The magic between inbreath and outbreath

A couple of years ago my brother and I visited Maui and decided to seize the opportunity to try out freediving. I had been drawn to the sport for a while, due to its natural synergies with meditation and my love for the ocean.

Even during the first few dry exercises under Lahaina’s Banyan tree, I felt I had hit gold. Working through our instructor’s exercises almost immediately allowed us to hold our breath for much longer than we had previously thought possible.

The real magic of freediving, however, occurred to us when we jumped in the water a short boat ride offshore, surrounded by nothing but blue and a few errant fish.

On the first day I was able to go down to 20m (65ft), a depth I thought would be much more elusive.

However, the maximum depth, while important, quickly becomes secondary once you get into freediving.

What feels much more important is the peace to be experienced between inbreath and outbreath, suspended at neutral or negative buoyancy, sounds subdued, body relaxed, thoughts on pause.

There’s a reason some meditation traditions prompt you to familiarize yourself with that gap between breaths. Extending it through relaxation, rather than brute force, opens up a whole new world of play.