How can Yoga enhance your Scuba Diving experience?
The average diver sightseeing at 30 feet in warm, calm seas can expect an average tank of air to last about an hour. But as any diver can tell you, our sport is anything but average. Deeper dives, stronger currents and chilly water can drastically reduce bottom time. New divers, a little panicky and prone to “panting” rather than easy breathing, have been known to suck a tank dry in 15 minutes.
Obviously, increasing your physical fitness is one way to get more out of every breath, but even fit divers can find themselves breathing too fast or too shallow from the stress of diving. That’s where yoga comes in. Like scuba, yoga places emphasis on proper inhalation and exhalation, as breathing is considered the essential connection between body and mind.
Asanas: Scuba can be a physically demanding activity. Therefore, maintaining good general health and fitness is an important part of being a diver. The physical postures in Yoga help strengthen and limber up the body, which reduces the risk of injuries, as well as prevents over-exertion, which can lead to breathlessness, anxiety, and other problems in the water. Being in better shape makes diving less strenuous, and therefore, more safe and enjoyable!
Pranayama: The breathing practices done in Yoga allow the body to absorb and use oxygen more efficiently as well as increase lung volume over time. Slow, controlled breathing facilitates a relaxed body and mind that will in turn improve your overall comfort, air consumption, and help you to fine tune your buoyancy, which is fundamental for being a safe and skilled diver.
Meditation: Meditation trains the mind to be calm, alert, and completely absorbed in the present moment. This mindfulness and concentration of energy makes our perception more still, vivid and meaningful. For many people, scuba diving is an emotionally soothing or spiritually inspiring experience. When we dive in this heightened state of awareness, we can expand our sense of wonder, appreciation, and oneness with the underwater world.
