The swell this winter has been lazy if not non-existent - most of the coast, named for it's surf, worries this is the new pattern now. Easterlies, unusual for this time of year, have disrupted the normally straight, huge swells that sweep through in the cold, cold days from June through to August. So when there's swell, everyone is buzzing - driving and walking, tugging on too-dry wetsuits from lay days, messaging each other, wondering where to surf, if you've surfed, what the wind will do to it in the arvo, what the rest of the week is like.

For me, it's too big - three foot is my limit, and even then it has to be uncrowded so there's less chance of injuries and collision. This swell has been the wrong direction and a little small for the more sheltered beaches, and too big for the places I normally surf - it's either closing out or too big, so instead, I watch for a long time, and then go walking. It's still beautiful, even if I'm not out there. There's an electric buzz in the air.

As I walk along the cliff tops watching the sets roll in and the water move toward the beach as the tide gets high, I'm practicing my breathing - or lack of it, trying to increase my co2 tolerance. I tend to gulp air when I'm walking fast - a symptom of being asthmatic. As soon as I feel out of breath I start to mouth breath, which I know isn't good for me - it lowers in the CO2 levels in the body and I need a healthy level of co2 for healthy gas exchange with oxygen. Too much oxygen doesn't serve me.

As I walk toward Winki Pop I'm kinda glad I don't surf big waves - there's some sixty people out in the water, little black dots all scrambling for a wave. It's been busy here of late - back to back longboard surfing comps so there's a lot of great longboarding going on, which I watch for a while as I try to regulate my breath.

I've always thought co2 was bad - but like anything, it's about balance. It's so important for steady breathing and endurance. I take solace from the fact even superstar athletes across time have mouth breathed or not breathed efficiently, and try not to be frustrated that I'm only now learning about it. It kinda goes agasint what I've always been taught - but you want to increase your bodies tolerance to co2 - breath holds, nasal breathing and so on. Even when I'm walking I need to breath through my mouth. At first it's awfully, awfully uncomfortable - my body screams for oxygen, as if I can't breath. But I know the science of it - I'm not going to die, and have plenty of oxygen in my system. So I just sit with it - or walk with it along the cliffs.

I'm not just doing this because breath is the new buzz for health. I'm doing it because I know it will help my asthma, and it will calm my nervous system. It also helps decrease inflammation and increased physical and mental energy - and maybe even extend my life expectancy. There's a lot of research now about the benefits of co2 tolerance and anxiety - and I'm convinced that's my issue - this big messy problem I have with my breath, asthma and anxiety.

So as I walk, I breath only through my nose. It's as tidal as the sea. In, out, in, out. The breath following the rhythms of nature. 5.5 in, 5.5 out, 5.5 in, 5.5 out. Before long I'm not fighting the desire to gulp in air at all - I'm climbing steps effortlessly, the pain in my lungs and the panic gone.

Maybe all this breathwork will help me get out into some bigger surf one of these days.