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 Can
we successfully influence the outcome of a dive just
by visually rehearsing it on our minds before we do
it? I definitely believe so, and this technique of “Visualization”
has helped me a lot during my career, the same way it
has helped many other athletes from other sports as
well as those who perform cutting-edge activities, from
pilots to surgeons.
In understanding how this works, we need to realize
that just “seeing” a dive before you do
it is not enough. This must be an Active process rather
than a Passive one. What I do is divide my dive into
different stages, and I see myself following all the
actions and procedures that apply to that specific stage
one after the other, from surface to bottom and then
to surface again. One thing that still surprises me
a lot when I talk to other divers is that the majority
of them do not have a “plan of action” for
their dives. Yes, they know that as we go deeper the
equalization techniques must change, or that after the
break point there is no need to kick anymore since you
can free fall and conserve energy, etc, etc. But they
deal with these situations as they appear, rather than
anticipating them and being prepared to do what must
be done even before it needs to be done.
One thing that Rudi (my trainer) taught me since the
first day we started working together back in 1999 is
that deep freediving is not a “getting lost in
yourself, journey into the blue” experience, but
rather an activity that requires a lot of carefully
planned actions. It is serious work, not enjoyment anymore,
and this is a big difference from the way I was diving
before and the way many people still dive. We review
everything that I need to do throughout the whole dive
for many months before I do it, so that by the time
the record dive comes, these actions have been ingrained
in my mind and there’s no way I can forget them.
So, even if there are a lot
of things I need to do underwater, I am so accustomed
to them and have performed them so many times, that
they don’t feel like a burden anymore.
Then, rather that focusing on the whole dive, I visualize
each of the stages one at a time, and I see myself making
all of the mistakes that can commonly be expected at
that stage, and how I will react to it. Only once I
have pictured myself dealing with all these problems
in one stage do I allow myself to start visualizing
the next one, and I repeat the same process again. I
call this “Problem Solving Visualization”
and it is not a negative visualization technique, as
many who use positive visualization would have you believe.
Positive Visualizers see themselves performing their
activity to perfection and being triumphant at the end
of it, and they don’t allow for any negative thoughts
such as making a mistake. While this may be very reassuring,
I believe that when it comes to freediving, a sport
so delicate and where so many small (and big) things
can go wrong even if the diver does everything to perfection,
this is a mistake. So, although I never have a doubt
that I will succeed in my dive (otherwise I would not
dive) I actually see myself dealing with all foreseeable
problems and solving them rather than just dreaming
of a perfect dive. If
you are not certain that you can complete a dive, then
don’t even attempt it and go back to training.
Here now are examples of how I implement my Problem
Solving Visualization before a dive, stage by stage:
My goal here is to cover those first 20 meters focusing
on using as little energy as possible rather than doing
it quickly, so proper technique is essential here. Therefore,
I visualize myself taking my usual 7 kicks with a monofin,
or 9 pulls for line assisted, or 12-13 strokes for unassisted.
I imagine
myself making more strokes than needed, in which case
I will make it a point to rest more during the following
phase, to compensate for that extra energy lost. Or
I see myself getting there in less strokes, in which
case I either slow down or realize that this may be
due to the fact that my last breath was not as big as
usual and I will have less oxygen available to me during
the dive, which will influence all my actions from that
point on, as I will be on “energy conservation”
mode. It will also mean that during the last part of
the ascent, I will be less buoyant than I would prefer
so I need to streamline myself to the maximum and perhaps
use more strokes on the ascent than planned. Indeed,
I am already making changes to my whole dive plan only
after the first 20 meters.
After 20 meters I will be free falling. This is my time
to rest and bring my heart-beat down after the initial
effort. This slowing down is essential for the diving
reflex to kick in and for oxygen conservation, so I
try to really rest during this part. I see myself relaxing
all my muscles (on some of my videos you can even see
me shaking my legs and arms) and achieving perfect streamlining.
In line assisted or unassisted, for example, I see my
legs being together, my feet pointed, my arms by the
side of my body with my hands pressed against the legs
like a torpedo. In this ideal position, I can fall very
fast and rest my whole body, so all I need to concentrate
on now is equalization.
Most
problems will be related to speed or hydrodynamics.
So I picture myself loosing vertical alignment, in which
case I gently steer my body with my head or extremities
back into position, all done without rush. Or I can
see my ears hurting a bit much, in which case I may
need to slow down to allow for easier equalization,
and this I will achieve by flaring my arms outwards
a bit, or bending my fins against the water flow slightly,
like airplane ailerons. I see myself solving these problems
calmly and with a minimum of movements. Did I mention
I really want to rest during this phase of the dive?
At 10 meters from the goal
depth, I will receive a signal from a diver, and I will
then awake from my “hibernation” mode and
prepare for the important maneuver of reaching the bottom.
I will need to slow down, come close to  the
line and find the bottom plate with the confirmation
tags. Then comes the maneuver of grabbing the line to
stop myself, which must be perfect, not to stop too
far from the plate or too close to it. After grabbing
the confirmation tag I will then start the ascent. There
are many tasks to be performed here, so my goal is to
do everything in exactly the order I have planned to
do it, since this familiarity will bring me relaxation
and speed. And, with FREE positioning a judge right
at the bottom to check me out, I can’t afford
to commit a deep water violation and have the record
invalidated (which already happened to me once), so
extreme alertness and slow, controlled motions are key
here.
This
is the part where more things can go wrong in a dive,
so I review it in my mind several times. What if I can’t
find a tag, or I drop the tag as I’m grabbing
it? I will see myself dedicating another 3-5 seconds
to find a second tag, which is the maximum time I am
prepared to spend at the bottom. If I can’t find
it, then I will purposely and in an exaggerated manner
touch the bottom plate (an accepted substitution) so
the judge can see me. Or I may stop too far from the
plate, in which case I can slide my hand down the line,
or stop too close to the plate, where I must take care
not to hit it with my body as I’m turning around.
So I see myself dealing with these quickly (I don’t
want to be there too long, remember?) but gently, as
I don’t want to build up more C02 than needed
here, where narcosis can be a factor.
From bottom to +20 meters. At the bottom,
I am, buoyancy wise, at my most negative. I am also
at the point where the diving reflex is most acute,
so most of the blood has been drained from my arms and
legs, and I have spent a long time inactive during the
second phase of the descent. So it will take me some
time to reactivate my body. I will do this with slow
motions and short strokes, until I feel fully functional
again. I am cautious to let this happen naturally, rather
than forcing my muscles into a totally anaerobic or
catabolic sprint, which could result in cramps, pain
or muscle failure, and usually, after 20 meters of controlled
motions, I have overcome this problem.
If the
dive is deeper than 60 meters, I will usually feel some
degree of narcosis at the bottom, which can be compounded
by the exercise at the start of the ascent. I picture
myself feeling dizzy and narcotized, and I force my
mind to deal with this. I memorize a part of a song
(usually, one of the songs I am writing myself) and
sing it in my head to fight off narcosis. Also, at that
point, I review any mistakes I have made during the
descent and for which I may have to compensate during
the ascent and formulate my plan of action for the way
up. I visualize my technique steadily improving as the
blood returns to my limbs, my body gaining speed and
without any equalizations problems left, I see myself
feeling good and ready for the most difficult part of
the dive. I always see myself feeling confident at this
point, because if not, I won’t have the strength
of mind to deal with the rest of the ascent, when things
will only get worse. This is, for me, the part where
Positive Visualization really helps a lot.
Heavy Work and Fatigue.
From bottom +20 meters to 20 meters. Well, this is in
many ways the worst part of the dive. Just as it was
the most enjoyable part of the descent, when I was nicely
free falling and marveling at my aquaticity, I now must
cover this distance through steady, consistent and heavy
work. This will eventually lead to fatigue, hypoxia
and a decrease in technique efficiency. In some ways,
this is a very demoralizing stage, where the mind inevitably
starts playing tricks on the diver, and doubts could
arise. Rather than fearing this moment, I start monitoring
myself very closely, checking ever muscle reaction,
keeping track of my speed, my oxygen levels and the
lucidity of my brain. This means only one thing: with
so much going on in my head, my actions need to be automatic,
of a mechanical second nature.
There
is not much to fake here, on a truly demanding deep
dive, I will always feel bad at this point. So, rather
than imagining problems, I just try to anticipate the
order in which they will appear. I see me slowing down,
or messing up a stroke here or there, which could be
common. But I push myself to relax and not panic, to
slowly fix the technique problems without any changes
in speed or sudden movements, which will only worsen
things. I picture the first contractions appearing,
and I hear my voice saying that this is perfectly logical
for such a demanding performance, so I relax once again
and adopt my “contraction-fighting” posture.
I know that this is a normal period and that, as long
as I stick to the plan, I will get through it OK. Then,
as in a real dive, I realize that although my muscles
are still tired, my speed is increasing and the blue
around me is getting lighter all the time, and I know
that I’m becoming more and more buoyant and that
the surface is closer. Then I hear the signal of the
diver at 20 meters, and I know it’s time to start
the last part of the dive.
From 20 meters to the surface. Well,
this is it, the end of the dive is only seconds away,
which as we all know, is the most delicate part. By
now, I already know whether it will be an “easy”
conclusion or if I will be on the edge. Now every meter
I ascend means a drastic decrease in pressure, where
oxygen will be less able to sustain vital functions.
To compensate, I need to decrease my activity level
to a minimum, and if I have done my work properly since
I left the bottom, I should have picked up enough momentum
that I can basically float to the surface from this
point. By now Rudi will be in front of me, shouting
encouragement and watching me carefully. I follow the
drill to increase my blood pressure in the brain, which
will also increase the oxygen’s partial pressure
there and help me stay conscious. When I actually break
the surface, there follows a moment of transition where
I’m neither underwater nor back on earth yet,
and to wake me from this trance, Rudi starts yelling
“Breathe!”, which brings me back right away.
Once I have done this and taken 5-6 recovery breaths,
I know the dive has been successful and I will look
for the judge and deliver the confirmation tag to him.
Now
most of the things that can go wrong, such as a blackout,
are beyond my control, so all I can do is stay calm,
use as little energy as possible and make as controlled
a surfacing as possible. I will remember all the dives
that I have done until now, remember how great they
felt and how I knew for sure that I could have gone
a few more meters, and then I remind myself that this
dive is exactly just that: a few more meters. It is
during the visualization of the last phase of the ascent
that I allow myself the luxury of feeling confident
for the dive, only after having completed the whole
dive in my head and having dealt in the best possible
way with any and all problems. Feeling confident, in
a sense, is a reward that I only get after this hard-working
visualization.
If the whole visualization has felt “right”
and the dive I have just seen in my mind really resembles
what I know a real dive feels like, then I know that
my concentration level for the dive is at its highest
and that I will be totally focused, highly motivated
and energized. In a way, if the pre-dive visualization
doesn’t work well, and I am not able to concentrate
on it, I know that I will have an even worse dive, since
the mind is the motor that drives a freediving performance
(at least it is with me). In fact, a couple of times
I have aborted dives after I was unable to do a proper
visualization. I knew my mind was anything but on dive
mode, and looking back, those were the right decisions.
So you could say that I place a lot of importance on
my pre-dive visualization routine, and if you want my
advice, so should every other diver. So now then, when
and where should we perform our pre-dive visualization?
Anytime before the dive is good, and the more you do
it the better a dive you will have. Obviously, a very
suitable time is right before the dive, when the alertness
and adrenaline rush of the upcoming performance will
help your mind be very awake and memorize any plans
you make easily. Also, it always helps to combine the
pre-dive visualization with another activity, so that
both your mind and body are occupied and you allow yourself
not time of inactivity. I do my pre-dive stretch routine
and breathing warm up together with the visualization,
and having all these things to do helps me a lot in
not getting nervous before a big dive, especially if
there is a lot of press and guests around.
A place that
feels comfortable and familiar is even more important
than an isolated, peaceful one. For example, for a long
time, I used to stay on land while my team was on the
boat setting everything up, so that I would not be bothered
by all the hectic activities going on onboard. But,
having to do my visualization and breathing exercises
on a desolated place on land never worked for me, and
it filled me up with anticipation and made me nervous.
So, for the past couple of years I left together with
the team on the boat, where I feel more comfortable
and surrounded by positive energy and where the noise
made by my friends as they prepare things for me is
actually a reassuring and welcome sound. There, I am
quite able to disconnect from the surroundings and do
my pre-dive routine quite comfortably as long as I have
a small and protected place somewhere. Again, this works
for me and others may feel better being completely away
from all the chaos that precedes the dive. But I still
recommend allowing enough time to get used to the final
location where you will dive, rather than making a sudden
change in environment right before the dive, which can
be quite negative.
Lastly, I want to say that pre-dive visualization is
nothing without a proper post-dive analysis from your
last dives.Yes, after every dive Rudi and
I sit together and carefully analyze the whole dive,
stage by stage, finding the strengths and weaknesses
in my performance. We discuss whether I dealt properly
with any problems or whether I need to solve them in
a different way next time they happen, and compare the
dive against all the dives that have preceded it. This
helps us establish a pattern that tells us very clearly
“how” I’m diving and what aspects
of my dives still need improvement and which ones are
always being done properly, so I don’t waste effort
on those. So, when you sit down somewhere to visualize
your upcoming dive, you should have in your mind a list
of what went well and what didn’t from your last
dive, so that you can work on those points during your
visualization.
Well, I hope this article has been of some help to
all who read it, as visualization has certainly made
a big difference in the quality of my dives.
Safe dives,
Yasemin Dalkilic
www.YaseminDalkilic.com
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