In this 3-part series, we’ll delve into scuba diving’s relationship with mindfulness, and how to use the practice to become a better diver.
In the previous installment of this 3-part series, we explored the notion of mindfulness and where it intersects with scuba diving. In this second part, we’ll examine how being more mindful during your dives can make you a better diver.
Diving is the Sport of the Lazy
Diving is a unique sport, in that a number of the skills and attributes that help us in other activities are usually of little value here. I’ve seen strong, muscle-bound athletes, as well as fast and lean runners and bikers realize that no amount of muscle or speed will make you a good diver. Physical health is important, obviously, but diving is typically about slowing down and moving as efficiently as possible, hence its reputation as the sport of choice for the lazy. This slowing down applies not only to the body, but also to the mind. Slowing down our thought processes will greatly enhance our dives. We will use less air because we stress, flail and fidget less, and because moving slowly requires less oxygen than moving fast.
The Mental Game
In diving, we are confronted with ourselves. If we’re stressed, nervous, anxious, or suffering some other unfavorable mental state, it will very likely come out in full force as soon as we dip our heads underwater, even if we’ve managed to suppress it during our daily lives. I’ve seen plenty of divers either abandon a dive completely — or at least take a few moments to clear their heads before continuing the dive — because of stressors in their land-based lives. If I’ve had particularly busy day, I definitely need to clear my mind if I’m to have a good dive. And it’s quite likely I’ll consume just that little bit more air than if I were relaxed before the dive started.
Think Less, See more
The more preoccupied our minds are with things not related to the dive the more likely it is that we’ll miss a sight during the dive. We all know divers who seem to be naturally gifted at spotting marine animals and other interesting things during a dive. Truth be told, I think has more to do with these people being 100 percent present in the moment, than with magical fish-sensing radar. So if you want to spot more stuff, slow your swimming pace, move less and focus your attention on the here and now. As Yoda, arguably the greatest mindfulness teacher of the silver screen, said to Luke Skywalker, it’s about keeping your attention on where you are and what you are doing.
Ultimately, there’s very little New Age mystery to mindfulness, rather, it is the simple practice of training ourselves to be present in the here and now, rather than existing mentally in the past, present, and all the possible futures at the same time. This massive cognitive load is not good for our performance at work; it is not good for our stress levels; it is not good for our diving. By training ourselves to focus our minds on the present and mentally uni-tasking, we’ll almost certainly perform better in all aspects of our lives, including underwater.
