The diver set
As a diver and a Yoga teacher, I decided to design a Yoga For Divers – a plan addressed to divers, and created according to their needs . It’s based on a gentle physical practice, breathing exercises, and guided meditation. This is every diver’s “must have set”!
Go deeper
If there’s anything you can do on a surface to improve your underwater skills, it’s surely a Yoga thing!
However, you should keep in mind that every style of Yoga is different! As we commonly know – working out before diving is not the best idea. In the world where we have million styles of Yoga – like power fitness Yoga, Justin Biber Yoga, or even goat Yoga (yes, I’m not joking) – surely not all of them will apply into that concept. Today I will focus though on Yoga for Divers – one which is surely accurate.
As all divers know, our worst enemies are: panic attacks, bad air consumption, and lack of control over the buoyancy .
Yoga can be found as a solution for all of them!
Relax and take it easy
Daily life happens, and – no matter how hard we try – our body becomes tense. The tension we hold in muscles requires – it sucks out not only oxygen, but also increases a blood pressure. More tensed we are, worse for us.
Properly chosen and designed Yoga routine, can help to lose unnecessary tightness and tone the muscles. In time, the body becomes more smooth and fluid. The awareness of your own body allows us to run this machine better – now we are the boss, and it is our choice which muscle should be used in a particular moment. Therefor – by developing ability to relax the body – we reduce our oxygen consumption and we make it more efficient. In and out of the water.
Breath out
Did you know that dolphins have to control their breathing action? When they sleep, the only one hemisphere of their brain rests, other one works and controls the breath. Considering that fact, we’re pretty lucky! Our inhales and exhales are unconditional, and we don’t really need to keep tracking anything – all just happens by some magic 😉
However, if we choose to grab a magic wand into our hands, we will find out how much of a “bad air” stays in our body! Let me show you easy test to check it now – after your natural exhalation, use your abdominal muscles and compress your belly towards your spine, during the same time open your throat and nose, so all the air can go out of your belly. Try it few times. Surprising – right?
All divers know how important it is to never hold a breath, but to exhale during emerging from the water. Longer you’re breathing out, better for you!
Practice of Pranayama – branch of Yoga based on breathing exercises – leads you through expensive, controlled, an fluid breath. Exercises themselves are very calming. Often, they require full focus, which turns them into meditation. You probably won’t notice that after the first session, but practice constantly, and the results will show themselves! You will notice how much it helps to control emotions – not only under the water, but in daily life as well