I arrived back in Dahab at the end of March and had hoped to jump straight in and start my training with a view to doing a small competition at the end of April but my plans were thwarted by my sinuses having different plans for me, for 10 days….

Finally I managed to get back in the water and have spent the last week getting used to all the sensations that happen when I go under water for the first time in a while:

The blissful silence.

The beauty of the light as it dances down in rays to the depths or as it plays on my closed eyelids as I dive.

The realisation of tensions in my body and the releasing of them.

The slight nervousness of going deeper, away from the surface and the sensation of being less relaxed with the urge to breath sensations.

Staying shallow and dissolving into further relaxation, peeling back more and more physical and mental layers which lead to the pure joy.

The remembering and honing of skills.

And then the flick of the mental switch. The readiness and desire to go deeper and the longing for the power of my monofin alongside the softness of Free Immersion (pulling down and up the line)

The excitement is building. I’m ready to go deeper but I’ll hold back a couple of days, making sure I am ready.

I try to not take expectations to the water but just be there in each moment, feeling the vitality of life.

“Freediving is about feelings. Whether it’s the euphoria that comes from weightlessness, or the beauty of the underwater world, we dive for the moments of joy that come from a deeper understanding of our internal experience. We dive for the pleasure of retreat, where inner calm and peace dissolve our racing thoughts. Freediving offers us happiness from nothing more than a single breath of air.” – Natalia Molchanova.

Photo – Annelie Pompe