breathing during freefall

when i did my first tandem i knew i loved what i was doing but i could'nt breathe because of the wind in my face. I was a static line student so i got a bunch of jumps before making it to 30 second delays and having to deploy early because i could'nt breathe. I had to repeat a bunch of my student jumps because i could'nt concentrate on what i was supposed to be doing during the jump. I have since bought a full face helmet and finished up my student status. I think it is just like being clausterphobic or something like that. I even went as far as buying a motorcycle to try to cure myself of this and just found a new hobby and adrenaline fix. But it still did'nt help, i still have to have a fullface even with the bike. If anyone has any helpful info i would love to hear it?

You may want to talk to your Local Sand TA about an oxygen absorbtion clinic. With a little practice you will just be able to absorb the oxygen you need without having to worry about fogging up your full face helmet.

Seriously.. just realx... take some deep breaths in the airplane... and forget about it.. just breathe... you have been doing it all your life. RELAX

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You may want to talk to your Local Sand TA about an oxygen absorbtion clinic. With a little practice you will just be able to absorb the oxygen you need without having to worry about fogging up your full face helmet.

Seriously.. just realx... take some deep breaths in the airplane... and forget about it.. just breathe... you have been doing it all your life. RELAX

You are a sick puppy. You know they don't have oxygen absorbtion classes in Tenn.
Sparky

i was at the mardi gras boogie with you.... nice to meet you again. I was the guy who needed 1 jump to finish my A license.

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You are a sick puppy.

Is this a new realization on your part.. I specialize in it

he stole my spelling

Sounds like you're just nervous. You should have 0 problems breathing -- just relax before exit, take a deep breath -- and breathe like normal throughout freefall. It's possible you're just thinking too much. Skydiving is too much fun to have so much anxiety

What you are experiencing is fairly common phenomenon. You are experiencing a panic reaction. You might not think you are panicking, but you are. This has nothing to do with the wind speed or the lack of a helmet. It is the result of being aware that you are doing something that your instinct tells you not to do. Our instinct tells us not to jump from high places, we do it anyway. Some times the brain doesn't know how to process all that so it goes into panic mode. This can be overcome by repetition and relaxation. The more experience you get, the more you be able to relax and become accustomed to the freefall environment. Just get as much exposure to it as you can. Over time, if you stick with it, you can get used to it.

I did my A in Eloy in January, and coming from Static lines to freefall for the first time, also had this panic reaction. On my third level ASP, I learnt that it all works much better if you breathe. You CAN breathe in freefall, but to understand how much better it is when you DO breathe, you need to conciously THINK about it. When I was learning fast fall (by pure accident, I am a slow faller and gave my coach a little too much time before I followed him out of the door), I just thought about taking a big relaxing breath and fell down to him really fast. (didn't even realise I had done it, thought he had "come up" to me!!)

I recently was having panic attacks (in the real world on terra firma) before going to a job interview and the thought about doing a jump to calm myself down. My philosophy was that the anticipation is worse than the actual action of doing something, so visualised myself jumping out of a plane...the only problem with this was that the relaxed feeling I got (and the breathing relief) only lasted about 5 minutes (talk about muscle memory, I need to find something else to visualise to relax myself that will last longer!)

Also YOGA is great to teach you breathing techniques. Trust me, when you have done it once, and realise how much more fun and easier it is, it will come naturally.

Oh and don't forget to SMILE!! It helps too

Just relax. I always thought that it would be a prblem for me but staying relaxed is key. I do and it helps me breathe. Well at least I think I am breathing. Not fully sure since I am still concentrating so much on turning a point and remembering my left turns from my right ones which I screw up regularly. :-)

You didn't tell him about the clouds.

I started out exactly as you did.........3 tandems then into static line.......my biggest fear was being able t o breath.......my 1st tandem I could not breath at all.........my second tandem was training....I could not breath and pulled at 7k.......I wanted to quit skydiving.....thank god I lived on a dropzone and people worked with me.....

all the jumpers told me as soon as I quit WORRYING about breathing it would come natural....and it did.............I am finishing up my progression in Aff.....jumped from 14,000 feet here in florida.......and breathing has never been a issue for me anymore......

On the ground I lay down on the bench and relax my whole body........in the plane I go through my gear checks and the dive flow.......once i quit thinking about breathing I was able to breath.......

I have never used a full face helmet yet.....I am actually afraid too.........I don't think I will like the feeling of something over my face.......

just relax........on the ground and in the plane.....think of everything BUT breathing.......

good luck

skygirl1

Sounds like you are very in tune with your body.

There is no reason you shouldn't be able to breathe normally in freefall. However, remembering to breathe is another story. You hear coaches saying to students all the time "Remember, breathe!"

Cudos that you are noticing it on your own. Take three deep breaths before exit... perhaps even use these deep breaths as an exit count with a partner. Above all, relax.

Nick

I had a tnedency not to breathe although not as bad as you describe. One thing that helped me was to breathe everytime I look at my altimeter. It was my coaches advice and it worked like a charm.

Now I breathe normally and have no problems.

My last tandem instructor told me just me to blow out like you are blowing out the candles on a birthday cake - did it once and never had a prob again. Yep, it's about remembering to breathe!

Good luck!!!

I had the same problem on my first tandem and AFF jumps. It turned out I would hold my breath on the exit and actually forget to breath. Now I take a very deliberate deep breath and exhale every time I get in the door - this helps a lot. Any time I feel like I can't breath in freefall is because I'm not breathing. Just relax!

I am a doctor and what it sounds like is that you need to get your di-hydrogen monoxide levels checked. If they are too high you can make some simple changes in your diet.

But first relax.

I make a point every jump to see if I breathe in freefall, but I keep forgetting to remember....what was I talking about? I get a tight chest at about 12,000 I think it is a combo of adrenaline and thin air. I close my eyes take deep breaths, do prcp's and think about the dive.

I once saw a static line student pinch her nose on release of the strut, as if jumping into water!

Wind tunnels can help you with this. It's completely psychological. You see the same thing sometimes in wind tunnels - students think they can't breathe, but they are breathing. I assure you that you did breath on your AFF jump - at least a few times

It's all about relaxing.

Breathe control is very important for experienced jumpers, too! For example if you are trying to dock but you are too high, exhaling all the air from your lungs can help you sink down to the other person. Likewise, if you are too low, taking a big breathe of air and holding it can help you float up...

...oh wait, maybe I'm thinking of another sport...

It's gotta be nerves. I had the same thing going for me on my first tandem, then I think I just started breathing fine after that.

Have not ever had trouble breathing in freefall. I believe what they are telling you is true, you need to relax.

thanks everyone for the info. i am relaxed during freefall, i know i only have 33 jumps but even on a motorcycle i can't breath with wind in my face. i can walk up to an air conditioner and put my face infront of the vents and have the same problem. it is really beginning to piss me off... lol