The health benefits of scuba diving and the transferable skills gained from this sport make it one of the best alternative medicine therapies around.
As part of my role as a Miss Scuba United Kingdom finalist, I recently took my first flipper steps into the underwater world at Deep Blue Scuba diving club, Edinburgh, Scotland where I successfully completed Discover Scuba.
During the dive, I was amazed at how therapeutic this underwater sport is and how being underwater enhances teamwork and communication skills.
The underwater environment is proven to provide food for the soul where the body and mind is submersed into a state of calmness and wellbeing. The ocean has long been portrayed as a healing force – the cure of saltwater for cuts and wounds as well as the hypnotic and dream like trance of the waves in feeling at peace with the world. It provides an opportunity to “wash away the pain” and “feel replenished”. This is part of what makes scuba diving effective as a rehabilitation aid in support programmes for people with mental and physical disabilities as promoted by the highly admirable work of the charity Deptherapy (deptherapy.co.uk).
Scuba diving is also a great alternative to the gym. Did you know that you burn “around 220 calories per dive” and “your metabolism is increased for up to 18 hours after you dive”. In fact, scuba diving makes for a fantastic workout. The motion of your legs in underwater finning and kicking techniques works the lower part of the body whereas the weight of the diving equipment on your back significantly improves muscle tone leading to better posture. The best part is that this exercise is completely effortless as you experience complete weightlessness.
Deep breathing techniques performed in scuba diving are also shown to greatly improve the respiratory system. As our oxygen levels increase to cope with the demand of breathing underwater – something we are not genetically programmed to do – “our energy levels rise stimulating circulation and promoting heart and lung function greatly boosting our mental state”.
Scuba diving also offers and presents a great social life meaning great memories can be experienced underwater and shared on land – even better if it’s over a bottle of beach bar rum or poolside cocktail! We meet people with the same love to travel the depths of the ocean and help protect the oceans through marine conservation in whatever way we can joining the movement of Project Aware. In doing so, we encounter many nationalities as we travel but we all speak the one ‘scuba language’ whilst scuba diving and learn to look out and come to each other’s aid. In scuba diving, we realise the importance of working together in an unknown environment and it shows as we encounter the ocean together in true team spirit.
