Practitioners believe that Kundalini Yoga frees energy in the lower body and base of the spine, allowing it to move upwards. The emphasis in Kundalini Yoga is on breathing in conjunction with physical movement. As mentioned, Jacques Mayol was a practitioner of a style in Ashtanga Yoga called Pranayama, while Sara Campbell teaches Kundalini Yoga. Yoga is a combination of meditative practices, physical exercises and discipline structures that are designed to empower the Human Mind, Body and Spirit as a whole. Yoga is one of the oldest of the world’s spiritual systems and encompasses numerous styles and philosophies. Yoga describes a spiritual, physical and mental practice that originated around the 6th century BCE in India. We will attempt to define some of these terms throughout the review.
The viewer should take the time to watch the entire video, remaining open to new ideas and concepts, and not worry about having to do a research paper on the topics discussed… the practice of Yoga encompasses words and ideas from almost 3,000 years of Eastern Philosophy. As most of these terms are defined within the body of the videos, and in the copious explanatory sections, this is not a big issue, but could be intimidating to someone who has no exposure to Yoga and Eastern spiritual philosophy. There are a lot of terms and concepts that are presented that may be unfamiliar to the average freediver. On initial review, it becomes immediately apparent that this is a “Master Class” in some respects.
Sara’s video series Yoga for Freediving introduces the knowledge her students learn in class to the internet, and gives freedivers the opportunity to learn at their own pace, mastering the 6 core videos as they gain in knowledge. “As well as coaching freedivers to safely achieve greater depths through a deeper understanding of the vital mind-body connection, I use freediving, yoga and meditation as metaphors for life and tools for change.” Sara Campbell Sara Campbell is the founder of Discover Your Depths, “a unique teaching and personal growth philosophy based on yoga, meditation, freediving and mind-body awareness.” Sara teaches Kundalini Yoga and has developed a training program that can give students a foundation for increased personal growth and personal performance in daily activities and in freediving. Sara Campbell 96m World Record, Photo Credit Blue Eye FX This style, or school of Yoga, has introduced many Westerners to the philosophy and practice of Yoga specifically concerned with breath control. Mayol was an avid practitioner of the Pranayama element of Yoga, which is the fourth “limb” of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga.
Like the fictional character in the movie, the real Jacques Mayol, one of the pioneers of our sport, introduced Yoga to freediving in the 1960’s and virtually all world-class freedivers practice Yoga to some degree in their preparations. Many of us remember the scene from The Big Blue where the character of Enzo Molinari is complaining to Jacques Mayol’s character about all the time he spends meditating. From it’s roots in Western culture as something exotic practiced by obscure Gurus, Hippies and the Beetles, Yoga has become a significant force in the Health and Wellness arena…and more and more world-class athletes are incorporating Yoga into their training.įreedivers are increasingly familiar with the close relationship that exists between Yoga and our sport. While Yoga has been an ubiquitous part of the culture since the mid 1960’s, most of us probably don’t have much experience in the practice of Yoga.