Your lungs will shrink to about the size of your fist.
At depth, almost every aspect of the human physiology will change for the freediver.
The heart rate slows as soon as the face enters the water, blood leaves the extremities, CO2 levels are increasing by the second and of course, the size of the lungs decreases as the external pressure goes through the roof.
There are three things that help here:
- Mindfulness. Focusing literally on the present moment, rather than the anticipated changes in depth, environment, or, in the body.
- Gradual shifts over a long timeframe. Each dive is gradual, and, the progression to be able to go deep is gradual. It takes time to adapt to this.
- Awareness and appreciation of the changes taking place.
Most workshops or programs we do for personal and professional change are a weekend, 4 weeks, maybe 8 weeks.
Others are longer – like the Access Potential Academy*, which spans 9 months.
What is the difference?
For education, we can go short. Even with experiential learning, we can do this fairly quickly. You can learn to juggle (by juggling) in a day or two. We can do a leadership course or a marketing workshop in a weekend.
Growth though, is different. Drip by drip. It is the path of the freediver. It is a change in how we walk through the world, in how we see.
To level up in our posture, our way of thinking and our way of relating requires mindfulness, gradual practices done consistently, with persistence.
It requires awareness that these shifts are not only taking place, but will necessarily feel uncomfortable. Yet through this awareness, we get to relax into the change, and slowly, but surely allow ourselves to adjust to the new depths.
*In October, enrolments start for the 2020 APA program. If you think you’d like to find out more, I’d love to hear from you – simply reach me on the email.
