DATES:
23 & 24 NOVEMBER
Theory:
23 NOV, Saturday
3:00-5:00pm
Crossfit Prolific, Merewether
Pool sessions:
24 NOV, Sunday
3:00-5:00pm
Newcastle Aquatic Physiotherapy, Jesmond
SURF APNEA &
OCEAN CONFIDENCE
Workshop & training
A stress and breath control course designed for
Surfers, Swimmers, SLS and Spear fishing
and all High PERFORMERS in & out of the water
Train at the edge of discomfort,
build resilience in and out of the ocean
LEARN TO STAY CALM AND IN CONTROL
Imagine this:
You are paddling out and find yourself in the break zone as a big set rolls in. You can feel your heart pounding. You successfully duck dive the first wave. It feels like you are under water for five minutes. You come up and gasp a too small breath in. You have a few seconds before the next wave is on top of you and there are two more after that.
Or
You spend months working on a Board paper for a project that will impact your career, it is the morning of your presentation and you can't breathe. Your heart is racing, it feels like someone is sitting on your chest. And worse, you cannot seem to string a coherent sentence together.
These are not uncommon situations for all high performers. Not being able to breathe elicit powerful physiological and psychological stress responses.
The Surf Apnea & Ocean Confidence workshop is designed to teach various stress control tools to enable anyone to better manage their physical and emotional response when the stakes are high.
What you will learn:
-
Anatomy of breathing mechanics
-
Gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
-
The role of carbon dioxide
-
Urge to breathe
-
The breath hold journey
-
Dive reflex
-
Breathing techniques for land and water
-
Relaxation techniques for the breath hold journey
-
Relaxation techniques for recovery
-
Relaxation techniques for stress and down regulation
-
Oxygen Advantage training methods
-
Static Apnea training methods
-
Dynamic Apnea training methods
-
Increase breath hold capacity
-
Safety in the water
-
Rescue drills
-
Cold exposure: why, when, how.
The theory and practical exercises are based on Surf Apnea and Oxygen Advantage principles which draws on research and knowledge from various modalities, including high altitude adaptation simulation exercises, principles and lessons from the free-diving community, surfing and water rescue protocols.
You will receive essential theory and practical experience for dealing with surf hold downs and tumbles in waves. Understanding the stress processes what the body and mind go through when stressed - particularly under water - will help you navigate future situations with ease.
It is essential to develop the ability and confidence to hold your breath for the duration of the hold down.
The Workshop
This workshop is designed over 2 days: one theory session and a pool session the following day. The theory and land-based exercises are covered in a 2-hour session on the Saturday afternoon. The 2 hour pool session will be held on the next day (Sunday). Optional pool training sessions are scheduled for the next 3 Sundays.
The pool sessions cover safety and rescue protocols, static breath holding, dynamic breath holding, surf hold-down simulations and games. The opportunity to learn and practice techniques over 4 sessions will increase the learning and adaptation required to negotiate wipe outs, breath holds and hold downs.
The course is suitable for anyone with a reasonable swimming ability (200m unassisted). The pool is a perfect place to experience the same stress responses that you encounter in other environments. And it is safe, you are always in control. Better awareness of how and why your body responds to unexpected events will equip you to deal with any stressful situation calmer. A calmer state of mind will lead to better decision making during intense situations.
You will learn to:
-
Hold your breath longer
-
The breath hold journey
-
Recognise the physiological response to stress and fear
-
Improve your psychological reaction:
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less anxiety, panic and emotional stress
-
-
Improve decision making:
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recognise the stress signals
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take top-down control to ACT and not REACT
-
Not just for surfers
Breath training can benefit everybody from high level CrossFit athletes, weekend triathletes, recreational runners to executives dealing with stakeholders, public speakers and people suffering from anxiety and sleep problems.
The land and water based protocols covered can be applied to real life conditions. Fear and stress management is a skill that is very applicable in professional business environment. The content covered in this workshop can be contextualised to meet specific needs.
The workshop is suitable to anybody from beginner to elite level sport. Anyone who wants to improve their day-to-day breathing, enhance recovery, improve performance or stress management and of course increase their breath hold.
The workshop starts in the class room. The relevant aspects of respiratory anatomy and physiology is covered without overloading on unnecessary information. The psychology of breath holding as experienced in ocean conditions is explained and complimented with practical drills. Land based breathing drills will be used to prepare for the pool sessions.
A rising sense of anxiety is the biggest threat to cognitive performance and making good decisions - whether this is in the surf or in a business meeting. This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and training to increase your confidence in your ability to deal with high heart rate situations.
What you will learn:
-
Anatomy of breathing mechanics
-
Gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
-
The role of carbon dioxide
-
Urge to breathe
-
The breath hold journey
-
Dive reflex
-
Breathing techniques for land and water
-
Relaxation techniques for the breath hold journey
-
Relaxation techniques for recovery
-
Relaxation techniques for stress and down regulation
-
Oxygen Advantage training methods
-
Static Apnea training methods
-
Dynamic Apnea training methods
-
Increase breath hold capacity
-
Safety in the water
-
Rescue drills
-
Cold exposure: why, when, how.
Surf hold-downs are a challenge for beginners and experienced athletes. By simulating the surf conditions in the safety of a swimming pool, participants are able the learn what happens on a physical level and how to manage the flight-and-fight response. The pool drills include safety and rescue protocols and safe breath holding practices.
Play is an important learning tool and the sessions will finish with a game of underwater modified hockey.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for everybody. The lessons learnt are applicable to life and work. The stress exposure in the water have flow-on effects in everyday life and the professional environment. The body and mind respond the same to stress in ocean conditions and the boardroom.
What to bring:
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comfortable clothes for moving
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Swimmers or board shorts
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Towel
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Wetsuit
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Swimming goggles
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Weight belt & weights (optional)
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Nose clip (optional)
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Water bottle
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Warm clothes
NOTE: a normal body temperature is 36 Celsius. This is almost 10 degrees warmer that the pool water of approximately 27C. The pool session is 60 minutes and participants are standing still for long periods. In addition the body cools substantially during static breath holds. To ensure comfort and sustained concentration a wetsuit is highly recommended.
Prerequisite
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Ability to swim 200m unassisted
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Must be at least 16 years of age to attend
The workshop is designed to equip all ocean enthusiasts with the knowledge and practical skills to be confident in all surf conditions.
About Estelle
meet your coach
With over 15 years experience in performance and functional breathing, you are in safe hands with Estelle. She has numerous qualifications in both functional and performance breath modalities. Since 2020 she has lead many workshop in Newcastle and the Hunter Region. Estelle is passionate about teaching people to be able to help themselves.
Estelle has a background in Biomedical Science and brings this knowledge to her workshops to help everyday people breathe and live better.
Certificates:
* Art of Breath Performance Breath * XPT Life Performance Breath * Buteyko Breathing * Oxygen Advantage Breathing * Surf Apnea
“Hi Estelle, I had such a great day yesterday. I thought your presentation was informative and concisely delivered. As a surfer, the knowledge imparted makes it clearer to deal with the situations I find myself in bigger waves. The land and water drills were practical and effective. I could see how the regular practice of those drills would make surfing bigger waves more enjoyable. The group of people were positive and supportive. Had so much fun. Thank you for the opportunity.
Paul”
Paul (Surfer)
COLD EXPOSURE
Ice Bath
Cold exposure in the form of a 3 minute ice bath combined with a targeted breath practice is used to teach the nervous system how to be calm under stress.
You train your cells to get stronger by hormesis - if something doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. It is hard work but it makes you healthier and stronger physically and mentally.
It takes determination to endure cold and trust your body can reheat by itself. By no means are we advocating to stay in very cold water for very long periods. Microstressing with a short exposure to shock to cells and then ending the cold to force the cells to work up the heat, is healthy stress. This will increase physical and mental resilience.
Benefits of cold exposure:
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Increased adrenaline and noradrenaline
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Increased dopamine
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Better resilience
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Improve mental health
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Improved thermogenesis, efficiency to warm the body
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Activation of brown fat
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Increase metabolism
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Increase insulin sensitivity
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Lowers blood pressure
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Immune system benefits
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Reduce stress and increase stress threshold
Susanna Soeberg (PhD) "Yes it sucks. That's the point"
For a review on the effects of cold exposure:
"Health effects of voluntary exposure to cold water - a continuing subject of debate"
Didrik Esperland, Louis de Weerd and James B Mercer International Journal if Circumpolar Health, Sep 2022, PMID: 36137565