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THE LIVING FREEDIVING INTENSIVE
SICILY, ITALY, JULY 4 – 6
The Living Freediving Intensive is a unique collection of seven workshops I have developed over many years that teach the aspiring deep freediver lifestyle practices and training methods that can positively influence not only their freediving progression, but also their general health and well-being.
The principle is simple: before you take your vehicle (your body and mind) to the depths, first prepare it well.
Drawing from a fifteen year background in traditional yoga, and almost a decade of my own deep diving progression, currently surpassing 80 metres in competition, I will show you the daily practices I personally use and trust can aid you greatly in your freediving progression.
Join me in collaboration with Blue World Freediving, Italy’s first dedicated freediving centre for an unforgettable learning experience!
INCLUDED:
SEVEN WORKSHOPS & THREE DIVE SESSIONS
The Living Freediving Intensive is a unique collection of seven workshops presented over three days. The intensive also includes three freediving sessions.
HATHA YOGA WORKSHOPS:
NAULI KRIYA
Liberate the deep body.
Nauli Kriya is one of the six ‘shatkriyas’ (purification exercises) of traditional hatha yoga. The numerous benefits of Nauli Kriya include;
massaging of the internal organs
stimulation of the digestive processes
stimulation of the detoxification/lymphatic system
mobility, strengthening and mastery of the breathing muscles and accessory systems.
Nauli Kriya is a excellent accessory exercise for the passionate freediver with great rewards that can be incorporated into your daily practice with very little time investment.
YOGA ASANA FOR FREEDIVERS
Develop superior control of the breathing muscles, and full body mobility, strength and flexibility.
That part of yoga that involves moving from posture to posture, with controlled breathing, developing the strength and flexibility of the body, is know as ‘asana’.
In this workshop you will learn a 40m asana routine that I have developed, informed by more than a fifteen years of practice and understanding in the tradition of ‘vinyasa krama’.
This sequence is designed to be particularly specific to the freediver’s needs (less hamstring stretches, more thoracic cage and spinal mobility).
This session includes detailed workshopping of the ‘ujjayi breathing’ technique and the ‘bandhas’ – important muscular and energetic contractions that elevate this practice well beyond mere glorified stretching.
PRANAYAMA (YOGIC BREATH-WORK)
Master control of the breathing muscles, develop mental discipline and fortitude, balance the mood and stabilise the personality.
Pranayama is perhaps the most important element of traditional hatha yoga, being that practice which unifies the breath and mind most profoundly.
The true purpose of pranayama is deeply spiritual and requires a very thorough education in traditional yoga with both practical and theoretical understandings.
I would encourage anyone to dive deeply into this aspect of pranayama, but even without such a deep dive, pranayama offers an incredible opportunity to bring equanimity to the mind, master the breathing faculty, and also improve your CO2 tolerance…without suffering!
Here we take only the very preliminary practices of pranayama in the form of ‘kapalabhati’ (actually one of the shatkriyas) and ‘ujjayi pranayama’, practices that are enormously beneficial to the freediver.
You will learn the traditional method of pranayama, including the use of digital counting, metronomes and mantra.
DEEP RELAXATION & RECOVERY:
DEEP RELAXATION & RECOVERY
Downregulate the sympathetic nervous system, understand your relaxation potential.
Being able to consciously down-regulate the sympathetic nervous system and up-regulate the parasympathetic nervous system is essential to recovery of the nervous system and the ability to continue training over long periods of time.
Learn a variety of techniques to do this including yoga nidra (yogic sleep), autogenic training and self-guided relaxation techniques.
DRY APNEA | COMPRESSIBILITY:
BREATHING MOBILITY
Pre-dive preparation or daily discipline.
Most of us have some kind of pre-dive routine including stretching and other exercises. In this workshop you will learn a 20 minute routine that includes breath work, stretching and mobility of the breathing muscles, parasympathetic nervous system activation and equalisation warm ups.
Not only does the Breathing Mobility Routine serve as an excellent way to prepare for a dive, but can also serve as a daily practice that keeps your freediving heart alive when you are away from the water!
ADVANCED STRETCHING & EQUALISATION
Deep work in the thoracic cage, essential equalisation practice.
How do you maintain your thoracic cage adapation to depth when you are away from the water?
You will learn a 35 minute routine of advanced stretching and mobility exercises that will keep your thoracic cage and breathing muscles supple and ready for when you get back into the water.
DRY TRAINING FOR FREEDIVING
Improve hypoxic tolerance, CO2 tolerance and high lactate tolerance with simple dry exercises that don’t take forever to practice.
The days of pointless 45 minute long CO2 tables are gone. You will learn simple and effective dry apnea exercises that can be incorporated into your training programme no matter where you are.
FREEDIVING SESSIONS:
The Living Freediving Intensive in Sicily includes three freediving sessions. At the end of the first day of workshops the guests will be invited go out and dive as a way of introdution to the waters of Sicily.
The next two days will be semi-structured and semi-coached sessions which Donny will plan with the participants before the session.
Depending on your level you may be expected to provide safety for your fellow participants.
The maximum depth for these sessions will be 50 metres.
Two extra days of coached sessions with more personal attention can be added on July 7th and 8th for an additonal fee of 70 EURO per session.
PRICING:
€500
or
€450
(Patreon Price & Early Bird before May 1st)
Minimum Requirements: Aged 16 or over. A Level One certification from a reputable freediving education organisation.
Your place will be confirmed upon receipt of a non-refundable 100 EURO deposit.
To book a place on this event please email Marco at
or Whatsapp: +39 35 199 128 72
LOCATION:
Blue World Freediving, Sicily, Italy