Rangiroa Diving Center

Relaxation and breathing preparation

Bubbles

Introduction

You may feel stressed when you are about to dive in an unknown location, after a long trip, or after spending a long time without diving.

You may also feel worried when other divers consume less air than you do. This air is the same as the one you breathe at the surface, which is 21% oxygen, 79% nitrogen, and a small amount of trace gases. It is compressed into your scuba diving tank with a compressor. We are all penalized by the air volume contained in our scuba tank, but we can facilitate our immersion and autonomy following some advice.

Awareness

Reminder: The compressor fills a 12L scuba diving tank at 200 bars of pressure. Hence, the tank contains 12 x 200 = 2,400L of compressed air.

Although it is a lot of air, underwater, our autonomy decreases with depth thus pressure. In addition, our air consumption varies according to our physiology, effort, and stress. For example, an inappropriate ballast weight and considerable efforts lead to higher air consumption.

We will therefore learn to relax in order to feel more comfortable underwater...

Guided meditation session

Breathing affects our mind.

Some scuba divers practice pranayama (in Sanskrit prana, life force and breathing, and ayama, extension, expansion, and suspension) which is part of yogic breathing exercises. Pranayama can help you improve focus and release stress through breathing. Indeed, deep, slow breathing activates a relaxation response that calms you down.

First, we need to adopt a proper posture that releases the diaphragm. This is a muscle located below the lungs that helps you inhale and exhale.

During inhalation, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward. This increases the space in your chest cavity, and your lungs expand into it.

When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and the air is pushed out of your lungs.

It is important to breathe slowly and exhale deeply while diving.