Is Freediving Good for Your Body?

Is freediving good for your body? Well, yes, it is, and for a number of reasons. Here are some of the most common benefits of freediving:

Exercise

To prevent injuries while freediving, freedivers should practice stretching exercises. These are both practical and correct. They should also try to hold their breath for a long period of time before inhaling. The hunched position during freediving can cause strain that may lead to an injury. However, there are some exercises that freedivers can perform before and after their diving session. Here are some of these exercises:

For the most effective stretching during freediving, divers must first learn how to breathe segmentally. Usually, beginners breathe from the chest, filling their lungs like they were drinking a pitcher of lemonade. To learn how to breathe in segmented fashion, you need to purse your lips and isolate the various muscle groups. Once you learn this technique, it will be easy for you to improve your breathing in other sports and your overall health.

Meditation

The benefits of meditation are well-known to freedivers, but did you know that it can also help you in your daily life? By practicing mindfulness, you can stay aware of what's going on around you and not worry about the things that aren't under your control. By doing this, you can develop the skills to remain calm and relaxed during freediving as well as in everyday life. Here are some tips on how you can use meditation for freediving.

First, meditating can help you focus. Focus is important in freediving, as it forces you to be aware of your body and your surroundings. When you aren't fully aware of yourself while freediving, you may miss out on important signals from your body. To avoid missing these signals, you must practice being mindful of your surroundings. This is especially important when freediving. By practicing meditation before freediving, you will be able to get the most benefit from your experience.

Stress Management

Freediving is a great way to reduce stress, as well as learn meditation techniques and relaxation techniques. Studies have shown that freedivers have lower scores for stress symptoms, negative affectivity, and anxiety. These findings also point to the long-term health benefits of good stress relief. Chronic stress is linked to heart disease, hypertension, and obesity. Fortunately, freediving has many of these same health benefits.

Health Benefits

As an exercise for the body, freediving has many health benefits. Water activities reduce the impact on joints, improve range of motion, and prevent swelling. Moreover, freediving increases flexibility of joints, especially the thoracic region. Diaphragm and rib cage must be flexible before freediving. Moreover, the hydrostatic pressure in water can help improve lung capacity. This, in turn, can reduce swelling and pain. However, it should also be stated that freediving carries a potential risk of injury and, in some cases, even death.

People in different cultures practice freediving for various purposes, from providing food to their communities to expanding their snorkeling skills. Others practice the sport to push their limits in the ocean and pool, and even compete for national records. Freediving offers numerous health benefits to both athletes and non-athletes. Below, we look at a few of these. In addition, freediving can improve cardiovascular health, reduce inflammation, and increase lung capacity.