Freediving Philosophy
Jana Strain Freediving
As freedivers we learn to listen, to our bodies, our buddies and the environment. When we hold our breath, our bodies and minds awaken to new feelings. This experience is unique to each person. We learn to be present in today's body, without our minds. To be exactly here in this moment, to awaken our instinctual mammalian dive reflex and to exist in a world completely free of all attachments. It is within this freedom where I find peace. Freediving is more than just a sport. It is a practice of mindfulness, spirituality, challenge, and focus.
Over the years my motivation for freediving has changed. In the beginning I was very focused on competing and breaking records. Many years later, with my focus no longer full time on freediving, I returned to training simply for pleasure. I was living in the Pacific Northwest and found solace in the cold water. During the day I worked in a fast paced, heavy industrial environment. As freediving more heavily permeated my free time, I started to notice stress melting away and being replaced with a state of nearly constant bliss. Things that were important started to be very apparent, and things that were not became easy to let go of.
At that time, I started regularly training three times a week in a pool, and congruently built an amazing community of very dedicated divers. I was teaching again and getting to share my passion for the sport, both in the pool and the open water. My focus on teaching has always been quality over quantity. I enjoy building relationships with students and watching them progress. I have had the honor of coaching freedivers to national records and also helping people intimidated by the water to find comfort and joy.
No matter the level that you're starting at, freediving welcomes you! If you're coming as a high level endurance triathlete, or if a few years ago you were afraid of the water and just started to swim, freediving welcomes you! Because freediving is 90% mental, you will have an opportunity to let go of your expectations and be where you are now. Learning how to communicate this to your buddies, knowing how to safely show up and be a good buddy, and to understand what your path forward is to working on having full presence and comfort while swimming underwater on breath hold.
The ideal state while freediving is complete presence in your body, but without your mind. In this state, you enter flow. Time loses meaning, and senses become heightened. Water moves across your face, sounds intensifies, and the blue embraces you.
Freediving helped me on my path to find inner peace. I invite you to come start your journey today and to always follow two simple rules: