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Underwater Breathing Manual
Appendix A: Tips & Techniques

Throughout this manual, we’ve tried to establish the strengths and weaknesses of your new life with Selective Aquatic Breath. If you have not read the earlier sections of this manual, we highly recommend you do so before referencing these appendices. There are a great deal of safety requirements, best practices, health information and other relevant details that may be referenced in the appendices without being explained. It will help to read the appendices with the full knowledge of the manual’s earlier sections.

This first appendix was included after earlier versions of the manual focused on the medical procedure itself and its related health information. After feedback from people just like you, we decided to expand the latest edition of the manual to include some real-world tips on the best way to adjust to your new life with Selective Aquatic Breath. Below are a collection of tips, techniques, tricks, notes, and advice that we have compiled from interviews with former patients.

– DO NOT PRACTICE ALONE – This is listed in many parts of this manual, but it cannot be stressed enough. Filter-breathing when underwater is not your body’s natural inclination. All of our patients require time to adapt after the procedure. It is critical that you have a spotter to help. There’s no nice way to put it – you’re going to gulp your fair share of water in the early going. That’s normal, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of or frustrated by. Having a friend help will protect you from the worst while providing much needed support and encouragement as you learn.

– Start slow. Bathtubs (soap-free) are the typical beginner test platform. Start by taking a few breaths through your filters, then surface to take normal breaths. Once you feel comfortable, try staying under to filter-breathe for 30 seconds before surfacing. The trick to this basic form of practice is to understand how to control the toggle between normal breathing and filter breathing. Identifying the subtle differentiations is paramount to reliably filter-breathing when submerged.

– No Pools! Chlorine is incredibly corrosive. Your filter will suffer tremendous damage should you routinely use your SAB in a pool. Our procedure’s filter technology is designed with saltwater use in mind (also corrosive, but much less so than chlorine, at least to our filters). While fresh water is the ideal filter-breathing medium, your filter should easily reach its 10-year limit with some use in salt water. It will not make it anywhere near that length when used more than sparingly in chlorine-rich pools.

– Proving Grounds. There are societies that our patients have established to provide a safe, fun environment for those who have undergone the SAB procedure. They have adapted the moniker Proving Grounds, based on the original group which was established by our very first patient. You can find a list of our favorites in Appendix C, but that list is by no means comprehensive. And as more and more people undergo the procedure, more and more societies will spring up in time. We recommend contacting a few, speaking to their organizers, and testing out which group fits your lifestyle. Those listed in this manual are known for appealing to filter-breathers of all skill levels, but there are plenty that appeal to specifically to beginners, intermediates or experts.

– Activities. Once you’ve advanced beyond the beginning phase to a level where filter-breathing feels second-nature when submerged, we highly recommend finding activities to continue the development of your SAB ability. Some activities can be relaxing, such as floating on a lake or down a lazy river on a warm summer day (Pennsylvania has at least 3 sites that pair on-water tubing with underwater suspension so all your friends can participate in a day of water activities). For more active types, surfing is hugely popular. Two of our Community Ambassadors were born and raised on Oahu just a few miles from our facility. They surf every morning before work. Their experience with surfing has been vastly improved by eliminating the danger of drowning.

– Have fun! You’ve elected to have our world-renowned procedure to give yourself Selective Aquatic Breath. You did not do this to make your morning soak a little less dangerous. You did it to open up an entire new world. You should explore as much as possible. See what lies at the bottom of your local river. Take a surfing lesson. Dive on a reef on your next tropical vacation. You have a whole new world to discover. And once you have, tell us – Maybe your tips will appear on this very page in the next edition!

SAB Clinic and Surgical Center
Oahu, HI
© 2015