Freediving is the art and science of diving underwater without SCUBA gear. I never intended to be a freediver, exactly, but I did want to get up close and personal with my photos. It started to occur to me that there were probably techniques to make it easier, and more importantly, safer. A number of online friends mentioned it, but as I’m in farm country, I have to save practice for vacation. Last September, I started the AIDA Freediving course.

First we did some meditation on the beach, then we practiced breath-holding.

On to the actual diving!

As you advance in freediving, the AIDA course is focused on increased time and comfort level of breath-holding. My impression is that it helps one safely identify their limits. However, diving deep is just not where my focus is. so I decided I did not want to pursue it farther at this time. I do have a much better idea of what safe swimming means, however, and how to approach my multiple 8 to 15 foot dives.