Triple Awareness A Freediving Relaxation Technique

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Our mental health has never been as important as
right now. While that may seem like a generic
segue into the COVID-19 crisis, this adage is
true regardless of the external situation. There
is no better time to weed your mental garden than
right now. Regardless of whether you are a
freediver or not, this technique can help you
deeply relax in only a few minutes. Freedivers
and freediving instructors are constantly coming
up with new gardening techniques, to keep them
fresh and malleable, and to relate to students
of all backgrounds and mindsets. After all,
everyones garden has common beauty, but
different weeds. It should come as no surprise
that trained freedivers show quantifiably
different physiological makeups after undergoing
a freediving lifestyle change. The differences
appear in their hormone levels, their
physiological responses to high CO2, and their
ability to relax more efficiently. The more they
train, the more adapted their bodies
become. Here we discuss a simple relaxation
technique that can be used in all levels of
freediving, from beginner to advanced. It can
also be practiced daily when faced with
overwhelming feelings, from anger to panic to
sadness. It is in these moments of strong
emotional responses that grounding exercises can
be utilized.
Notice Three Things (A technique). As simple as
it sounds. We recommend trying this technique
first on dry land and take your time to explore
it. Incorporate it into your daily meditation
routine, or write it down in your arsenal of
relaxation techniques. Start by sitting
comfortably, with your hands on your knees, palms
open facing towards the ceiling or sky. Take a
few deep breaths, and feel the air climb up
through your legs all the way to the top of your
head. Exhale the breath down out of the bottom of
your feet. Take as many breaths here as you
want. Your eyes can be open or closed, whichever
is most comfortable.
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Open your eyes slowly (if they are closed) and
notice three things you see, one at a time. Try
to let them come to you, dont overthink it. In
this exercise, we allow the right brain to notice
things but avoid the left brain from analyzing
them. Close your eyes again, and now notice
three things you hear. Try not to prioritize
sounds based on volume, relevance, or interest.
Just notice three different sounds. Keeping your
eyes closed, finally notice three things you
feel. Gentle feelings- a breeze on your face, the
weight of your t-shirt on your shoulders, or if
youre in Bali a trickle of sweat percolating
down your neck. Repeat this exercise from the
start, this time noticing two things each time,
then another cycle when you notice one. Feel free
to reuse stimuli, you will get better at
noticing new and more subtle things the more you
practice. When to Use this Relaxation
Technique For beginner level freedivers,
cognitive awareness presented through beginner
level training is often enough to encourage them
to continue on. Students get addicted to their
own mental curiosity, undergoing moments of
mental clarity they have never before felt.
Freediving is a powerful mirror reflecting your
own mind, a scary metaphor to say the least.
However, upon reflection, our ability to control
and conquer our own mind is the focal point of
the sport. For dry training, take your time with
the exercise before beginning your breath-hold.
You can even continue this breath-up technique
through your static attempt. Noticing your
physical feelings is a particularly helpful way
of curiously navigating your way through your
struggle phase. Dry training and CO2 training
tables are a great way for beginners to become
comfortable with the uncomfortable sensations
attributed to CO2 buildup, and to continue to
progress safely. This technique can also be used
effectively when doing pool training or open
water freediving. As some freedivers prefer to do
their breath-up with their face immersed
completely in the water to activate the mammalian
dive reflex, its ok to leave the eyes closed
and skip the three things you see. Instead, make
it four things you hear and four things you feel.
If youre into the abstract, make it three
things you imagine! This technique is not just
limited to freedivers. Share it with your friends
and family, as they will be able to find a way to
make use of it to benefit their life. The intent
of the exercise is not to be able to dive deep or
hold our breath forever, its to relax the body
and the mind. We can all use a bit of that these
days!
Blue Corner Freedive is a Freedive School on Nusa
Lembongan, Bali. Our instructors focus on mindset
training and comfortable progression to extract
positive mental change. Freediving is an amazing
vehicle when on route to personal growth.