Deep Blue

Diving is one of those things I am really missing right now.  It's so calming and peaceful.  I took this photo at the Great Barrier Reef several years ago.  I was leading a group of high schoolers throughout Australia for the summer.  We helped the students become certified divers, but these four couldn't pass the dive test because they had asthma.  So they snorkeled instead (and obviously had some fun doing so).  I took this photo from about 15 meters below as I was photographing the dive students. 

I've always loved the ocean and felt connected to it, but diving definitely has deepened the bond.  It's an expensive and exclusive hobby, but one that has taught me an immense amount.  There's nothing like quietly observing a reef up close to help one understand the intricacies of aquatic ecosystems.

Deep breathing (or as some yoga instructors appropriately call it, ocean breathing) is the closest replication I have experienced of breathing through a regulator underwater.  There's something exciting about relying on measured air.  Every breath counts, and you want to make it as deep as possible. 

I don't know if it's because of the cozy liquid environment in my belly right now, because I got to swim in the Gulf recently (with dolphins!),  or because I know that I cannot dive at the moment, but I can't shake the need to go for a good dive.