What is free diving?
Freediving is underwater diving where you hold your breath instead of using scuba gear. You’ll also hear it called breath-hold diving or apnea diving. It takes real mental and physical discipline, because you’re going down on a single breath, and that’s also what makes it risky if you’re not careful.
Before a dive, freedivers use specific breathing techniques to load up on oxygen. They also rely on relaxation to keep calm and slow the body down, so it burns less oxygen once they’re under.
People freedive for different reasons, just for fun, as a sport, or as part of traditional fishing in some cultures. Whatever the reason, the risks are real. Hypoxia and shallow water blackout are the big ones, and they’re why everyone who wants to try freediving needs proper training first. Don’t learn it alone.
