Freediving Visualization – Visualize Your Dive!

Today’s episode is a guided freedive visualization, that you can listen to anytime before your freedive. Renee will guide you in creating an inspiring vivid mental picture of a deep target dive from start to finish.

Many freediving athletes routinely use visualization techniques as part of their mental training for freediving. It helps to enhance your techniques just through mental repetition and rehearsal, and it helps to cultivate a heightened state of mental awareness, which can boost your self confidence for your dives as well as your overall well-being, therefore enhancing performance on your freedives.

Time Stamps:

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:34 Why do a freediving visualization?
• 2:25 When and where to do a freedive visualization?
• 2:55 Info & instructions for this guided session
• 4:13 The dive visualization
• 18:04 Conclusion

Resources / References:

Sara Campbell – Discover Your Depths

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Episode Transcript

Please enjoy this transcript of this podcast episode.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to episode 11 of the Freediving Podcast, your source for information about training for freediving, not only so you can freedive better but so you can live the most healthy and EPIC life possible.

I am your host, Renee Blundon, and this is the first episode celebrating the rebrand of the podcast! The name of the podcast has officially been changed from The Power of the Breath & Epic Wellness back to its original name of The Freediving Podcast, which is a lot more shorter and simpler.

So today’s episode will be a slightly different format than the usual episodes… Today I’ll be doing a guided freedive visualization. I learned about this originally from Sarah Campbell six years ago when she was coaching me. So thank you so much Sarah Cambel!

So this is a 15 minute audio that you can listen to any time before your freedive session to guide you in creating a vivid mental picture of a deep target dive from start to finish.

Why do a Freedive Visualization?

Many freediving athletes, myself included, routinely use visualization techniques as part of freediving training and competition, because it helps enhance your techniques just through mental repetition and rehearsal, it’s very similar to physical practice, but without any physical exertion, which is great if you want to avoid over-training or getting too tired before your dives.

Dive visualization helps to cultivate a heightened state of mental awareness, which can boost self confidence and relaxation for your dives as well as your overall well being, and therefore enhancing performance on your freedives.

When and Where to Do Visualization?

Because you’re using your mind to visualize the dive, it means it can be practiced as often as you would like, and you can do it pretty much anytime and anywhere. I prefer to listen to this audio right before I go in the water for my dive and/or before going to bed in the evening. Sometimes I’ll listen to it with headphones on in the taxi or boat ride on the way to the dive site.

Info and Instructions for This Guided Session

The visualization is written in first person so that it resonates deeper with you while you listen to it, you can kindof imagine that you’re talking to yourself.

You can use this audio to visualize any depth discipline. And so in order to keep the language more clear, you will hear the word ‘strokes’ which means either kicks or pulls. So when you hear the word strokes, if you are a free-immersion diver you can imagine pulls, if you are a constant weight diver you can imagine kicks. If you are constant no-fins you can imagine a combination of arm-strokes and leg strokes.

And last thing before we get started, a reminder to join the Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/thefreedivingpodcast, if you want to share your take-aways about the episodes and join the live dry freediving sessions, everyone is welcome!

Ok so let’s get started!

The Dive Visualization

Right now just find yourself a nice comfortable place where you can relax for about 15 minutes. Close your eyes.

I feel the wetsuit tight against my skin – I take a big breath and relax all of my muscles, letting go of the tension – it is nearing the moment for my deep dive but I am without fear.

As I make my way to the freediving line, through the water, I remind myself that I can do this dive, my body knows how to do this dive… I feel rested, strong and confident. I move naturally through the water, while allowing my thoughts to float freely like water. I feel free… and forget about fighting life or trying to be something that I am not…

I arrive at the line and organize myself peacefully and calmly. Before getting into position for my breath-up I take a moment to look all around, witnessing the beauty of the sea, the land in the distance, the sky and the universe that surrounds me. I feel the connection to the infinite, creative wisdom of the universe…

Today I will allow the universe to conspire with me, to work magic in my life and in my dive.

I take a deep breath and feel the universe entering my body, my mind and my heart. It loves me and I love it back. I thank it for my life, for this very moment, and for this dive.

I clip my carabineer to the line and tell myself, I can do this, my body knows how to do this…

I get into position for my breathe-up and with one hand holding gently on the line, I begin to relax my entire body… I can feel my body moving and swaying with the waves and the current. All I’m aware of is my body’s sensation and the sound of my own breath. I am relaxed. I am at peace with the universe, I am at peace with myself, I am doing what I love. I inhale loving energy, and exhale relaxation and gratitude. My body is loose, de-contracted and my mind is relaxed as I melt into the water around me.

I begin my final breaths, breathing in energy, happy thoughts and confidence. Breathing out relaxation. I focus entirely on my breathing, feeling so incredibly present in this moment, sensing the surroundings, the landscape, the people and the elements of the universe that are all apart of this very moment. I breathe in their love, and it permeates to every cell of my body. I feel that I am bursting with love from the universe, and it is amazing. I smile with happiness.

I am ready, last breath, I inhale love, and hold. And I go. I start my dive with strong pulls or kicks and my body awakens with happiness permeating deep into my muscles, into all the tissues of my body and into my bones. My mind remains relaxed as I count every stroke 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I focus only on the movements, 6, 7, 8, you can do it, just relax, just enjoy, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, the light begins to fade and my effort lightens as I go deeper and deeper…

I hear my alarm, perfect. I fill my mouth with air, just focusing and relaxing. Now just a few more light strokes…1, 2, 3, 4, and I see the light diffusing slowly become darker and darker blue, as I start to sink…

I hear my alarm again and now I can freefall completely and I do so, softening and allowing the water to hold my body. I relax my shoulders, my neck, my chest, my back, while repeating in my mind ‘shut down, shut down, shut down’ I let everything shut down, letting go completely as I sink deeper into the sea

I’m gliding without effort, as I slowly close the jaw to equalize, I dismiss any fears and replace them with loving energy…

My jaw is now closed so I start applying pressure on my cheeks, as I relax more and more. Equalization is smooth and easy and natural. I can feel the water passing faster and faster over my face and hands. I am completely calm and completely relaxed at depth.

Slowly and subconsciously, I start pressing the tongue to the roof of the mouth, I feel ecstatic like I’m in a dream, in the deep blue, at one with the depth of the sea, and at one with myself… sinking deeper…

And the deeper I go the better I feel and the better I feel, the deeper I go. I savor every second, feeling relaxed and feeling at peace.

I hear my depth alarm and it is time to slowly wake-up. I open my eyes, keeping my position and get ready to turn with one hand gently around the line…

A moment later my hand hits the ball and I reach to grab the tag, I attach it and pull to start my ascent. Now it’s time to work and I’m ready.

I ascend with strong strokes – and fill my mind with positive thoughts. I can do this, just relax and focus on technique 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – I think of my movements, my own personal movements, telling myself, I am strong, I can do this, I am confident – and I keep counting over and over from 1 to 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I tell myself I am water within water. 6, 7, 8, 9 I am water within water.

I am at 30 meters now and my deep safety diver appears – I see him across from me – sending precious love and energy. I feel the connection and I am grateful for this underwater guardian angel.

I continue counting the strokes, 1, 2, 3, 4 – accepting all the love from the universe and accepting myself for who I am in this moment. I notice the light, and the water getting brighter and brighter, I keep counting and pulling or finning. I feel strong and have plenty of oxygen.

I can feel my body becoming lighter and lighter, slowly drifting up, seconds seem to pass by like minutes…the light is bright and it’s time to wake and to focus, to get ready to do my surface protocol, as I drift up to the surface it feels as though I’m being lifted up by the sea

I emerge from the dive and put both hands on the buoy, fully in control, I breathe, and I breathe and I breathe, and I smile, enjoying the sensations of an AMAZING dive. I do my surface protocol, noseclip, ok sign, say I’m ok and I know that I’ve just completed a perfect dive, I savor the moment and give thanks to the universe, to all around me and to myself for the trust and self confidence.

Conclusion

Great job everyone, thank you all for joining me for today’s freedive visualization. That was a 15 minute mental rehearsal of a deep freedive from start to finish. This is an incredibly helpful mental training for getting your head in the right place for your deep freedive and boosting self-confidence, because its extremely similar mental to actually performing a deep dive. So I hope you enjoyed the session, feel free to post your take-aways in the Facebook Group at facebook.com/groups/thefreedivingpodcast See you next time!