Youve got beach volleyball, snorkeling, kayaking…the list goes on.
At one point or another, Ive tried them all.
(OK, they were pretty horrible inversions, but still, I did them.)
Rachael Rost
In all honesty, when I first tried freediving, I didnt even know it had a name.
By the time I made it back up to the surface, I knew two things for sure.
First, that what I just saw was awesome.
Any activity that lets you swim with penguins is worth talking about, right?
And second, that I was out of breath and every muscle in my body was exhausted.
This allows the body to conserve oxygen when it’s scarce.
As you swim back up to the surface, they expand back to their previous volume.
Layne Zimmers
Even with basic training, we have a pretty remarkable ability to dive underwater, he says.
After all, were built for it.
), swimming down to depths will be an act ofresistance training.
Yes, I also swam with sea lions on my freediving adventure in the Galapagos Islands.
But perhaps the greatest physical benefit of freediving is that it gets you practicing deep, diaphragmatic breathing.
That means relaxing the diaphragm to allow the lungs to fill more fully.
Whats more, diaphragmatic breathing also calms the body and mind and lowers the heart rate, Farrell says.
To Farrell, this “tuning into your body part” is important forimproving confidenceand self-esteem.
Like in all sports (especially underwater ones), staying safe when freediving is priority number one.
These are all things that a qualified freediving school and certified instructors can teach you.
Check outPADIto learn about courses and find freediving centers wherever your next vacation takes you.
