longevity, and a sense of well-being.

But how intelligent are we about exercising? Surrounded by noise and haste, we tend to match extreme situations with extreme responses. When we feel we have gone wrong, we seek to redress the balance with something equally wrong. In the face of ill-health caused by inactive life-styles, our characteristically unbalanced response is to pursue a dubious ideal of fitness. So on the one hand there is unhealthy inactivity, on the other all the absurdities of the latest fitness craze. When we launch into activity, we too often adopt a second-hand, thinly considered approach which denies a whole spectrum of possibilities for balanced change. This pattern of response is what Alexander was thinking of when he made his paradoxical-sounding remark that ‘the opposite of wrong is wrong.’

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