Scuba Yoga: Mystery of the Deep

Several online sites have proclaimed that for the year 2008 “Scuba is the New Yoga.”  Scuba is being touted as the new way to relax and relieve stress—much as yoga does.  Why not practice yoga while scuba diving?  Or practice yoga for the benefit of scuba diving?  Yoga and scuba diving share many common concerns, making them prime bedfellows in the exercise world, adventure trips and exotic travel.

Yoga and Scuba Separated at Birth

Yoga and Scuba are the yin-yang of sports.  Practicing yoga helps participants learn how to calm their minds, increase flexibility, control breathing, and relax.  For scuba to be fun and not anxiety producing, divers must learn how to control their breathing, calm their minds, have good flexibility, and remain relaxed, yet aware.  Some scuba divers practice yoga positions while diving, but it is the mental and physical benefits of practicing yoga onshore that directly benefit divers.

Scuba Yoga Vacations

For an experience like none other, Egypt Yoga offers scuba diving in the Red Sea, complemented with yoga classes on the beach and while diving.  Several resorts around the world in locations such as Mexico, Thailand, and Egypt offer yoga and scuba vacations.  Vacationers enjoy yoga classes on land, on the beach, and in the water, as well as scuba excursions.  Many such vacation packages offer basic scuba certification for new divers.

Yoga for Scuba Divers

Yoga for Scuba Divers, by 8th Element partners Kimberlee and Todd Stedl, is a yoga instructional book specifically for scuba divers.  The book contains yoga exercises for scuba divers to increase their flexibility and strengthen their core muscles.  It also details techniques for divers to learn how to control their breathing, which leads to better control of buoyancy in the water and a calmer mind.  New divers can panic and deplete their oxygen levels quickly if they breathe too shallowly.  The book helps divers use techniques of yoga to learn how to think clearly and control their thoughts during difficult dive situations.

It is possible to practice yoga positions while diving.  Egypt yoga’s trip helps you do just that.  More useful, though, is the contribution that yoga techniques can make to a scuba dive on its own.  Mind-body connection, breathing techniques and flexibility gained through practicing yoga are beneficial to divers on and off land.

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