All right, so this is what I came here for.
I'm about to start the Freedive Course.
You can see the Free Dive School behind me and I think we're just going to go over some
theory today and then eventually, get in that pool and then eventually, the ocean.
This very exciting.
So let's meet the instructor.
Yan, you said?
Yan: Yan.
Nice to meet you.
So this is Yan.
He's gonna be showing me what's up.
Yan: That's it.
Awesome.
Okay, first thing I do is swim across the pool four times to see how my swimming
is, I guess.
First test, right away.
Four laps?
Yan: That would be 10.
Huh?
Yan: That would be 10.
10 laps?
Yan: Yeah, that's 20 meter pool.
Okay.
Yan: Be careful, we will cut that.
So, introduction to freediving.
Freediving can be learned.
It's good news that's why we're both here today.
That's very good news.
Yan: It's not some superhuman thing to do, and definitely can be learned.
Anyone, any healthy individual can freedive.
Just put your fingers in there, gonna observe what reading we have.
So this is your saturation of oxygen right now in your blood.
96?
Yan: Yeah. 96 to 98.
Why do we want to know about that?
Fully saturated of oxygen.
All right.
So we spent the last hour talking about, kind of, the idea behind the breath hold and now
I'm gonna go in the pool and try it in the water.
All right, so I finished up my first day of the freediving course.
It was just…there's the sun.
It was just, kind of, theory and then doing stuff in the pool, but I can definitely see
how it's addictive, that feeling of weightlessness was really awesome.
So now it is time to head to the beach for the sunset.
Good morning.
Back at Freedive Flow now and we're gonna jump on the boat so that I can do my first
open water.
So I'm all suited up, I'm gonna head out that way and get going.
All right, so let's talk about this freediving course.
So I'm used to scuba diving and scuba diving is awesome as well, but it's just about your
equipment basically, and understanding how it works.
What I'm trying to say is freediving is like completely different.
So I started off just, kind of, with a breath hold in the pool and I was able to go up to
two and a half minutes before I felt like I needed to breathe in again.
So I was feeling good about that, but then it's a completely different situation, diving
in the ocean because you have to clear your ears.
This is the biggest thing.
It's called equalizing.
It's not the same as equalizing when I'm scuba diving or on an airplane where I'll just yawn,
it's all in my jaw.
This is totally different and it's like a huge roadblock for me.
So that's where I'm stuck right now.
And I really hope I can get this because it's, kind of, what I came here for.
And in August, I'm going to Tonga to try to freedive with humpback whales, that's if I
can figure out how to actually do it.
So, fingers crossed that tomorrow's a bit easier.
I'm gonna go take the exam now, wish me luck.
So the written test is part of passing the Level I Freedive Course so I'm taking that now.
Fingers crossed.
Good morning.
So it's about 7:45 a.m. on my last day on Gili Air, the last day of my freediving course.
And I didn't really do a lot of talking to the camera yesterday, because, for me, filming
can be quite a mentally taxing activity.
And also, I've never attempted anything as mentally difficult as freediving.
It is just such a mind game.
And since the last time I talked to you, I couldn't really equalize my ears and get down.
Yesterday I just wanted to be like really focused in the moment and not worried about
getting footage, and I actually finally made it down to about 12 meters.
So I'm really happy that I was able to get down and today I want to try to get down farther.
So, did a little meditation this morning to try to set myself up a little bit more for
success.
You know, a lot of sports are mental.
I mean, I have to be in a good mindset and in good physical condition for pilates and
pole dancing and cycling and especially, hiking.
You know, going up a tough mountain that takes a lot of mental resilience, but this is different.
This is about fighting your body's natural urge to breathe, not listening to the signals
it's sending you, that's a huge one, and being super relaxed.
Like meditation is a big part of this sport and there aren't any others where I'm aware
of that being true.
Today I'm gonna try to go farther.
All right, happy days.
So I finished the course today.
I was able to get down to 16 meters and clear, which was really hard for me on the first
day.
So I passed with a Level I AIDA free diving with Freedive Flow here on Gili Air.
It was a really awesome experience and I can't wait to keep going with it.
So if you guys are here, I highly recommend checking these guys out and I will see you
next Wednesday for another video.
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