I have always breathed to the right only, but recently have started to try to learn how to breathe to my left. I am finding it much more difficult than I had anticipated. The main reason:
I am out of breath the whole time.
I feel like I am not getting the same quality of breath as I do when I breathe to the right. My breathing feels short and choppy. I also feel like I am lifting my head to breathe instead of breathing with my body roll.
Worse still, I am now dropping my right elbow and I am so out of breath the whole time, I can hardly concentrate on trying to keep it up.
On the positive side, my left elbow position has improved considerably (which is why I started down this road in the first place) and my kick is being forced to improve. (I have always had a crossover kick and for some reason or other when I breathe to my left, I don't do it).
Two weeks into the change now and it is definitely feeling more natural, however, I was hoping others who have tried this could give me some advice on what to watch out for and maybe give me some tips on how to make it feel more natural.
Glad you enjoyed it! One of the benefits you can get from the single arm drill is increasing your comfort with bilateral breathing, so I would recommend practicing that drill without the snorkel. You'll increase the strength of your core and your rotational ability in the process, which is an added bonus. Also, you don't necessarily have to practice left-side breathing at all times during your workouts....you just need to try to establish one or more breathing patterns that incorporate both sides in order to maintain consistency in bilateral breathing. Good luck!
Glad you enjoyed it! One of the benefits you can get from the single arm drill is increasing your comfort with bilateral breathing, so I would recommend practicing that drill without the snorkel. You'll increase the strength of your core and your rotational ability in the process, which is an added bonus. Also, you don't necessarily have to practice left-side breathing at all times during your workouts....you just need to try to establish one or more breathing patterns that incorporate both sides in order to maintain consistency in bilateral breathing. Good luck!
