Our mental health has never been as important as right now. While that may seem like a generic segue into the COVID-19 crisis, this adage is true regardless of the external situation. There is no better time to weed your mental garden than right now. 

Regardless of whether you are a freediver or not, this technique can help you deeply relax in only a few minutes.

Freedivers and freediving instructors are constantly coming up with new gardening techniques to keep them fresh and malleable, and to relate to students of all backgrounds and mindsets. After all, everyone’s garden has common beauty, but different weeds. 

It should come as no surprise that trained freedivers show quantifiably different physiological makeups after undergoing a freediving lifestyle change. The differences appear in their hormone levels, their physiological responses to high CO2, and their ability to relax more efficiently. The more they train, the more adapted their bodies become. 

Here we discuss a simple relaxation technique that can be used in all levels of freediving, from beginner to advanced. It can also be practiced daily when faced with overwhelming feelings, from anger to panic to sadness. It is in these moments of strong emotional responses that grounding exercises can be utilized. 

Notice Three Things (A technique).

As simple as it sounds. We recommend trying this technique first on dry land and take your time to explore it. Incorporate it into your daily meditation routine, or write it down in your arsenal of relaxation techniques. 

Start by sitting comfortably, with your hands on your knees, palms open facing towards the ceiling or sky. Take a few deep breaths, and feel the air climb up through your legs all the way to the top of your head. Exhale the breath down out of the bottom of your feet. 

Take as many breaths here as you want. Your eyes can be open or closed, whichever is most comfortable.

Open your eyes slowly (if they are closed) and notice three things you see, one at a time. Try to let them come to you, don’t overthink it. In this exercise, we allow the right brain to notice things but avoid the left brain from analyzing them. 

Close your eyes again, and now notice three things you hear. Try not to prioritize sounds based on volume, relevance, or interest. Just notice three different sounds. 

Keeping your eyes closed, finally notice three things you feel. Gentle feelings- a breeze on your face, the weight of your t-shirt on your shoulders, or if you’re in Bali a trickle of sweat percolating down your neck. 

Repeat this exercise from the start, this time noticing two things each time, then another cycle when you notice one. Feel free to reuse stimuli, you will get better at noticing new and more subtle things the more you practice. 

When to Use this Relaxation Technique

For beginner level freedivers, cognitive awareness presented through beginner level training is often enough to encourage them to continue on. Students get addicted to their own mental curiosity, undergoing moments of mental clarity they have never before felt. Freediving is a powerful mirror reflecting your own mind, a scary metaphor to say the least. However, upon reflection, our ability to control and conquer our own mind is the focal point of the sport. 

For dry training, take your time with the exercise before beginning your breath-hold. You can even continue this breath-up technique through your static attempt. Noticing your physical feelings is a particularly helpful way of curiously navigating your way through your struggle phase. Dry training and CO2 training tables are a great way for beginners to become comfortable with the uncomfortable sensations attributed to CO2 buildup, and to continue to progress safely. 

This technique can also be used effectively when doing pool training or open water freediving. As some freedivers prefer to do their breath-up with their face immersed completely in the water to activate the mammalian dive reflex, it’s ok to leave the eyes closed and skip the three things you see. Instead, make it four things you hear and four things you feel. If you’re into the abstract, make it three things you imagine!

This technique is not just limited to freedivers. Share it with your friends and family, as they will be able to find a way to make use of it to benefit their life. The intent of the exercise is not to be able to dive deep or hold our breath forever, it’s to relax the body and the mind. We can all use a bit of that these days!

Blue Corner Freedive is a Freedive School on Nusa Lembongan, Bali. Our instructors focus on mindset training and comfortable progression to extract positive mental change. Freediving is an amazing vehicle when on route to personal growth.