Scuba Diving Is Transformational!

Has scuba diving changed your life?

A recently released 2016 research study conducted by researchers at East Carolina University working with Outside Magazine showed the motivation for adventure travelers has changed from a former study completed in 2005. The new study revealed that adventure travelers crave transformative experiences, but not as a byproduct of the pursuit of adventure activities. Instead, adventure travelers are actively motivated by a desire for personal growth and change.
Interestingly, of the 10 recreational activities identified as transformational by all those who participated in the research study, scuba diving was listed as number 8 and the overwhelming majority of participants were not scuba divers.

Earlier this year, we asked our e-news and social media followers to tell us how scuba diving was transformational for them. Our divers disclosed that scuba diving not only transformed them as individuals, but also influenced a loved one or their entire family, helped them overcome a fear, embrace a healthier lifestyle, and reminded us that you are never too old to get certified.

Louise and Dennis Marquering were both teaching biology and oceanography over forty years ago when they got married. They went snorkeling on their honeymoon and two years later became certified divers, which helped enhance their teaching experience. They have been each other’s dive buddies from the start and have traveled together to places they would never have explored otherwise. But, it doesn’t end there. In her own words, Louise writes, “Mothers have tears when their daughters get married. I teared up when our daughter completed her check out dive as a young teenager.” Well, their daughter has since grown up and is married to a diver. Now, the entire family goes on dive vacations together.

Scuba diving can help children’s self-confidence and create strong, family bonds. Valerie Rule defines this passionately when sharing her story. She tells us that they got their children in the water as early as age two, placing them on their laps, putting a mask on them and allowing them to breathe from their octopus regulator underwater. They enrolled their children in a scuba rangers program and, as soon as they were old enough, took them on their first dive vacation to Belize. Now in their twenties, their children are still their dive buddies and the four of them are still traveling together. Scuba diving has been, she says, “transformational in these and so many countless ways, and it has been an indispensable tool in binding the four of us together.”

Ed Rau discovered scuba diving as a young single man. He got married and his wife also became a certified diver. The couple had three children and they all became certified divers. He now has a 13-year-old granddaughter who is now a certified diver. Ed writes, “I always found a way to sacrifice whatever I had to in order to be able to go on a dive trip.” He shares that he started taking 8 mm snapshots that played movies on those old film projectors, which eventually progressed to underwater video. The whole family goes on dive travel vacations together and they always have “3 generation pictures” taken of them underwater! Certainly, the images and video relive their memories but also serve as a legacy for future family generations.

Sometimes scuba divers need to fend off certain anxieties, but what if the anxiety one is dealing with is unrelated to going underwater or the diving experience? We have all heard stories of individuals who had to escape a demon or two in order to accomplish a life goal.

Dr. Bill Bushing has been an educator and avid scuba diver his entire adult life, teaching marine biology at the high school and college levels. But, Dr. Bill (as he is known) had to overcome his fear of flying commercial aircraft in order to travel to those select destinations that he so desperately wanted to dive. He got over his fear of flying and has traveled all over the world, from the Caribbean to the South Pacific and Australia, including the islands of the Bahamas, the Philippines, Palau, Egypt, Fiji, Tahiti, Thailand, and other dive destinations. He also goes on trips to conduct studies and produce films. He has a newspaper column and TV Show, “Dive Dry with Dr. Bill,” and is a recipient of the 2011 California Scuba Service Award. He is a good example of someone you might consider never had a fear to overcome, but his story reminds us that our love and passion for scuba diving, and our desire to explore the oceans worldwide, is enough to dare us to overcome any fear – even when that fear is flying.

Suuz Martines, works in the dive industry, and has developed her professional persona, CoCo Cheznaynay® Secret Agent of Truth & Style, who teaches courage, truth, and advocates facing your fear. But as Suuz stated, “when I began scuba lessons, a strange performance anxiety surfaced; not about water, claustrophobia, fish, nor the equipment, but the act of being lined up to perform the certification skills. This was the beginning realization of the bullying I buried from my childhood. I knew I had to overcome this fear and get my certification or abandon CoCo. How could I teach through a character when I could not do as she says?” If not for scuba diving, she would have never embarked on solo dive travel trips beginning in 2000 and met strangers who became friends.

Scuba diving encourages some people to live healthier lives and embrace the sport ever so lovingly. Sherry Mitchell depicts herself as “a lover of life and scuba diving.” She and her husband gave up smoking, started exercising and eating better after becoming certified divers. As part of their dive classes, they were learning how to stay healthy so they could dive safer. They also became closer in their relationship and joy in life that they did not experience before scuba diving. Sherry also writes that they have been to some wonderful places and poetically illustrates the diving experience when describing her encounter with wild dolphins, giant manta rays, sharks, jellyfish and other marine life. She finishes off by telling us that they want to continue their plans of living healthy so that they can continue traveling and diving long into their senior years.

Many scuba divers will still be enjoying diving and traveling into their senior years, but Karen Jernigan is proof that you are never too old to fall in love or get certified. She was in her 50’s when she met her husband, who was a diver. A year later, she became certified. Since then, they have been traveling all over the world to scuba dive. She says she cannot imagine a vacation without the opportunity to dive. Karen says that they have also met many wonderful divers and they do seek warm water diving. The couple is now in their 70’s but looking forward to more years of traveling and diving.

Another group of divers who have benefited from scuba diving are war veterans and those with physical or emotional challenges. When they enter the water, experience underwater life and realize they are weightless and free, it becomes therapeutic. Specialized instructors, family, friends and fellow divers will willingly assist while more destinations and resorts are welcoming their visits. Many have learned to manage almost all on their own quite well. Others may require additional assistance, but all exhibit a new level of confidence and are so upbeat and resolute that nothing can stop them from diving.

Many encounters in life influence and change us in various ways. We all seek to focus on good things that bring about positive changes that make us happy when engaging in any sport, hobby or interest of any kind. As witnessed by the revelations of our readers, diving not only motivated them but became a shared fulfilling lifelong journey pursued with intense passion. In reading their truthful inspiring experiences, we realized two things. Human emotion creates moisture around the eyes and for everyone who becomes a certified diver; puts on special gear, loads a tank on their back, inserts their regulator and plunges into the water; there is one unanimous conclusion…
Scuba Diving is Transformational!

Anxiously Awaiting Your Next Dive?

If you dive less than 7 to 14 times a year you might want to take a refresher course before you go on your next big vacation or scuba dive adventure. You have either read something like this in your introductory scuba course, a dive magazine, or heard it down at a local dive shop. The reason is simple, if you practice diving on a regular basis, you become more familiar with more facets of your dive gear and scuba diving conditions in general. Being comfortable with your dive gear and the local dive conditions is the goal of every diver as it reduces anxiety and enhances your over all dive experience, but besides the basics, what else can you do to ensure the a perfect dive the next time out? Perhaps we should talk about dive gear first.

Even if you are diving warm waters, we recommend wearing a full rash guard or preferably a 3ml wetsuit that covers your torso, arms, and legs. Sure on the first dive you are warm in just a swimsuit, but after several dives and several days, you may start to feel cold before the end of the dive, and the urge to find a bathroom will eventually override your desire to maximize your bottom time. Acting on this urge before surfacing only exacerbates the situation by briefly heating your outer extremities then cooling them down while your blood vessels have become dilated by the sudden warmth which makes your heat loss increase exponentially. A wetsuit or rash guard is also a good way to protect your body from fire corals, jelly fish, and even prevents you from getting sunburned shoulders and legs when you are diving less than 20ft below the surface or doing decompression stops. A hood, bandana, cap or scap also works as the ultimate sun blocker for your head, especially if your hair is short or you’re like some of us and folically challenged.

Having your own gear with you on a trip always reduces anxiety because your familiar with how it operates and comfortable with how it fits , but sometimes renting gear is the best option, especially when it comes to the airlines baggage policies and added cost. We always recommend taking your own mask, booties, dive computer as there is nothing worse than a leaky mask and a limited or unfamiliar computer. Fins could be added to the essentials list if based on previous rentals that with every kick it reminded you of the movie Foot Loose. As for the rest of your rental gear, be sure and do an easy shallow shore dive to make sure you are absolutely comfortable with how the unfamiliar gear operates, sits, and fits. Now if you dive with steel tanks and you find yourself using rental aluminum tanks while on vacation, you’ll need to add some additional weight too. You’ll notice the difference aluminum tanks make at the end of the dive when aluminum tanks down around 500psi try to make you float to the surface if you didn’t plan a head and weight yourself properly for this contingency.

Everyone talks about how important buoyancy is and we recommend on working on perfect buoyancy so you can glide down underwater and surface later on as soft and slow as a snowflake or leaf swept along in a gentle breeze, but what if your next dive adventure calls for diving down quickly to get below the swift currents near the surface? You might need a little more weight, and little more practice to control a little quicker descent. Also, the added weight will affect how much air and at what rate you need to expel air from your BC on your ascent back to the surface too. Practicing with a few extra pounds of weight will lessen your overall anxiety when it comes to diving in areas where currents are typically stronger.

Task overloading is a common phenomena that can lead to symptoms of high anxiety. If you have been out of the water for awhile, chances are diving a deep night drift wreck dive from a boat while navigating using dive lights and taking video/pictures while lobster hunting is going to feel like a multitasking nightmare. Perhaps a better option is to strap a Gopro or Intova video camera in place so you are hands free, and for all the types of diving you plan on doing, perhaps training in each of these fields separately and in advance would not only prepare you for your next dives, but would also put you in the water more frequently. Skills in boat diving, deep diving, drift diving, night diving, and navigation to name a few, could be used at almost any resort or dive site worldwide. When your trained properly, it is easier to anticipate your needs, plan your dive, and actually dive your plan from Belize, Cozumel, Bonaire, Palau, Truk, or Papua New Guinea. Also, good dive operators are there to help you. Don’t hesitate to communicate any concerns you may have. Even the most experienced divers have encountered feelings of unease and apprehension. Voicing any worries along with all of this training with your gear and dive conditions increases your safety, knowledge, and your confidence and ability to make the best decisions when it counts most, and thus makes every dive more pleasurable and relatively anxiety free.

We Dove or Did We Dive That Dive Site?

We dove or did we dive that dive site?

Recently, at a well known dive destination, we overheard two scuba divers talking about a dive site where one of the divers dove the other day. The other diver happened to be an English major and insisted that dove was not the past tense of dive. The first diver disagreed saying that dive and dove were like drive and drove and divers have routinely used the word dove for more than the last 50 years. The English major countered that dove refers to a type of bird use in a Prince song as well as a chocolate covered ice cream bar and a brand of soap.

You could not say we dove the Titanic, but that we were diving or went diving on the Titanic. In an old fashioned way, the English major had a point, but English is a dynamic ever changing language that continuously allows us to form new nouns, verbs, and change words as we deem them needed. Eventually, certain words are used in certain ways so frequently that they become officially accepted by leading contemporary English Dictionaries. Television shows, Movies, Internet, and Pod casts seem to only increase the accumulated speed of new words, verbiage, and jargon.

Take a TV show like “Finding Bigfoot,” although the one thing you will never see on this show is an actual bigfoot, you will pick up a whole array of words never before known to those outside the bigfoot community. The cast of the show routinely makes comments that have reference to Sasquatch; the Northwest First Nations word for Bigfoot. In the show, they hunt for squatch or go squatchin in the squatchiest places they can find and the squatchiestness of a site determines how close to finding a bigfoot they ultimately almost get.

In the popular show “Call of the Wildman,” Instead of saying rat raisins, porcupine scat, raccoon excrement, or animal feces, Turtleman calls everything “Pootie poot or poodie poo.” You might even hear someone on the set yelling, “something was pootie pooing in here”, and by now there is no one in Kentucky or anyone who watches the Animal Channel on a regular basis who doesn’t know the meaning of Pootie poot. By the way, for as far as we know, this word has no affiliation with the “Pootie-poot” nickname former President George W. Bush gave Mr. Vladamir Putin of Russia.

Now some words have fought hard not to become generic words that we take for granted. Take the word “xerox” for example. In the seventies everyone was making, taking, viewing a xerox of some other piece of paper. Xerox was a noun, a verb, and a corporation, but now that anyone can make a copy by using almost any copier/printer, we have a whole generation of kids that may not even know what a Xerox copy machine looked like or how enormous it even was.

On the other hand some words seem to have lost the battle no matter how hard they tried to keep pure a trademark brand. The Kleenex Corporation put tons of money into the words “Facial tissue”, but despite their best efforts, people still find it more convenient to say, “Hey, pass me a Kleenex,” and blow their nose without any regard as to what specific brand of facial tissue that they have truly just desecrated.

Now we could continue on with other innovative and new words, or you could Google a few more of your own: Oh, we mean search for words online using a well-known yet definitive free web browser service. We googled “dove” and found plenty of references towards scuba diving, but I guess the people employed at certain definitive dictionary companies are not into scuba diving, sasquatch, or pootie poot, as much as other niche groups of people are, so it could take another 50 years for the word “dove” to become officially sanctioned as a proper word.

Then again, some words will never be officially acceptable such as the word “ain’t”. This word is used by hundred of millions of people yearly, found in countless books, and occasionally slips from the lips of past presidents, senators, and congressmen alike, but it is loathed more than the nine words that you can’t say on public, non paid, free access TV or radio. Ain’t is just one of a few select words that could potentially break the backbone of the English language and ruin the livelihood of countless English teachers: just the mention of this word can cause acid reflex in some social groups. We hope that the duel or triple meaning word “dove” is not as loathsome to those in power as the word “ain’t”, but ultimately that’s not our call.

Even here, our work is not done, as scuba instructors routinely tell students, “Inflate your BC!” and seldom do you hear anyone say,” Inflate your buoyancy compensator!”, or shout out even the more less used and outdated phrase, “Inflate your buoyancy compensating device.” By the time you spit out all these old antiquated words, everyone has surfaced and they are heading for shore or they have already stepped aboard the boat.

So tell us where you last dove, and do you plan to dive there again?

Why QiGong On Bonaire?

Why QiGong On Bonaire?

How do you define wellness? How is it beneficial to all we do? Do you practice it?

We support all efforts to help divers enhance their skills and enjoy every underwater experience. But in our opinion, the most important factor is being healthy as this alone allows you to continue diving. So to assist your diving longevity and capability, we want to acquaint you with a skill that is twenty centuries old and tell you why it can benefit you today.

QiGong is a fundamental component of Traditional Chinese Medicine taught by Taoist masters for over 2000 years. It consists of integrating physical postures and graceful movements with coordinated breathing. The name of this system to aid in wellness is comprised of two Mandarin Chinese words: “qi” which means energy flow and “gong” which means skill or achievement.

QiGong (pronounced Chee Gong) has been practiced for many years throughout Asia to promote health, relieve pain, prevent disease, and prolong life. It is intended to cultivate body, mind and breathing by the relief of physical and mental tension, increase balance, stability, strength and improve circulation of body fluids through the gentle contraction and stretching of muscles in coordination with full breath cycles.

Just about anyone can practice QiGong and it’s especially beneficial for divers . It is applicable for a broad range of fitness levels, given its foundation on meditative posture, gentle movement, and breath which empowers you to play an active role in you own health, wellness and longevity. Studies in the United States, Korea and Australia have shown it reduces stress, alleviates depression and improves movement and strength.

The gentle exercises help facilitate energy flow, breathing and balance while calming and centering your emotions to navigate stress. It combines stretching, breathing, toning and strengthening for anyone at nearly any age and fitness level. Related to, but older than Tai Chi, QiGong is simpler to learn because the movement sequences are shorter, more repetitious and not as complicated.

What are the benefits of practicing QiGong for Divers?

As you develop more experience and skills, the calmer you are underwater. Calmness can help during changing diving situations, to regulate breathing and deal more effectively with unexpected developments that were stressful before.

QiGong’s benefits topside can easily transfer to enhance our well being underwater. Dealing with what causes stress in life is the same as in scuba – just in two different environments – a feeling of being isolated, forgetting our strengths and focusing on what we fear.

Mindfulness of QiGong can turn stress into a feeling of oneness, so, as we become more peaceful, we gain a feeling of being at one with the ocean enviroment.

Increased focus enhances our interaction with, or seeing amazing marine creatures, especially our favorites, such as turtles, sharks, nudis, etc.When we are happy, learning and experienced, we move more unhurridely and observe more.

Our breathing slows and deepens. As we learn to slow our breathing rate down to conserve air, we can enjoy the tranquil underwater world longer. Deep steady breathing also reduces the risk of a lung expansion injury.

Improves and maintains general fitness and stamina levels.Muscle tone and stength are also improved. The emotional benefits of diving are enhanced.

The soothing effects of the buoyancy of water mimic the Eastern techniques of QiGong meditation. Time spent underwater captivated by the sights of fascinating marine life, with only the sound of our own breathing, is a form of meditation.

Appreciation of color has profound affect on moods and emotions. Improved awareness of bright, intense colors, like those of the reef and its life, generally have a cheerful and soothing effect.

Suuz Martines has combined her love of the ocean with QiGong. She is a certified instructor who has studied, practiced and taught QiGong for 15 years. Her company is ScubaDoRag and to many divers and non divers she is known as CoCo Cheznaynay, secret agent of truth and style.

During the week of December 7-14, 2013, Suuz will be diving and leading QiGong wellness sessions at the Home of Diving Freedom, Captain Don’s Habitat, on the #1 rated dive destination in the Caribbean, Bonaire. There is no cost for participating and sessions will be held at times that don’t conflict with any boat dives.

A week of fun and wellness on Bonaire sounds good to us, but there are also special packages available for divers and non divers will be offered a free introduction to scuba. For more information click on the QiGong and Captain Don’s Habitat link.

Diver Wellness: Featured Exercise – The Dolphin

Now that 2013 has begun, we know that your New Year’s Resolutions have too! For those who have decided to get (or stay) fit this year we’ve got an awesome exercise for you to try, it’s called The Dolphin.

Cute right?

This exercise is aptly named as it emulates the fin-kick swimming of both dolphins and divers. The Dolphin is also a ScubaFit original.

The Dolphin integrates low back, hamstrings, gluteus and abdominal muscles in a prone position using the lower body as resistance instead of the upper body. Walking backwards, kicking through strong currents, turtle swimming, wave action, surf and sand are all conditions where this exercise will enhance diving performance and prevent injury.

Form: Begin by lying face down on a workout bench with hips aligned at the end of the bench at a 90 degree angle. Knees should be aligned directly below the hips also at a 90 degree angle with ankles flexed.

Click here for full exercise how-to and article.

Thanks to our buddies at Scubaboard and ScubaFit for this awesome read.

Scuba Safety: Diver Wellness

Scuba diving is a lifestyle and as avid divers we maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to be able to keep our fins intact. Diver medical problems are (thankfully) uncommon but it is still a very important topic we wanted to cover. Here’s a bit of info and tips you may or may not know about Scuba Diving Safety from FamilyDoctor.org.

While there are millions of dives each year in the US, there are less than 100 deaths reported each year worldwide. In addition, fewer than 1,000 divers worldwide require recompression therapy to treat severe dive-related health problems.

Most severe dive-related injuries and deaths happen in beginning divers. To be safe, always dive within the limits of your experience and level of training. Good rules to follow for safe diving include:

1. Never try a dive you’re not comfortable with. During descent, you should gently equalize your ears and mask. At depth, never dive outside the parameters of the dive tables or your dive computer (information that helps you avoid decompression sickness).

2. Never hold your breath while ascending. You should always ascend slowly while breathing normally.

3. Become familiar with the underwater area and its dangers. Learn which fish, coral and other hazards to avoid so injuries do not occur. Be aware of local tides and currents.

4. Never panic under water. If you become confused or afraid during a dive, stop, try to relax and think the problem through. You can also get help from your dive buddy or dive master.

Never dive without a buddy or two

5. Never dive without a buddy.

6. Always plan your dive; then always dive your plan.

7. Be sure that your diving equipment can handle the dive you have planned and that the equipment is working well.

8. Don’t drink alcohol before diving.

9. Never dive while taking medicine unless your doctor tells you it’s safe.

10. Diving can be dangerous if you have certain medical problems. Ask your doctor how diving may affect your health.

11. Cave diving is dangerous and should only be attempted by divers with proper training and equipment.

12. If you don’t feel good or if you are in pain after diving, go to the nearest emergency room immediately.

13. Don’t fly for 12 hours after a no-decompression dive, even in a pressurized airplane. If your dive required decompression stops, don’t fly for at least 24 hours.

For more information on Diver Wellness read the full article here.

Scuba Diving Is Transformational

Anxiously Awaiting Your Next Dive?

We Dove or Did We Dive That Dive Site?

Why QiGong On Bonaire?

Diver Wellness: Featured Exercise – The Dolphin

Scuba Safety: Diver Wellness

Sizzling Specials

All Inclusive | Condo | Family

Adventure Activities

Client Testimonials

Maduro Memberships and Accreditations