YOGA AND APNEA Enjoy the underwater life Yoga and Apnea

It is universally recognized the ability of yoga to work alongside with many disciplines or sports, but alongside with apnoea becomes a fascinating and “deep” path. Apnea was probably born from the simple need to stay under water as long as possible to fish and only at a later stage this need was replaced by the people’s desire to prove themselves, challenge themselves with the breath and the depth. At the time when apnea meets, embraces yoga and techniques (Pranayama), it becomes a thoughtful sport, useful in a deeper way for body and mind. According to many free divers staying on the land some more minutes and practicing yoga and pranayama allow them not only to stay underwater longer, but, above all, to feel better there. The first things that attracted me when I decided to pull the yoga philosophy together with the apnoea discipline were: the figure of Umberto Pelizzari (the Italian world champion of apnea), my natural attraction to the water element (solid or liquid) and the condition to keep the air in the lungs. What is apnea?

The term apnea derives from the Greek word “άπνοια” (a-pnoia) which literally means “without breathing”. The origin of this word doesn’t have any connection to water, but in the modern athletic terminology, “Apnea” has become a synonym of , that is to dive on one breath of air, without using equipment which would help to breathe underwater. Freediving was practised in ancient cultures to gather food (The Bajau people from South-East Asia live in stilt houses and fish underwater for up to five minutes on one breath), to harvest resources as sponges and pearls and to help aid military campaigns (defences, such as underwater barricades, were often created, against enemy ships). Freediving is unique because is performed while holding breath. This peculiarity cannot be ignored because of its effects on the body from a chemical, physiological and functional point of view. Breath retention

When you hold your breath, carbon dioxide levels in your body start to rise. In that phase, called by the free divers ‘the struggle phase’, you yearn for breathing. Over time, the levels in your body begin to fall. Fisher, a professional Australian free diver, said: “It’s really important to note that we have both these amazing reflexes in our body, which ensure that we still have high levels of oxygen in our brain and in our heart, and all of these vital organs that might be susceptible to be damaged by oxygen lack.”

Majol - connection pranayama and freediving

Yoga for freedivers has been a popular and well recognised complementary training since the days of Jaques Majol. Majol was a Yoga instructor himself and he revolutionized freediving with his use of Eastern Yoga and meditation traditions. Majol popularized Pranayama yoga techniques, which relax the mind through controlled breathing. Using these exercises, he was able to slow his and control his heart-rate at his pleasure. Such feats, as the metabolism slowdown and the heart-rate control, took years of practice. Indeed Majol prepared himself for deep dives by training with a yogi in India.

The pranayama master Andre Van Lysebeth thought Majol the techniques that he practiced since the seventies. Majol dedicated whole periods of the year to study and to exercise yoga by going to Buddhist monasteries. From his stories it is easy to understand the seriousness, the rigor and the commitment needed to embrace the entire discipline. According to yoga every organ in our body reaches the highest functionality peak in a particular time of day, and since for the lungs, this peak is reached at three o’clock in the morning, Majol was used to get up at that time in order to train.

He achieved world fame in 1988 with Luc Besson’s movie “The Big Blue”.This beautiful work is still considered the best visual representation of the freediving “Zen”.

Majol and Pelizzari

Pelizzari, who was himself a student of Jack Majol, uses breathing techniques, yoga, pranayama. He uses the time before the diving trying to practice the relaxation and methods together with the breathing techniques.

Answering the question “To deal with sport competition or a record requires a particular concentration; how do you prepare yourself? Which techniques do you use to relax before diving?” Pelizzari said “I have had as teacher Jacques Majol, who was the first one to apply yoga to apnea. All about Pranayama concerns breathing in yoga and it is at the root of everything in this type of discipline. In all the “asana” (the posture maintenance in a firm and stable way) and in all the various forms of yoga it is fundamental the : there is no posture without respiration, there is no concentration technique which is not accompanied by a proper breathing. In simple words, all the yoga techniques which study the correct breathing and allow to facilitate and to use an ampler breathing, which is six or seven times larger than the thoracic one.”

If I have chosen to combine yoga with apnea, it is definitely thanks to Umberto Pelizzari. His figure aroused admiration and curiosity in me since the middle of the eighties. Now, years later, I heard again about him casually talking with a friend, which is a free diver.

Umberto Pelizzari (born 1965) is an Italian free diver, widely considered the best free diver of all the times. Of his era, he is the only one to have established world records in all the disciplines of freediving existing those times. In 1995 he has founded the freediving training society called Apnea Academy and from that stage he started to explore and to learn how to teach freediving to the others. After 20th years from its foundation, the Apnea Academy continues its important role to train and to teach to freediving future instructors. The course covers topics as relaxation, breathing, respiration physiology and auditory system, diet, psychology and group control. YOGA AND APNEA BENEFIT COMBINATION

Starting to write this research I did not expect to find so many confirmations on the use of yoga and pranayama in freediving. World champions as Gianluca Genoni said: “To dive is largely a matter of the head. Clearly you have to be trained, but if you cannot reach the right concentration, you cannot dive too much. In order to hold the breath for so long I adopt relaxation techniques with yoga and diaphragmatic breathing.” Why it is necessary to combine asana and apnea? One important reason to practice yoga is because this discipline considers the human being as a whole taking into account all its aspects. Obtaining a good performance is not the goal, but it becomes the consequence of a path through the listening to one’s own body.

ASANA-PHYSICAL YOGA FOR FREEDIVERS

The mobility is very important both to support advanced techniques and to allow the body to stay relaxed during the free diving. Each free diver has his own problem areas, which are not as flexible as they could be. Purely on a physical level, the practice of asana gives us strength, flexibility and good motor firing patterns. This process gives us fluid and let us to have less movement waste in water: this means that we can stay longer under water and in higher comfort conditions. The ability to consciously disengage muscles, which is an important part of the asana practice, lead to have less Co2 production in static training or in slow free dives. Exercises are important in apnea to coordinate movement with breath. Taking postures as the one of the cat or the one of the cow helps in this coordination aim, by developing the middle part of the rib cage. This process tones the upper back muscles and improves the shoulder and shoulder blades mobility by simply varying the posture with the chin on the floor.

PRANAYAMA-BREATH YOGA FOR FREEDIVERS nPranayama is the breath control science and the subtle awareness. It correpsonds to the fourth limb in ashtanga yoga and it has very obvious benefits for the free diver. This practice lead to inhale and exhale naturally the biggest air amount with the less effort and let more favorable apnea both in musclular and psychological terms. Increased awareness and breath control important tools to develop confidence and relaxation in the water. Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique taken from pranayama and then adapted to the apnea preparation needs, by the highest level free divers experience. The term “diaphragmatic breathing” is used similarly in pranayama and apnea, even if the techniques are different. The main characteristics of this technique are the wise and trained use of muscular respiration and the control of the abdominal girdle. The free diver initially has to learn how the muscle acts, then he has to train the muscle elasticity, in order to maximize its potential and to move higher air amounts. Controlling the diaphragm is also useful in the balance that is when descending and increasing pushes on the ear drum. In order to balance the pressure, air up into the Eustachian tube. The diaphragm has to be relaxed to have more available air to realize this operation. BHANDAS- PSYCHO-MUSCULAR YOGA FOR FREE DIVERS

Bhandas practice helps to develop the core strength for a good free diving technique. It also prepares the body for deeper dives pressure below residual volume by increasing the thoracic flexibility. Bhandas practice helps the free diver to develop a greater control over the nervous system and a deeper body awareness, leading the freediver to maintain inner stillness in challenging situations. The contraction of the epiglottis (Jalandhara bandha) is accomplished in conjunction with the Sheetali breathing. The abdominal lock (Uddhyana bandha) is useful to simulate the sensations of the diaphragm in depth. This practice induces a negative pressure on the abdomen internal organs and stimulates their functions. Why is it necessary to use meditation? A relaxed body consumes much less oxygen than a tense body. Holding the breath and the body helps to tell exactly where there are tensions in the physique that is where it starts to hurt first. A tense body, trying to go deep, would not be able to equalise the pressure that comes with the dive. To fight the sea leads to failure. The only thing to do is relax. Relaxation is not a mystical state of mind. Relaxation is, first and foremost, a surrender: your body gives in to gravity. Holding the breath on the surface means that the water can carry you: you do not have to do anything to hold yourself in some positions, like when you are seated or you are standing. In the swimming, you adjust to the water pace: you do not try to dominate it but instead to work with it in conjunction with its properties. And when you dive deep, it means that at a certain depth you…… There is a huge mental aspect in free diving, especially at the beginner level. The relax ability gives massive benefit to the free diver and lead to more enjoyable, safer and longer dives. Visualisation and concentration training helps to learn motor skills quicker and to develop confidence. This training is integral to the approach to free diving. The ancient insights of Yoga are completely validated by modern advances in neuroscience and sports psychology.

MEDITATION, VISUALISATION AND CONCENTRATION TRAINING: MENTAL YOGA FOR FREE DIVERS.

Why is it necessary to use meditation?

A relaxed body consumes much less oxygen than a tense body. Holding the breath and the body helps to tell exactly where there are tensions in the physique that is where it starts to hurt first. A tense body, trying to go deep, would not be able to equalise the pressure that comes with the dive. To fight the sea leads to failure. The only thing to do is relax. Relaxation is not a mystical state of mind. Relaxation is, first and foremost, a surrender: your body gives in to gravity. Holding the breath on the surface means that the water can carry you: you do not have to do anything to hold yourself in some positions, like when you are seated or you are standing. In the swimming, you adjust to the water pace: you do not try to dominate it but instead to work with it in conjunction with its properties. And when you dive deep, it means that at a certain depth you......

There is a huge mental aspect in free diving, especially at the beginner level. The relax ability gives massive benefit to the free diver and lead to more enjoyable, safer and longer dives. Visualisation and concentration training helps to learn motor skills quicker and to develop confidence. This training is integral to the approach to free diving. The ancient insights of Yoga are completely validated by modern advances in neuroscience and sports psychology. The practice to turn the gaze at the point between the eyebrows (Shambhavi Mudra) is very useful to experience the concentration and inner silence. This practice let to enter in a timeless dimension where it is possible to adapt to a research moment excluding all the other mental routes. Shambhavi Mudra is suitable to be practiced even under water, already favoured by the muffled silence in which the body is immersed. It is possible to focus immediately on the perception of the “self” in the water as a primordial element.

THOUGHTS

Mayol thought:

"When I am immersed in water, I can experience extraordinary phenomena that have an impact on physical and mental level. Water becomes something magical: I know I am a man that needs to breathe, but I cannot feel the need"

Pelizzari said:

From 0 to 100 meters and then further down, headlong into the abyss: the pulses slow, the body vanishes, every feeling floats in new forms. Only the soul remains. A long dip in the soul that seems to absorb the universe. To go up is every time a choice: I decide to go back regaining possession of my human dimension, meter by meter, to come to light again. Often people ask me what there is to see down there. Perhaps the only possible answer is that you do not go down in apnea to see something, but to look inside yourself. In the abysses I look for myself. It is a mystical experience, on the border with the divine. I am immensely alone with myself, but it is like to take inside me all the humanity essence. It is my being a human that exceeds the limit, that looks for himself merging with the sea, that is immersed in himself and finds himself again.

"I focus my mind on breathing. I only dive once I am totally relaxed," said Sulbin, a natural free diver and Bajau fisherman, who goes into a trance-like state before entering into the water.

Water and symbolism

The water is very fascinating to me probably because I have experienced the freedom that being in water gives me that is like the sensation to fly. This element is magical. As your face immerses into the water, your heart beat drops. This effect raises deeper you go. The water helps to relax and its sound has a calming effect too. For the first 9 months of their lives, humans exist in an aquatic environment very similar to seawater. If a human infant is submerged under water, he instinctively holds his breath for up to 40 seconds while making swimming motions. Although, humans seem to lose this ability as soon as they start to walk. One of the most important elements of free diving is to awaken this natural reflex because it gives to humans better abilities to be protected at huge depths. On a physical level the water element is correlated to our . It is incredibly pliable and has fresh or salt varieties, as snowflakes and rain, as ice or living oceans. To learn from water, it is like to say to be flexible, adaptable in mind and body. Every drop of water that felt on this planet since the dawn of time still exists in some form. When water evaporates, it returns to the sky and then fall down on the earth once more with the rain. In this simple, sublime manner, water connects us at the entire planet. Water teaches us the control over its cycle as well as reminds us that change is inevitable.

“Water always finds a way” In Sorrento (VIC) I fortunately met a professional free who operates in Victoria,Tasmania and South Australia. Marlon Quinn is an Apnea Academy and Apnea International certified free diver. In his opinion it is important to find a state of relaxation before you dive.

I asked him a few questions.

To hold the breath every time a little bit longer helps you to go every time a little bit deeper compared to what you did the day before. From this point of view what other teachings or reflection points is it possible to get from this sport?

Hi Valentina! At last some answers to your questions, just in time... 1. Freediving is more than just the act of breath-hold. It is a way of connecting the state of mind with the body. One re- enforces the other. Through practice, one begins to learn that each day is different. Sometimes breath-hold is easy, it is simple to find relaxation of the mind and allow the body to be loose and fluid. The breath-hold is easier those days. Other days, fatigue or stress or a decrease in willpower prevents the achievement of the optimum performance, but even if it is a shorter time or less relaxed moment, that performance is the best that you will achieve that day. To reflect on and understand those moments, one must learn to reduce the expectations on one's self about time, distance or depth. Instead, a focus on achieving a state of mind and body using what you have available that day, that is enough.

You adopt breathing techniques and teach to your students how to feel and know more about their body to make them more aware. When was the time when you understood that you have to consider an immersion “psychological part”?

Yes, self awareness is a key to relaxed and enjoyable immersion in freediving. In my verri first training with Stavros Kastrinakis, World Record Freediver, in Greece, I became very aware that the psychological part is more critical than the physical. On my very first attempt at freediving to 8m deep, there was a sunken boat at the bottom of the sea. It was all I could focus on and all I wanted to freedive down to that day. I could not see anything other than the sunken boat. As each attempt continued I became more stressed and concerned with reaching my goal of the boat. That day I couldn't reach it, my mind was not right. The second day we returned to the water to practice the depth training. All day I dived with my eyes closed, not looking outside or towards the boat or towards the bottom. I only focused on what was happening inside my mind and following the process and steps of freediving. That day I dived to 18m depth comfortably. It was a big change for me and the defining moment when I discovered the real beauty of freediving.

What do you think about the combination of asana, pranayama and apnea?

The combination of Asana, Pranayama and Apnea is very relevant. During Apnea one must become at ease with the single breath, the body, it's position and place in the environment, because it takes all these things to feel comfortable in the water. In freediving you are moving in space, down, up, sideways, your body is upside-down, upright, moving in all directions. Movements are consistent, with sometimes delicate application of , timely use of muscles, moving economically and efficiently to make the most of the one breath. There is a connection between all movements, they are not isolated or staccato, they are rhythmic for best performance. Learning how to engage the muscles in the right sequence, with the right amount of pressure and force, knowing how to be light yet strong and heavy but supple, these are the lessons that yoga teaches us in an isolated environment where we can understand with the aid of a Yogi or Yogini to guide us to the right way. More info about Marlon Quinn and his activities: https://marlonquinn.com/freediving/ http://watermaarq.com I start by saying that it was not possible for me to experience everything I wanted to, (indeed, I assume that this research will not end here). However, I was able to find an answer to some of my questions. I tried to practice and feel on myself the breathing exercises and the asana practices specific for divers, in order to report the results in my research. These exercises and practices have been very helpful to develop considerably my ability to feel, to be with the breath and to go over my body anatomy. Surely I have some disappointment when I realize that I have to deal with my few experience in the field, but I think this is still a good start. I am glad I followed my instinct, which told me that I would have found good awareness starting points. It happened so. I never stopped, not even for one day, to be amazed by seeing what a man can do into his research to get in contact with himself and by seeing how many knowledge possibilities life gives us. I am not surprised by the great power that yoga and pranayama give to the knowledge expansion in apnea practice. Moreover I think that apnea is a wonderful form of meditation that is perfectly in line with the practice of yoga. Yoga, adapting to very different disciplines and bringing benefits in various aspects of the human being, is a unique and irreplaceable practice that makes me more aware of the true meaning of its name: "union".

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Book

Pelizzari-Landoni-Seddone.Il respiro nell’apnea.Mursia 2014 Pelizzari,Mana,Chiozzotto .Dry Training for Freediving. Idelson-Gnocchi 2015

Web -Jack Majol (https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wii/Jacques_Mayol) -www.aidainternational.org/freediving/history -http://www.verticalblue.net -Umberto Pelizzari official website(http://umbertopelizzari.com) -Umberto’s Official Facebook Page(http://Facebook.com/#!/pages/ UMBERTO- PELIZZARI-OFFICIAL/146135549225) -Apnea Academy-School for Instruction and Research of Freediving-founded by Umberto Pelizzari(http:/www.apnea- academy.com) -https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Umberto_Pelizzari&oldid=660007344” -https://forums.deeperblue.com -www.freediving.biz. -www.apneista.com -www.apneaaustralia.com.au -www.marlonquinn.com -www.watermaarq.com

Movie The Big Blue-Luc Bessons-1988