STATE OF CALM

The healing capabilities of exploring the deep blue ocean with a single breath

- MIA CASTRO and LAURD SALEN

When it’s hot and sticky outside, the last thing anyone wants to do is go to the gym. Thankfully, living in a tropical country, despite the scorching heat of the summer season, has one main advantage: the world’s best beaches and oceans are a drive away. Aside from swimming, there’s a variety of water sports available that can help you cool off while staying in shape, like surfing, wakeboarding, and snorkeling. But there’s one sport that has recently made waves for its physical and mental benefits: free diving.

Free diving is diving without the use of any air tanks, f lotation devices, or any external help. In freediving, you solely rely on a single deep breath, which, when done right, allows you to return to the surface without passing out. It is one of the oldest forms of diving. In the Philippines, freediving is what the Badjaos have been doing for centuries. Also known as the sea gypsies or sea nomads of Mindanao, the indigenous ethnic group free-dive to catch f ish and pearls to eat or sell in the market.

In modern times, free diving is considered an extreme sport because it requires both physical and mindset training—from increasing your body’s ability to swim further and faster and expanding your lung capacity to reaching a high level of self-awareness.

The thought of going into a deep, dark unknown can come with a sense of fear. So, why are people gaining the courage to go to the greater depths of the ocean? Maybe because once you get through the initial fear, exploring the open water can unlock your inner strength and bring an immense sense of freedom and clarity. Here, we talked to three female free divers who see the sport as a way of life.