The anatomy of a great dive
The larynx. The soft palate. The tongue. The sinuses. The diaphragm. The nervous system.
All of these are parts of the body that freedivers meticulously maintain and train. For years professional athletes have been researching and also subjects of research into what improves your breath hold. We perform exhale stretches, uddhyana bandha exercises, tongue exercises, yoga nidra, meditation, and many other techniques for advanced freediving. We need use our larynx and glottis for Frenzel and mouthfill equalisation, the tongue and soft palate for Frenzel locks. Our inner ear and sinuses must be clear in order to equalise. Our diaphragm stretches into the lung cavity as they shrink under increasing pressure, so it must be flexible.
The nervous system factor
Ultimately, we are at the mercy of our nervous system. This is the deciding factor for whether we have a great dive session or one we find unproductive, or whether we can even dive at all. In the worst case, a dysregulated nervous system may even compromise dive safety, potentially contributing to loss of motor control (LMC) or even a blackout.
As we go deeper, the anatomy of our air spaces becomes increasingly scrutinised. Every element must work in harmony for a successful dive.
The secret connection
However, all these crucial anatomical elements share importance with another activity – one that might be profoundly beneficial as a freediving warm-up. This activity has surprising benefits in stimulating the nervous system, activating your EQ muscles, familiarising yourself with your airspaces, stretches the diaphragm, and helps you enter a “play” mindset almost immediately.
This may even be something you do throughout the day without even thinking about it. Most people are afraid of doing it in front of their friends (without a few drinks in them first). And it’s a crucial tool for human connection and emotional expression. You may have guessed it already, but do you know what it is?
Singing.
After years of vocal training, this has led me to meticulously understand what my body is doing while I sing, and I can’t help but note striking parallels to freediving.
The diaphragm plays a crucial role in helping you achieve breath control. It automatically forces you to take much longer exhales than inhales, triggering a parasympathetic nervous system response. This is the state of mind we seek as we freedive.
Anatomical activation
- You gain profound control over your larynx, tongue, and soft palate.
- The resonance vibrates your sinuses, causing them to flush and clear out.
- Different pitches require different control over air pressure, similar to how we control the air pressure during descent
- Singing and sustaining longer notes naturally improves your CO2 tolerance
- Humming specifically, research on humming suggests increase in nasal nitric oxide production
- Both singing and freediving require managing performance anxiety
Anectodal observations
While research directly linking singing with freediving is limited, the observational patterns are intriguing. Whenever me or other freedivers I’ve trained with have a song stuck in our heads or sing into our snorkel during a dive session, they frequently report having much more relaxed and easier performances. This could be coincidence of generally being a good mood, or it could reflect the mental and psychological preparation that’s granted by singing
Try it before your next session
The next time you’re driving to training, why not turn that music up and belt out some songs? It might help you get the results you’re after.
- Taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths
- Sustaining phrases with controlled exhales
- Feeling resonance in your head
- Simply enjoying the playful aspect!
You might be surprised with the effect it has on your dive session!
References
Bartoskova, M. (2024). The Role of the Vagus Nerve in Speaking and Singing. Voice and Speech Review, 19(3), 280–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2024.2416265