Learning from each other and improving faster through cross-training: Here we combine two sports that couldn't be more different but still have a lot in common: diving and flying, specifically free diving and our free flying.
Free Diving
Trying to overcome human limits seems to be in our species' blood. Freediving is all about staying as long and as deep as possible in an environment that is hostile to life. This is where human existence is experienced in its most intense form, often reaching a flow state and oneness with oneself and the environment. In order to save energy and to be able to survive for a long time without vital oxygen, any underwater activity should be carried out as efficiently, relaxed and effortlessly as possible.
Paragliding
We all know what paragliding is all about and can probably answer the question of what it is all about best for ourselves. Personally, I can apply the above description of diving to flying, with the difference that sometimes, in a moment of shock, I forget to breathe.
The beginnings to today
Our sport has now reached at least an adult age. The pioneering days are long gone, most mountains and routes have been flown, and almost everywhere in the world has been discovered. New territory is now a rare commodity. We have accumulated theoretical knowledge, the equipment has become better, safer, lighter and more powerful. Electronics have also made leaps and bounds and all in all, many things have become better and better.
Current and New
Intensive research is being carried out into accidents, mental training for pilots has found its place and recently the association has been trying to establish the meaningful term human factors.
So there is a lot of knowledge, material and exciting things to discover within paragliding and everything is there for free use.
And now we add another piece of the puzzle that we believe is completely underestimated. Namely, derived from freediving, the active influence on our autonomic nervous system and thus on our mental and physical performance.
These are the questions:
how can I best prepare my brain and body for flying at home
How can I train my brain to focus longer and more easily
How can I learn to relax my body even in unpleasant situations
How can I get back to a regulated and functional state as quickly as possible after a moment of shock in order to make good decisions
How and when can I relax during the flight to regenerate and thus fly longer
Teachings from Free Diving
A dive only lasts one to a few minutes. You are under water, your body is compressed and you want to breathe. Depending on the length of the dive, your diaphragm starts to cramp, your muscles burn and you are still many meters under water, in a hostile situation. How do you deal with this and how can you completely relax in this situation to save oxygen? And how can you stay down even longer next time and relax even more focused?
The freediving community has been grappling with exactly these questions for years.
When paragliding, you rarely run out of air, but you still stop breathing from time to time due to shock. Or you tense up too much and miss the tube. And long flights are exhausting and you just don't want to fly any further, but you would like to be able to mobilize a little more reserve.
Relax!
Freediving is about two things: focus and relaxation. As preparation, as practice, as a warm-up, as a breath before diving, during the dive and when surfacing.
There are various techniques to achieve this. What has proven itself and is established in the freediving scene are various breathing exercises. We pilots don't need all of them. We don't have to learn to use our maximum lung capacity. And stretching the chest, diaphragm and bronchial muscles isn't necessary either.
But we can learn to relax, because it is easier to think and fly when we are relaxed. We can train ourselves to stay focused for a long time. And we can train ourselves to quickly recover after a fright so that we can think and act freely again. And we can train our brains to react to unpleasant moments with focus and not with panic.
The best way to learn and internalize this is on solid ground at home. Just a few minutes a day is enough to have the necessary tools ready to use in the air.
Breathe and fly!
There are countless mobile apps, YouTube videos, etc. to learn the following and many other exercises. In our Madeira "Flight Camp with Breathing Techniques", which will soon be online, we teach these techniques in a focused way and put them into practice straight away.
Body Scan: The gold medal for conscious relaxation goes to the body scan. Scanning the body for areas that hold more tension than necessary. The body scan can be used at any time. At breakfast, in the car or at work, and in bed to fall asleep. All of the breathing exercises below can and should be combined with the body scan. When freediving, the body scan is the be-all and end-all and makes long diving possible. When flying, it extends the possible relaxed flight time.
Box Breathing: Controlled inhalation and exhalation with a holding time in between. E.g. 6 seconds each: in (6s), hold (6s), out (6s) and hold (6s) and then repeat ten times.
Baby Sighs: Two-stage, sharp and complete inhalation, followed by a very slow and controlled exhalation. This lowers the heart rate and regulates the excited nervous system back down after a shock.
Doubled Breathing: Similar to box breathing, it's all about controlling your breathing. For example, breathe in for three seconds, hold for six seconds and breathe out for 12 seconds. Then repeat.
Waking up during the flight: Breathe in and out ten times in a two-second rhythm. Then hold your breath, with full lungs, for at least 30 seconds.
Unpleasant situation: Brain training for unpleasant situations. Breathe calmly while lying down and then breathe out completely and hold your breath. It will quickly become uncomfortable and you will want to breathe. Your diaphragm may start to cramp. Now try to relax and delay the breathing reflex for as long as possible. Do a body scan and release tension. This exercise trains the brain to be able to make conscious decisions in unpleasant situations, to relax and not to fall into panic mode.
Practice makes perfect
As with everything: trying is the beginning, practice makes perfect. We wish you good flights, curiosity to try things out and to keep getting better.
The second part will follow at the end of April. We will explain the techniques in detail and shed light on why it all works.
