|
6/15/2020 0 Comments Serious FunWe all know the joy that comes from scuba diving. It’s why we are divers and continue to pursue new underwater sights and adventures. You may remember getting lost in the moment of the overwhelming magnificence of a Caribbean wall that plummets into the abyss, letting go of time while we marvel at the abundance of intricate life on a coral reef, or feeling like you went back in time and became a swashbuckling pirate while diving on an old three-masted schooner shipwreck. These are the feelings and emotions that diving can bring you. But there is a time and a place for getting lost in those moments.
Diving is fun but it is also very serious. No matter how beautiful a sight is, how moving or majestic… it can’t take you away from the fact that you are a human being underwater. You can never, for even a second, forget that you have a buddy underwater counting on your attention, that you have a limited amount of gas to breathe, and that you will need to ascend in a controlled manner to efficiently decompress your body. The marine life is second, the picture you want to take is second. This is where new divers get into trouble and lose their buddy, get too deep and violate their computer limits, or run dangerously low or even out of gas. Safe diving requires a detailed focus and attention to minute details. This is developed in the practice and experience building dives that lead up to the big day. If the only time you dive is on the big exotic trip you don’t have the time to train your mind and body to be in the moment. Seeing the school of sharks swim past, framing and focusing and taking a picture, controlling your buoyancy, monitoring and reading your gauges, communicating with your dive buddy are all different tasks that will steal your awareness. If you focus in too much on your buoyancy control you’re not going to have the mental space to also manage your camera settings. If you are constantly looking for your buddy and worrying if you are going to get separated, you will never even see the sharks swim by. There is a time for fun and there is a time for business. Taking the fast track to escalating certifications gets you the minimum amount of knowledge to start experiencing diving at that new level. The C-card however does not give you the real experience that is essential in the long term. The “Deep Diver” class and the card should show you what you need to do the “deep” dive. It might show you how to use a light and maybe how to double check your dive tables. But becoming a good “deep” diver will take time and experience doing it repeatedly. Eventually, you will develop the comfort and awareness to see potential problems that without your experience would go unnoticed. Building this awareness takes time, it simply can’t be issued with the certification card. Having a coach, mentor or a teammate with a shared goal will help guide you and accelerate the process. Focus on this part of the journey, the work. This is the fun stuff. This is where you grow and develop your own style and personality in the water. It is where you become and good diver and a good buddy. You are building your skills and awareness so that you are a pleasure to have on a dive boat and favorite customer of the dive master and boat captain. Too many people get focused on just the big dive. To say that they have been there and that they have dived that, forgetting that the time and practice to do that dive well is really where the magic is. Not just getting a picture of a school of hammerhead sharks but also having maintained your depth and buoyancy control, adjusted your camera settings to get the right picture not just a lucky one, never lost sight of your buddy and communicated the shot with them, ascended on time never violating breathing gas reserves and staying completely in control throughout the whole ascent and safety stops. When you take the time to build the rest of the experience that goes with the responsibility at your new certification level, you will be able to enjoy more of the dive and have more fun. Back on the boat or looking at pictures with everyone later is the time to get lost in the moment. Lost in the magic and memory of how wonderful the dive was and how well you executed every part of it. That is also something to add to your logbook.
0 Comments
6/8/2020 0 Comments Mindful DivingHave you ever had a bad dive? Sure, we have all heard the joke, “A bad day of diving is better than a great day at work.” But what is it that makes a dive bad?
Maybe you struggled with your buoyancy? Or, you had a hard time equalizing your ears and were frustrated. Maybe you got distracted and then got separated from the group and lost the Dive Master. Or, maybe the dive was cut short because you used up all your gas too fast and then you missed the Eagle Ray at the end of the dive. Any of these situations can be discouraging and leave you getting off the boat saying, “That was a bad dive.” Being mindful underwater and before the dive can help you prepare and execute your diving with passion, calm and peace. Remember why you wanted to learn to dive, it was for the fun and enjoyment. If the practices that you fall into are resulting in anything but that, it may be time to reexamine your diving habits. Whether you are a diving pro or a bubbling beginner, we all have habits that can make our diving safer or they could be bad habits that put us on autopilot and take ourselves out of the game. Mindful Diving will help keep you focused and performing your best so that all your dives can be, “Great Dives” Take A Minute Your pre-dive routine needs to give you a chance to set your brain up for success. If you are stressed and anxious prior to jumping into the water, you are already setting yourself up for a bad dive. You need to get into the zone, focus your mind and take charge of your breathing. Let another diver enter before you and when they move towards the back of the boat, give yourself that minute or so that it takes them to get their fins on and enter the water to focus your breathing. Pay attention to your breath and move it deep into your belly, instead of the usual fast shallow breathing. Balance it, in and out with control. Inhales turn to exhales only when you consciously let yourself, be in the moment with your breathing. Nervous energy may flood your thoughts, that’s OK. Let them come in and let them go out. Mindful Breathing During the dive you must remember that it is your breathing that does most of the work. Your breathing controls your buoyancy. Your breathing gets rid of carbon dioxide. Your breathing delivers oxygen to your blood and body. It calms you down and controls your anxiety. Being aware of why you are breathing with every breath will calm your mind and give your inhales and exhales a meaning and a purpose that will allow you to continue efficiently. When panic starts to build and you lose control of your breath, you will start mindlessly reacting. These reactions lead to confusion and the very things that will turn this into a bad dive. It is why you missed the turtle, crashed into the fire coral, or lost track of the dive master. Mindful Swimming Just like your breathing, it is important for you to know why you are swimming. What your body is doing and what return you are getting from the physical exertion you are putting out. You need an economy of motion and being aware of your work output will help you to reduce unnecessary action. Action that leads to carbon dioxide production, faster breathing and shorter bottom times for you underwater. It is important to keep your head up, eyes all-seeing and aware so that you know where you are going on the dive. Both in the big picture as well as the micro. See your next target, like the large purple tube sponges and get there with as little effort as possible. Moving as far as you can with each kick. A little further on each kick after. Gliding through the water between kicks instead of continuously working. Slow Down Many divers don’t get the opportunity to dive nearly as much as they would like to. Outside pressures with work and family often keep us away from our time underwater that we so desperately want or need. When this happens and we finally get a chance for a diving trip it is understandable that you want to see everything. We get overwhelmed with trying to do too much on the dive, so we don’t miss anything. The problem is that this also keeps you from really enjoying any of it too. By slowing yourself down and really being in the moment you find yourself seeing and enjoying more. Your dives will become richer with value for what you were able to absorb on the dive as well as on the surface after the dive when talking with your buddies. There again, slow down and be in the moment with them recapping the experience and really making it yours. Diving on purpose We need to remember that we are human beings and breathing underwater is not where we are meant to be. Science and physics are working against us and we need to be smarter than nature here. Having a purposeful intention for your dive that includes seeing wonderful sights but also balances an attention to remaining breathing gas, decompression management, buddy team awareness cannot be left to chance. Although it is easy to put your trust in technology and get a computer to beep and flash when warnings are triggered, you can be more mindful of these things yourself and get more out of your diving. When you have slowed down your breathing and your mind, you will become more aware and managing these things yourself will become easier. When your breathing is purposeful, and your swimming is purposeful your mind will be relaxed enough to take it all in. This is mindful diving. Being in the moment with yourself and the world underwater that you are visiting. It is the time before the dive actively listening to the dive master. It is the time after the dive listening and sharing with friends. Most importantly, it is the time underwater in the moment. Mindful diving is really being there and getting the most out of the minutes you are underwater, not worrying about the last dive or wondering about the next one. |
James Mott
James has been a PADI instructor since 1998 and was one of the original 10 instructors for UTD Scuba Diving in 2009. Archives
June 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed