We went to Indonesia to dive and also stayed for yoga

We are faithful lovers of the sea, of the apparent tranquility of the ocean waters, of traveling, of observing the fish and the coral reefs and of the chats afterwards watching the waves break on the shore, against the light, with the fall of the afternoon ahead. We have always found all these variables that for us are the key to happiness in dive.

We traveled to Indonesia to tour the islands of Komodo and Bali for a few weeks, accompanied by a team of resident divers from the country who knew the beaches like the back of their hand and took us on some of the best dives we've experienced to date. . Indonesia is a country that hosts more than 17,500 islands in its interior, of which some 6,000 are not inhabited. It is the sixteenth largest country on the planet and the fourth most populous.

First stop: the island of Bali

The first destination we went to was the mythical island of Bali, the most famous and most touristic island in the country. Although there is more tourist influx, it retains its charm and personality. It is impressive to observe the volcanic beaches, the temples and the architecture of the area, and the iron and strong Hinduism that has not lost its presence on the island despite the strong effects of globalization. Another thing that we found curious was seeing the vast rice fields of the island, which explains why every meal we ate was accompanied by a bowl of rice (delicious, by the way).

In addition to surfing and its proximity to the country's capital, Java, Bali is especially known for the quality of diving that can be found, and that we find, in fact, among the coral reefs and the most of nine hundred marine species that live in the waters of the Pacific.

It seems that nothing surprises us anymore or particularly attracts our attention in this world of things already discovered, frivolous and impersonal, but when, on our first day, early in the morning, we left our little house in Bali, we put on our neoprene, we took the diving equipment and got on the small boat led by Cova, our guide and best ally along the way, we began to be truly aware of what we were about to experience.

We especially like the morning dive because not too much light enters underwater yet and the fish are calm, rushing the last hours of darkness to hunt. Thinking about the breakfast that awaits us afterwards is also a pleasant feeling. Enjoy things before they happen.

When we made our dive, with an almost purple light decorating our faces and the surface, we could see that diving in Bali was as magical as we had been told: sunfish, sea turtles, small sharks and blue-ringed octopuses are just some of the species that we could see throughout the morning. We spent most of the morning under water. When we returned to the surface, we talked with Cova about how relaxing the experience had seemed to us, about the good body that we had left for the whole day, and about the power that deep breathing, silence and light have on the mind. dim characteristic of depth. Cova then asked us if we practiced yoga regularly, to which some of the group gave an emphatic and resounding no for an answer, and others shyly confessed that very occasionally, in the city, we attended meditation classes at the gym.

Cova came to pick us up from our bungalows that same afternoon, when the sunset was already turning the clouds orange and the sea looked pink, almost purple, like that of the morning. He brought mats for everyone and asked us to put on sports clothes. Immediately afterwards we accompanied him to the beach, empty and silent, where he spread out the mat; thereupon she started giving us a yoga class.

At first we were not able to disconnect from the rest and focus on breathing and connecting with ourselves, but then Cova told us to think about how we breathe when we dive, how calmly we inhale and lengthen the exhalation to hold more time underwater, and that we apply that technique to our breathing during class. From one moment to the next we find ourselves in a state of complete relaxation; our body floated among so much peace, and even with our eyes closed we felt the last rays of the afternoon sun on our body.

Over the next few days in Bali we made it a tradition to do a forty-five minute yoga class before diving and another in the afternoon, before dinner. We were able to observe many similarities between yoga and diving, such as that both start from respect for your body and what surrounds you.

Both require being aware of the moment you are living, enjoying it, appreciating the present and not spending time on what has happened or what is to come. Both "sports" demand that we slow down, that we don't live for the sake of living, that we appreciate every action we do and not take it for granted.

Komodo, an unprecedented natural paradise and underwater yoga.

From Bali we went to the island of Komodo, also called the “Giant Lizard Island” because one of the local inhabitants of Komodo is the giant lizard, which measures almost three meters and weighs about 70 kilograms. It is in danger of extinction and in order to protect it, the Komodo National Park was created in the 1980s.

In addition, Komodo is declared a National Heritage by UNESCO, which translates into an extremely protected place, and that can be observed in the biodiversity of the area, which is the widest on the planet.

Our weeks in Komodo could not have been better, we spent the days among manta rays, sharks, whales, dolphins and sea turtles. We tried the gastronomy of the area, authentic, spicy, delicious, and of course, accompanied by rice. We visited many beaches on the island, among them the Pink-Beach, whose sand is pink due to the deterioration of the red corals that the tide washes up on the shore and, when they deteriorate, become the size of a grain of sand.

After diving in the central areas of Komodo, we headed to the north face of the island and dived under Cauldron and Cristal Rock. The morning that we were going to dive into the China Shop area, we headed, like every morning since that wonderful day with Cova, to the shore to practice yoga. But Cova told us that that day, the yoga and meditation class would be underwater. Underwater yoga? The answer is yes.

If we already felt peace under the surface while diving, imagine when we combined the two most relaxing practices we had ever practiced. It was incredible.

We felt how our body was floating underwater and we felt a tranquility that we had not experienced before. Cova told us when we reached the surface again that practicing yoga underwater would help us better control our scuba dives, and that it would prevent us from muscle pain and aches, and we would also be able to better visualize the stages of our dives.

We recommend all divers in the world to practice yoga underwater, be it in Komodo, Bali or Spain!

So how are the yoga and the diving?

Both yoga and diving aim to achieve a meditative movement: Meditate to synchronize breathing with the sway of the body. Breathing is closely related to the mind and mood, so controlling the breath will lead us to control the mind. Controlling the mind relaxes us and gives us peace of mind and favors the proper distribution of oxygen throughout the body. Yoga and diving bring us to this natural meditative state.

Breathing

The most obvious common element between yoga and diving is breathing. Breathing is a powerful weapon that affects us greatly, even if we are not aware of it all the time. The softer you breathe, the more you enjoy. Controlling your breathing also promotes a reduction in the levels of stress we generate. It is evident that by controlling our breathing we will have more time to take advantage of underwater. By practicing both yoga and scuba diving, we are much more aware of our body's respiratory processes and the way we breathe. We must control our way of breathing; This must be deep and continuous, and not hold it at any time.

Relaxation

When we are underwater we feel a tranquility that is very difficult to explain, since we do not easily find it on the surface, unless we are practicing yoga. Both are based on the generation of calm and concentration. Both leave a feeling of well-being once finished: When we dive or practice yoga, we control our body and focus on our spirit; in improving it, in discontracting it.

The silence

Another element common to diving and yoga is the silence that surrounds both and that is invaluable when it comes to meditating, living in the present moment and connecting with each other's inner self.

Finding tranquility is simple, you just have to look for it and know how to go for it. We found it in a corner of Indonesia, in diving, in yoga, in conversations with friends and with new people. Do you already know where yours is?

If you are still not very sure, we recommend that you take a plane and embark on the adventure that we have told you about and that we are delighted to have you repeat for us.