If you Google, “relaxation techniques”, the search engine pops up with suggestions such as yoga, prayer, visualization and deep breathing. But nowhere does that see a good way to relax is to let yourself sink to the bottom of the ocean floor like free-diver Stig Pryds.
Pryds, a 47-year-old from Denmark, has found free-diving to be an escape from his anxieties and stressors of the world. On his website, Pryds says that after, ” …spending five years in an inferno of pain and strong medication caused by psoriatic arthritis, [he] found that freediving was [his] path to a fighting and fantastic version of myself.”
Great for Pryds for finding an outlet. I know that for many, that is hard to do. It took me a while to realize that the gym was my way to relieve my stress, but never did it cross my mind to try THIS out. I have so many questions.
Pryds does say that he, “…learned about freediving by coincidence! [He] took some swimming classes for [his] condition and was introduced to some breathing exercises that brought [his] attention to the sport.” Still, I don’t know if I’d ever even attempt this. I could really only doggie-paddle until I was, like, 10-years-old.
I think I can understand the feeling Pryds is talking about (at the 1:30 mark of the video above). The slow breath that he describes gives you a calming feeling that can be felt throughout your body, but I still don’t understand how this situation can make him calm. Pryds sinks to the bottom, with no way to breath, and finds himself at peace. I can’t imagine myself in the depths of the ocean without any oxygen. I’d probably just be in the water flailing my arms as if I was trying to land a plane.
But like I said, good for Pryds. I don’t get it, but if it relaxes him it is a great way for him to spend his time. Besides, I’d rather have him doing this than spend his time making insect butter.
Image via Twitter / @redbullIRE
