full fathom five
greetings again from beautiful haad yao beach in thailand. i've been working hard to keep up with the challenge and i hope that all of the challengers are doing great.
the most interesting thing for me on this trip is how i keep coming back to breathing and breath control as important not only inside my asana practice, but in my day to day activities. there was first the sama vritti breathing on the flights over, and then again to help me sleep despite wicked jet lag and very loud, very bad music (seriously, have you ever had to listen to a dj who went from daft punk to don mclean to abba to natalie imbruglia in about 10 minutes? imagine all night at top volume. seriously, i needed calming.)
but the best application was yet to come. i went diving the other day at sail rock, which is arguably the best site in the gulf of thailand. it's a 40m granite pinnacle in the middle of the gulf, with sea life all over. i was very excited to be going here for my first dive, as it is just the sort of diver's heaven one strives for. and i was not disappointed, greeted by 100's of barracuda, fusiliers, wrasse, and morey eels. i was down at about 22m with one divemaster and one rescue diver. however, as the dive progressed, i was going through air much more quickly than my companions. i was taking huge gasping breaths, and i never felt quite like i could get my air. consequently, i had to finish my dive about 10 minutes sooner than my companions, and i was deeply frustrated. i managed to stay down much longer on the second dive by holding my breath in between inhale and exhale. this, however, is deeply stupid.
when scuba diving proper breath control is important. breathe too fast, your air runs out, your dive is too short, and then maybe someone else's is too. hold your breath in between inhale and exhale (known as skip breathing) and too much carbon dioxide builds up in your blood. it won't kill you, but it will make you tired and... force you to use more oxegyn to compensate. also, if you ascend while holding your breath you can burst your lung, because the air is compressed. so, these are all bad results.
when i returned to my bungalow that night, i found myself going back to Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, and re-reading the 3rd chapter. And there was the answer: Sama Vritti - calming breath. by thinking of diving as a modified asana practice, i could use my breath awareness and control from yoga as part of my diving.
our next day diving was at the marine park, which are a string of uninhabited islands in the gulf. the theory is that fishing here is off limits, but as we know, theory and practice are often too different things. regardless, i told my divemaster for these dives, Wendy, that i was having some trouble with breath control, that i would be working on it, and that if i blew it, she could send me back alone when i was out of air, because i don't want do cut anyone else's dive short. but as soon as i hit the water, i knew it would be different today. i felt relaxed, in control, and my breath came slow and easy. breathing compressed air isn't easy - it rushes into your lungs. but by excercising a strict level of control, i was able to stay under for 60 minutes each dive (maximum bottom time regardless of air), and only had a little less air than my divemaster. and she does this every day.
cheers from thailand. brett.
the most interesting thing for me on this trip is how i keep coming back to breathing and breath control as important not only inside my asana practice, but in my day to day activities. there was first the sama vritti breathing on the flights over, and then again to help me sleep despite wicked jet lag and very loud, very bad music (seriously, have you ever had to listen to a dj who went from daft punk to don mclean to abba to natalie imbruglia in about 10 minutes? imagine all night at top volume. seriously, i needed calming.)
but the best application was yet to come. i went diving the other day at sail rock, which is arguably the best site in the gulf of thailand. it's a 40m granite pinnacle in the middle of the gulf, with sea life all over. i was very excited to be going here for my first dive, as it is just the sort of diver's heaven one strives for. and i was not disappointed, greeted by 100's of barracuda, fusiliers, wrasse, and morey eels. i was down at about 22m with one divemaster and one rescue diver. however, as the dive progressed, i was going through air much more quickly than my companions. i was taking huge gasping breaths, and i never felt quite like i could get my air. consequently, i had to finish my dive about 10 minutes sooner than my companions, and i was deeply frustrated. i managed to stay down much longer on the second dive by holding my breath in between inhale and exhale. this, however, is deeply stupid.
when scuba diving proper breath control is important. breathe too fast, your air runs out, your dive is too short, and then maybe someone else's is too. hold your breath in between inhale and exhale (known as skip breathing) and too much carbon dioxide builds up in your blood. it won't kill you, but it will make you tired and... force you to use more oxegyn to compensate. also, if you ascend while holding your breath you can burst your lung, because the air is compressed. so, these are all bad results.
when i returned to my bungalow that night, i found myself going back to Yoga Body, Buddha Mind, and re-reading the 3rd chapter. And there was the answer: Sama Vritti - calming breath. by thinking of diving as a modified asana practice, i could use my breath awareness and control from yoga as part of my diving.
our next day diving was at the marine park, which are a string of uninhabited islands in the gulf. the theory is that fishing here is off limits, but as we know, theory and practice are often too different things. regardless, i told my divemaster for these dives, Wendy, that i was having some trouble with breath control, that i would be working on it, and that if i blew it, she could send me back alone when i was out of air, because i don't want do cut anyone else's dive short. but as soon as i hit the water, i knew it would be different today. i felt relaxed, in control, and my breath came slow and easy. breathing compressed air isn't easy - it rushes into your lungs. but by excercising a strict level of control, i was able to stay under for 60 minutes each dive (maximum bottom time regardless of air), and only had a little less air than my divemaster. and she does this every day.
cheers from thailand. brett.
posted by brett at 3:22 PM
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