FREEDIVING OR APNEA DIVING: BOTH TERMS MEAN THE SAME THING AND IT BASICALLY COMES DOWN TO DIVING ON A SINGLE BREATH.
REALLY?
From A Historic Point Of View, Freediving Is The Oldest Form Of Diving. All Around The Globe Some Peoples Who Lived By Or On The Ocean Had To Hold Their Breath And Dive If They Wanted To Hunt For Fish, Collect Sponges, Mussels, Seaweed, Sea Cucumbers Or Other Marine Life. Some Are Still Using The Same Techniques And Traditional Ways, Like The Famous Ama Fisherwomen In Japan
The Question I And Probably Most Freedivers Get Asked Is (Right After "How Long Can You Hold Your Breath?“): „Why Do You Do That? Why Do You Hold Your Breath And Why Do You Go Down There?
It Is A Question That Can Be Answered In As Many Different Ways As There Are Different Freedivers.
For Some People Freediving Is Part Of Their Daily Life, Such As The Before Mentioned Ama, Who Dive For Food. It May Be The Profession For Scientific Research Divers. Some Other Folks Hold Their Breath When They Practice Their Sports Like Underwater Rugby. Again Others Take Great Pleasure In Competitive Freediving: They Challenge Themselves And Improve Their Physical And Mental Abilities And Strength With Dedicated Training And A Total Commitment To A Different Lifestyle.
What You Will Learn And Practice In AIDA Courses Is Recreational Freediving. As Such It Could Be The Basis For Your Future Freediving Career E.G. In Competitions Or Any Other Goal You Might Want To Follow. Yet Even For A Recreational Freediver The Reason To Freedive Can Be Very Different From Another.
Someone Wants To Find Out What Their Own Body And Mind Are Capable Of. Another Simply Wants To Spend More Time Under Water Without Technical Gear And Get Closer To The Marine Fauna, Maybe Enjoy Underwater Photography.
Yet, Many If Not Most Freedivers Will Foremost And Deeply Enjoy The Calmness And Peace They Find During Their Dives.
Apart From All The Above There Is The Aspect Of Health. Freediving Is Not Only About Holding Your Breath. In Order To Properly Hold Your Breath You Need To Learn How Breathing Works And How To Breathe Fully And Efficiently. Many Freedivers Incorporate Yoga Practice Into Their Training And Even Daily Life, As It Involves (Not Only) A Good Deal Of Breathing, e.g Pranayama.
There Are Freedivers Who Suffered From Asthma When They Started Freediving. By Learning How To Breathe And Control Their Breath, Some Of Them Were Able To Almost Or Completely Become Free Of Their Illness.
Freediving Is A Physically Demanding Sport, Even Though You May Not Notice At Once Because The Water Carries You To A Certain Degree And Down To A Certain Depth. Still The Pressure On The Body And The Higher Resistance Of The Water During The Dive Mean That Your Body Has To Work Hard. The Aspect Of Over Training Is Not To Be Underrated.
Especially Beginners Often Also Underestimate The Mental Aspect Of Freediving, Because It Is Something Not Immediately Noticeable. But Your Subconscious Mind Takes Note: Of The Outside Pressure, Of The Lack Of Air, Of The Dark, The Depth, The Cold And An Overall Environment We Can’t Survive In For Too Long. That Is Why It Takes Relaxation And Time When You Want To Increase Depth And Distance Or Extend The Time Of Your Breathhold Step By Step.
Relaxation Is The Key Element To Practice Freediving, Work With Your Body And Mind And Overcome Certain Obstacles. It Is Because Of The Fundamental Aspects A Freediver Is Working With, That They (Sometimes Unnoticed) Are Able To Transfer These Skills Into Normal Life, Be It Breathing Habbits, Certain Mental Abilities Or The Physical Improvement.
Freediving Can Be A "Way Of Life", A Fascinating Hobby Or A Way To Work On Your Fitness. Or All Of It At Once. What It Definitely Is Not: An Adrenaline Sport. Freediving Is Just The Exact Opposite: It Is About Relaxation, Both Mentally And Physically. And It Goes Along With Understanding Yourself Better, Learning To Listen To Your Body And Soul, And Probably Facing Some Of Your Emotions And Work With Them. Some Might Call It Self-Awareness. After All It Is A Wonderful And Possibly Extensive Experience Anyone Can Make Who Openly Engages With Freediving.
So, Basically, Yes, Freediving Is About Diving On A Single Breath. But Really There Can Be Far More To It… What Could It Be For You?