■Fin Pivot

The fin pivot is a training exercise designed to help you experience and understand neutral buoyancy through breathing control.

First, kneel on a sandy bottom in shallow water with all the air completely deflated from your BCD.

Next, add a small amount of air to your BCD using the power inflator (about 0.5 seconds at a time). Repeat this several times until, when you inhale, only the tips of your fins remain in contact with the bottom, and when you exhale, you gently return to the bottom.

This is the correct neutral buoyancy state for this exercise.

Repeat the exercise several times to develop a clear sense of how breathing affects buoyancy.