Story highlights Australian man spent hours trapped while keeping his nose barely above water

He was driving an excavator when it fell into a pond

(CNN) Trapped beneath his 3-ton excavator in a watery pit, Daniel Miller survived by a nose.

The Australian man spent hours contorting his body to keep his head barely above the muddy water before rescue teams arrived to free him.

It happened Tuesday when Miller, 45, was riding his excavator around his property 180 miles north of Sydney. He was riding beside a dam when it gave way, tumbling the excavator into a muddy pond and pinning Miller beneath one of the bars attached to the machine.

He had to heavily arch his back to keep most of his face above water. Finally, a neighbor 500 meters away heard his calls for help.

Daniel Miller survived by keeping his nose barely above water.

"I was trapped and had to keep my head up above water using my arms. I guess it was the cobra position," Miller told Sydney's Daily Telegraph . "I'm not a yogi but I guess you could say yoga saved my life. That and the will to live."

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