To celebrate PADI Woman’s Day, we caught up with some flexible freediving females from around the world at Fathom Freediving Bali to take photos and make a video. We also talked perspectives on freediving and how it has impacted their lives.
To encourage more ladies to try freediving, we are offering a 50% discount on PADI Freediver Courses for females when they bring a friend. For more info click here.
The video was filmed at our local spot, the USS Liberty Shipwreck.
No prizes for guessing why Lukas joined us for this shoot:
Nyimas Laula Li An’Amie….
Age: 25.
From: Java Indonesia.
I’m a freelance photojournalist currently based in Bali. I mostly do work for environmental and social issues across the country.
I have loved the ocean since childhood. I always wanted to go to the beach. I was once drowned. So then in high school I learned how to swim.
Watching documentaries about the ocean inspired me to start freediving. I am self-taught, but have been considering learning more or doing a course.
Underwater is where the life starts.
I love it. Freediving keeps reminding me that I’m just a tiny human being in the big ocean, with limitations. But at the same time, I’m always amazed at what I can do. It’s inspiring how far we can go on just one breath, if we know how to use it.
To become a photojournalist is to accept anything I witness, as it is. I swallow it whole, take it into my heart, digest it no matter what and then project it through photographs. Every assignment took a little piece of puzzle out of me and replaced it with what I had witnessed. Most of the time it’s hard to accept.
Being underwater has always been a profound experience.
It’s a place where I accept things and get inspiration.
Because of my job, I’ve seen a lot. Indonesia’s high population and rapid industrialization is causing major environmental issues. Massive deforestation for the palm oil industry, waste problems and mining is destroying ecosystems. Almost half a million people were suffering from acute respiratory infection due to forest fires last year. I was in Palangkaraya when the worst haze disaster happened. It was the most devastating place I’ve ever witnessed.
As we know plastic in the oceans is major problem. I’ve seen the worlds second biggest open trash mountain near Jakarta, which increased by seven thousand tons every day. This is only from the country’s capital.
Amid this distressing situation in Indonesia, I feel lucky to have been greeted by beautiful ocean creatures. Most memorable was a pack of Melon-headed whales near the Banda Island bay.
We swam side by side, as if I was one of them. I watched them play and heard them sing. This kind of experience keeps my spirit high.
Website: www.nyimaslaula.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/nyimaslaula
Christine Armie Marquez.
Age: 30.
From: Philippines.
Around 3 years ago a friend introduced me to freediving. I never thought it would make such an impact on my life.
I quit my nursing job and became a Yoga Instructor. I found a new love for travel, adventure, surfing, arts, music and nature. I now enjoy higher levels of health and well-being. This is what my heart yearns to do and it really was the beginning of a change in how I live my life.
Freediving literally makes me feel so free. Floating in a fluid environment that is nourishing and vitalising.
We are often distracted by our culture’s superficial and materialistic ideals. Sometimes lose touch with the depth of our soul, those we love and the natural world around us. Water can bring me back to a state of grace where I feel in awe of life’s beauty. I am humbled and grateful to be part of it.
It helps me explore myself. It opens me up to intuition and guidance, unfolding magical abilities that I believe we all have deep within us. It gives me higher feelings, relaxation and healing.
Watching huge clouds of sardines in Moalboal accompanied by a Thresher shark was indeed a spectacular moment I will never forget.
Freediving the Liberty wreck in Amed Bali for this video was also an amazing experience. Photographer Sam Henry showed me some of the swim-throughs, with thousands of tropical fishes and beautiful corals around.
The ocean has always been a place of mystery. It is vast and beautiful, awesome and fearsome. It offers us many tools for accessing the realm of inner stillness and wisdom. It is our duty to live in awareness and to cease further harm to the ocean. Through our daily choices, we can make a difference.
https://www.facebook.com/christinearmie.marquez
Natalie Rudman
From: South Africa.
I think I was freediving since being a little girl. I remember jumping into a swimming pool before I could even swim.
I would usually jump back up before I sank. Then one time I jumped in but didn’t jump out… I started to sink under and didn’t even panic. I just let myself go.
I remember hands reaching for me and pulling me up. I remember the look of horror on an adults face. That’s where our fears come from, not from our experience as much as from other people.
I did my first freediving course in Thailand a few years ago and loved it. I felt calm, free and connected to the ocean. Unfortunately I couldn’t continue with it due to sinus issues, but last year I started to train and the sinuses cleared. It was as though something became unstuck.
Yoga and freeDiving go hand in hand, you can incorporate much of what you learn in the water on land, and much of what you learn on the mat in the water. Sometimes it’s fun to combine the two in water asana.
I see the ocean as this big blue beautiful playground, full of stunning creatures who want to play. I want to spend the rest of my days inside of it, enjoying it and protecting it.
Website: http://www.comeoneyoga.com/ Instagram: @nat_comeoneyoga
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalie.rudman
Below are some of the best images from the day. If you want to learn how to freedive in Bali… And get photos/videos like these… Send us a message here
