Apneista Blog
Fluid living in the age of ‘the impending apocalypse’
Free-diving and Yoga as existential tools for living in anxious times. We live in uncertain times. Our predictions cannot keep up with our pretensions. The world around us shrinks as our need to consume grows ever more insatiable. We carry phones that are more...
‘Be like water, young grasshopper’… benefits of free-diving for the yogi.
Since the heyday of Jaques Mayol the vast science of yoga has been touted as the key to inspired free-diving. The benefits in this area are undoubted, from mental clarity and thoracic flexiblity to emotional well-being. The list of Yogic benefits to the Free-diver is...
Mentawai surf and free-diving safari.
Free-diving and yoga for surfers From the 13th of June till the 25th there will be a very special free-diving training programme aimed specifically at surfers. We will be training aboard the beautiful 'Jiwa' as we sail through the Mentawai Islands catching world...
Silent Day in Bali
Traffic was stopped today at crossroads all over Bali for picturesque scenes of demon appeasement, as Balinese gathered in their ceremonial dress laden with offerings for the restless forces of nature. Wholes villages sat on the ground in their finest clothes while...
Some training concepts of yoga and free-diving at Apneista, Bali.
Some mildly esoteric training concepts for those readers that are that way inclined... Fluid body: Free-diving: Divers should move like water through water, without tension or rigidity, creating minimum resistance. In yoga asana: Continuously probe the form of...
Free-diving in primordial soup, Bali.
There are days on the deep line when the waters of Bali are so full of translucent life that the ocean seems like evolutionary stew. So many different jellyfish and combjellies, wriggling, pulsating and spiralling elementary forms of life. If you look closely the...
A friend in need…
Free-diving rescue in water. The vast majority of loss of motor control(LMC) or blackouts happen on the surface though sometimes on rare occasions they can also occur as the diver nears the surface. In the last ten metres the diver should be accompanied by the safety...
Being a good buddy
How to be a good buddy. Discussion of shallow water black out(SWB) in the last post brings us to another important part of elementary free dive training; namely buddy skills. Proper training. Obviously for a training partner to be reliable, they should be well trained...
Some effects of pressure…
Basic physics as related to free diving and shallow water blackout To free dive safely an elementary understanding of physics and the effects of pressure is needed. At the basic level to avoid shallow water blackout and in more advanced training to avoid lung squeeze...
Tantra and the beautiful art of free-diving
At Apneista.com we believe that free-diving is not just a beautiful sport, it is also an important tool for self development, a form of 'ocean yoga'. Our philosophy works on the understanding that training in free-diving should result in increased self awareness and...
The nose, gateway to the past and present.
"When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered· the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls· bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense...
Exploring evolutionary history with the MDR.
Once upon a time there was a blue planet that was inhabited by many forms of life, all of which dwelled in the vast expanses and dark depths of its oceans. In the distant past, over many thousands of years some of these forms of life evolved into land dwellers. After...
Honing the mammalian dive reflex, MDR training techniques.
The mammalian dive reflex (MDR) is part of our evolutionary heritage that all humans possess to some extent. In extreme situations such as near drowning it helps by increasing our survival time, but normally in most people it is a reflex that lies dormant. Though...
Our latent aquatic heritage, the mammalian dive reflex.
The mammalian dive reflex (MDR) is a series of processes which reduce the use of O2 and conserve it for use by the vital organs. It is exhibited strongly in aquatic mammals (seals, otters, dolphins, etc.), but exists in a weaker version in other mammals, including...
Free-diving with mind, body and right awareness.
When people talk about the right equipment for free-diving normally they are talking about fins, lines,weights and wet-suits. These are all important for training, indeed essential in most cases, but the first and most important piece of equipment for successful...