Freediving and the art of letting go

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.”
~Ajahn Chah
Freediving is like meditation; it’s not so much about acquiring something, but getting rid of something. Freediving is about letting go of most things and holding on to some. If you freedive with a lot of expectations of how it will be, or what you will become – it will never happen. It’s a paradox, but you have to let go of your expectations.
You also have to practise:
Letting go of the surface
Letting go of wanting to breathe
Letting go of fear
Letting go of all the tensions in the body
Letting go of thoughts
Letting go of wanting to get to the bottom
Please add to the list if you want!
Also, if something irritating happens in the beginning of a dive, such as a wave hitting you just before leaving the surface, or the lanyard does something strange, you quickly have to decide if it’s possible to let go of it and go on, or if you need another breath to let it go.
In the western stressed world it seems we believe we have to try really really hard when we want to accomplish something. It’s a bit of a paradox because really striving often makes us tense and stressed. Tension and stress leads to less creativity and less performance. Of course it’s a good thing being prepared to give everything. But all the days and dives shouldn’t be battles!
Surrender into the experience. Surrender to the sea.
As in yoga, freediving is also about letting go of the attachment to the past. It’s happened. It can’t possibly be undone. Let it go. Let go of your ideas of a perfect outcome. To be a happy freediver and human you also have to practice letting go of defining and judging yourself.
To dive really deep you might even have to let go of yourself. If you let go – you will find an inner adventure.
I know a lot of people (mostly non-freedivers) might now think: what about reaching the surface? You can’t let go of that! Of course not. It’s all a balance of holding on and letting go 🙂