Michael Lazaro is an ENT doctor from Manila in the Philippines. He has found a new way to overcome the toxic and fast-paced life of the city of Manila. He goes freediving to clear his mind and connect with Nature.

Though a dangerous sport, Michael enjoys it and feels that he is reborn again after he surfaces from the freediving session.

Michael Lazaro and his freediving sessions

Michael regularly goes freediving and finds the underwater time extremely refreshing. He is tired of the fast, toxic, and stressful life of Manila City where he practices.

But he cannot live in the city since it is here that he earns his bread and butter. But he had to find a way out to beat all the stress of the city life and his practice. Hence he took to freediving as a relaxation tool.

Michael finds it relaxing and said to BBC News:

“All you can hear is your heartbeat.”

He added:

“When you emerge, it’s like you are born again,”

He revealed that the first breath you take after coming to the surface from the bottom of the sea is like your first gasp after birth. You are now in a better position to face the world and the tensions that come along with it. Michael is certified in Hyperbaric Medicine.

What is freediving?

Freediving is diving into the ocean without a mask. There is no scuba gear used and the diver has to hold his or her breath from the point of diving to the point of resurfacing.

Hence it is also called breath-hold diving. Due to this, the time duration in water is limited, and also the depth reached by the diver is usually lesser than that with scuba diving.

It is dangerous to the diver and gets riskier as the depth increases. But many people are still able to do and withstand it. Michael Lazaro is one such freediver who finds it very helpful for rejuvenating him and giving him the much-needed energy boost.

The diver is immersed in water and hence the effect of the temperature and pressure of the water adversely can affect the physiological parameters of the diver. The diver may face and struggle with decompression sickness and sometimes blackout.

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In the past, it was used to procure food, harvest pearls, and sponges, for military campaigns, and get back sunken valuables. Reeds or some leather breathing bladders were used at times during freediving in the past.

The freediving conventions in the Philippines

The first freediving convention was held by Dive Ta Bai on 21 October 2017 in the Philippines. It was a celebration of the fifth anniversary of Dive ta Bai. The attendees were fewer since there was a typhoon Paolo also active at that time.

But still, the convention kicked off at 1.30 pm and was followed after the introduction by several lectures from eminent speakers on freediving. It was a success and all went well on that day. The last freediving convention was held 2019 in the city of Davao on 25 May 2019.

Source: BBC, CrazyJuann, Wikipedia