About freediving

Freediving is something that has intrigued me for a while. Not that I intend to descend to impossible depths on one breath, but I do find the physiology and psychology of the sport interesting.  Let’s just say I’m dabbling in it. How do you increase lung capacity? How do you overcome the urge to breath? How do you reduce your heart rate? How do you attain a calm, meditative state while participating in a potentially dangerous activity?

My form of “freediving” is essentially dropping down to about 3m, holding some rocks on my lap and sitting there for about a minute. It's especially enjoyable when there are inquisitive fish hanging about. Passive breath holding and Pranayama is one part of “training” for this and it’s a good way of gauging your limits. I have managed to increase my time to 2min 30s through using some of the techniques in the links below. I’m still learning. 

I hope this sheds some light on a somewhat unusual obsession.

Some links:

http://www.wikihow.com/Increase-Your-Lung-Capacity

Tim Ferris talks about what he learned from David Blaine:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/10/30/how-to-hold-your-breath/

http://www.wikihow.com/Hold-Your-Breath-for-Long-Periods-of-Time

Pranayama Yoga practice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvtx62lUho0

Photos:
http://pinterest.com/antonkruger/free-dive/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/114536133164105123829/albums/5667139126754375073
http://goo.gl/byCSK

Here are some inspirational videos:

http://goo.gl/tmVju

http://goo.gl/GCI2