In order to answer this question, let’s start by looking at what yoga actually is. There has been a massive boom in the yoga ‘market’ over the past few years, the result being that the true essence of its meaning has become rather lost in all the noise.
Read MoreWhat is 'Deep Relaxation'?
I was chatting with Alexey Molchanov about freediving last year, and in particular, what motivates and drives him to keep training and competing. He said something that struck me as unusual but was also very beautiful and true. I suppose I was expecting him to say it was the glory and fame of World Records, the thrill of competition, or the adventure into the depths of the ocean and the depths of himself that drove him. But instead, he said that he trains because he loves the unique feeling of deep relaxation and tiredness that he feels afterwards. There is quite simply nothing like it.
Read MoreWhy I Created Yoga for Freediving
Since setting three World Records within nine months of starting my freediving training, I was repeatedly asked how I achieved this rather surprising feat. At first I didn't know, but as I started teaching others, I began to break down what exactly I had been doing that enabled this unusually fast progression. The easy answer was Kundalini Yoga. But it was not about physical strength or flexibility. I began to see that the psychological part of the jigsaw puzzle was never really taught. The blockages that over 90% of people face are to do with a complete lack of understanding of the root cause of their blocks. This leads to a paralysis over how to get themselves out of this state and moving ahead once more in their training. In contrast, whenever I dived I imagined that I was wearing an invisible backpack, or tool kit, of yogic wisdom, from which I could pull out the solution to any problem, more or less as I faced it. It seemed that no-one else had this backpack.
Read MoreWhat is Yoga for Freediving?
If you know me, you know I love yoga and I love freediving. The moment I took my first breath and pulled myself down the rope exactly ten years ago, I realised I had found the place where my two great passions – yoga and meditation, and the ocean - met. From that point I just continued in my quest to explore the parallels between these two worlds – yoga above and below the surface of the waves – and in that exploration ended up with four World Records and an amazing training dive to 104m!
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