Colm Tóibín

You would live in dread of it.

But this man, Jim, he's great.

He's a good teacher.

He shouts at me for an hour.

from 8 a.m to 9 a.m on a monday morning and it's all about getting my head under the water and he put me all sorts of exercises so that i would get used to keeping my head under the water and um he's very funny in america they use things whereas we don't use he said okay i want your head absolutely flush with your butt cheeks get your butt cheeks i said don't that's

What are you talking about?

My butt cheeks.

I'm a 71-year-old man.

That's the last thing I want to hear about on a Monday morning.

My what?

My butt cheeks.

But putting your head underwater, he got me to go under the water.

And I mean, no matter what I do with this, I am lying on a couch.

So I kind of really be brave enough to say this has to have something to do with the womb.

So you get under the water.

So your head is under the water.

Then what he wants you to do is clasp your own knees

Now, if you do that, you lose all power because you really are fetal.

Right.

You know, in other words, you, if you, and it says, hold on to you, don't let go of your knees.