The very purpose of yoga is to still the mind so you can think clearly and be present to what's going on around you. That's a very useful skill as a diver - whether you need to make life-altering decisions at depth or if you're just wanting to enjoy your surroundings without being distracted by the usual chatter swimming around our minds.

You might have been surprised by that answer as to why yoga is beneficial for divers. Many people consider yoga as a physical exercise and for stretching, and that if you're not flexible already then yoga is not for you. That couldn't be further from the truth. The yoga postures (known as asana) were designed to open the body and release tensions before sitting for long periods in meditation. These poses also help to relax and reduce stress. Yoga breathing exercises are designed to clear the mind and balance the energies of the body, again in preparation for sitting. Postures are not the be all and end all of yoga. If you sit in silence and observe nature around you, just listening to your breath (which is diving in a nutshell) then you're practising yoga. In my mind, diving is an active meditation.

The other misconception about yoga is that you'd be required to chant in a class. There are some yoga classes where chanting is performed at the start and finish of a session, but it's never forced on you to join in. Personally I find the sound of chanting affects my mood in a positive way - whether that's to relax or invigorate. Often the translation of the chant can hold a wise and motivational message so its worth asking your teacher what it means! 

So whilst yoga can have the long term effect of improving flexibility, this is not it's primary purpose. On a physical level, yoga can build strength quickly as we hold our body weight in challenging positions for a minute or more. This type of exercise creates lean, toned muscle rather than bulging biceps. Think strong lower back and thighs for carrying scuba gear; flexible shoulders for reaching hoses or swimming with arms overhead as a hydrodynamic freediver.

Adding to this physical strength however is the mental strength that is created when we gradually learn to accept ourselves as we are and meet the world with a calm, open mind and strong, flexible body.

If you'd like to try yoga in the comfort of your own home then try my online yoga programme - four weeks of bite-size yoga sessions, breathing exercises, nutritional advice and guided relaxations. See how others have benefitted by reading their testimonials. Read more about yoga, fitness and nutrition here.

Happy New Year!

Support your favourite marine charities this Christmas with a range of practical gifts like this Shark Mug from Bite-Back, aiding the fight against shark finning, or a TidyTide water bottle. Other options include Adopt a Turtle or Seahorse from MCS or visit the Christmas shop at RNLI to support our lifeboat crews. Help Sea Shepherd's campaign against whaling by visiting their online shop for hoodies, t-shirts and mugs.

Give the gift of a new skill next year - whether it's a PADI speciality or trying out freediving for the first time. If you're in the Bristol/Swindon area then check out DM Scuba for scuba courses, or try PADI nationwide.  Wherever you live in the UK there's should be a freedive course near you - check the British Freediving Association for more information. For my freediving courses see here. You can also access online yoga for divers here and a shorter online course for better breathing - both great stocking fillers!

I love to wear jewellery that reminds me of where I'd rather be! I have a mermaid around my neck and a shark on my pearly bracelet. Adorn your buddy (or self!) with manta, dolphin or seahorse from Reef Jewellery or Aquamarine this Christmas. Etsy is a fantastic resource for homemade sea-inspired jewellery from around the world including mermaid pendants and starfish earrings. Visit their marketplace here.

Give a practical ocean gift this Christmas for the home - perhaps these coral book-ends from Etsy or ocean-print cushions on EBay. For a customised gift, you could put this year's favourite underwater shot on a cushion, mug or canvas print at Photobox. For stocking fillers or secret santa try a Sea Salt candle. Kids will love this shark laundry bin or shark umbrella!

Getting in and out of wetsuits and swimwear can be a bit awkward when you're on a dive boat or onshore with no changing facilities. And in a typical UK summer it's often too cold to whip out your smalls in the fresh air! In the last few years we've seen several swim robes come onto the market to help divers, swimmers and surfers stay warm and get dry in public. I've tried two out this summer - a sleek poncho for warmer climes and a sleeping-bag type robe for cooler days.

Firstly let's look at the Dive Sangha warm weather poncho, as shown to the left and below. The material feels like chamois leather or a microfibre towel, so it dries you off and then dries quickly itself. There's plenty of space underneath to take off any wet clothes or a suit without exposing yourself and also keeps you warm if there is a breeze in between dives.

The poncho folds up small into a black bag which comes with the robe, and drier clothes or accessories can be kept in a separate compartment. All these items are branded with Dive Sangha's minimal but stylish diver logo and name on the back. I've used my poncho on warm, dry days in the UK after an open water swim or surf, and in between shore dives abroad on holiday. The poncho wouldn't be suitable for rainy or windy days. Unfortunately taking a freedive wetsuit off under here would be quite tricky due to their over-the-head configuration but surf, dive and triathlon suits would come off very easily.

Unfortunately we don't often get sunny days in the UK so divers staying at home will need something more heavy duty to keep warm and dry. The Dryrobe fulfils divers needs at the opposite end of the spectrum - on miserable, cold days or throughout the winter.

When I teach freediving we spend the whole day on the freedive platform in our wetsuits. That's lovely on a warm day, but when it's springtime or there is rain lashing down there is very little we can do to stay warm. With three immersions a day I also get quite a low core temperature by the third session.



I've found the Dryrobe very handy this summer not only for myself but also when I have students who are starting to get cold and still have skills to complete to pass their course. It can certainly save the day and I'm sure save lives too. As with the poncho above, this robe is roomy enough to get changed underneath, but freedive suits are impossible to get out of without being free of the jacket. The fluffy interior is very snug and makes you feel as if you're wrapped up in a sleeping bag! The outer lining is wind and water proof.

I'm glad to have one of each of these robes as we have such a range of weathers here in the UK, and I do occasional get out to warmer climes. Remember that being cold can ruin diving for the day, and poses more serious risks of becoming hypothermic. I think these robes are essential for every diver's kit bag.

Although I tried out a few new techniques, my training programme this year hadn't changed much from last in terms of volume or intensity, and improved in places where I could train and fuel myself a bit smarter and recover better. But alarmingly my ability to bounce back from training sessions declined, my sleep was suffering and eventually I blacked out swimming a distance which would normally be achievable. It felt like I'd hit an invisible wall in the pool, more a physical hindrance than a mental one, and this time recovery wasn't just slow it was pretty much non-existent and I felt fatigued for many weeks, missing the UK championships in March.

Once I'd got back into training in April I felt as if I was barely maintaining, and even back-peddling on previous results. I'm proud that I kept plugging on through this, turning up to train even though I'd started to hate it and felt miserable. And then my body began to reject evening training. We've had late night sessions for years, which haven't posed much of a problem, but now my body was just saying 'No!'. A new low. From then on I was just fire-fighting - switching as much training as I could to daytime and being fastidious in recording recovery statistics to make sure I was only training when I was fit to, adapting over and over again. But the love for diving had gone and I was buckling under pressure and negativity.

With the commitment, effort and sacrifice I've given over the last few years comes a sense of pressure not only perceived from outside as expectation but also deep inside to make this journey worth those personal sacrifices. The huge success of my crowdfunding project relieved my short term financial pressures and showed me how many people were out there rooting for me. That's been a lifeline during my low moments of wanting to quit.

In a cruel twist of fate I began to feel more myself at the start of June, my results and recovery improved and I began to hope that I'd be OK for the World Championships after all. 10 days out from the trip to Belgrade I matched a previous PB in DNF, super clean at the end of the swim and recovered fine by the next day. Unfortunately at the event itself I met that invisible wall again in the pool, blacking out at 135m.

I made mistakes on the day, which I've noted and chosen not to use as a bat to beat myself with.  Following a number of blood tests, it appears that my invisible wall may be as a result of being borderline hypothyroid and insufficient iron, despite supplementation. The physical stress of this sport acts like a microscope and at the outer reaches of personal effort it's certainly noticeable if you're not 100% healthy, but day to day its not so apparent. I hope that with more tests this summer I can find the best way to manage myself back to fully fit and healthy.

I've surprised myself in the last few days by not being utterly devastated - of course I'm gutted in a way I can't put into words but I also have a deep and comforting sense that right now I'm learning the really important stuff. It's at our most vulnerable times, when our soft underbelly feels raw and exposed that we can choose to stay open and feel the burn of disappointment, until it wipes you clean of all the non-essential stuff of who you are.

What I know I love about this sport is the way it brings you to look at the really tough stuff inside - the parts of ourselves we either don't know we have or keep hidden. Being competitive brings a host of ego faces along with it and the best divers have found ways to let go of ego-driven thoughts and behaviour. And so that's my training goal for now - working on the stuff inside rather than in the pool. I'm looking forward to a summer of trail runs and lake swims, soul searching on my yoga mat and an opportunity to connect with the ocean again through diving. Somewhere in all that will be my happy place, and it's from there that I'll strike out again on my training path when the time is right.

Also applies to Mermen!

You are what you think you are. Self-confidence is essential in the nerve-racking hours before competing. This confidence comes from hard work, sweat and tears in training and relentless practice. My triathlete heroine Chrissie Wellington said that 'you don't become a champion, you act like one, everyday'.

She also said that 'there are no limits'. It's taken me a while for this one to sink in. The only thing that limits us is a belief that there are limits. I still see other people's records as limits. I see the pool walls as limits! So this is my next challenge - step by step advancing my own progress, exploring what my body is capable of.

Dream It - Believe It - Achieve It

Mermaids need to undulate their backs to swim, like a dolphin. That means our backs must be flexible and strong. Yogis believe that the quality of the spine reflects our age - so keep young by maintaining a supple spine! Remember that the spine is made of three parts - the lumbar (lower), thoracic (middle) and cervical (upper) spine. The upper portions must allow movement of the body to flow between the chest and core. Most office workers and car drivers suffer from tight upper and/or lower backs so these exercises are beneficial for us all in daily life too.

Often forgotten, our feet are the key to the whip-like kick at the end of the mermaid stroke, and for keeping our tail hydrodynamic. Unless you've been a competitive swimmer since childhood you'll probably have stiff feet and/or ankles. It's worth adding stretches to your yoga practice that move the feet in both directions. Sitting cross-legged regularly will also help.

The engine of the dolphin kick is the core - our abdominal muscles, obliques, lower back and pelvic floor. Always add core exercises to your yoga practice and/or gym session to ensure this key body stabiliser is given a regular workout. Don't necessarily aim for a 'six pack' as this is only a superficial indicator of strength. Real core power comes from the deeper muscles in and around the stomach.

It goes without saying that a mermaid needs to spend lots of time in the water - 'til your fingers prune!

Mermaids have 'aquaticity' - a feeling of being at home and comfortable in water. If this isn't you yet, then take it step by step by enjoying swimming and drills in the pool or in open water. But remember to never hold your breath alone - get some training and swim with a buddy.

Holding your breath means eventually coming up against an intense need to breathe. Our body tells us this by sensing rising CO2 and signalling via an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm. Training involves challenging this signal, and the thought that comes with it. It's about becoming comfortable with discomfort.

We can practice this on the mat in challenging poses that give an opportunity to relax and soften instead of stiffen and lose focus. Pigeon pose is a great example.

On Sunday 6th July 2014 Rebecca set a new UK record in Dynamic apnea (with monofin) of 179m in Stockport at Life Leisure Grand Central swimming pool. This was organised by Steve Millard of Apneists UK. Judges Dave Tranfield and Gary Lowe. Many thanks to everyone who helped out on the day.

The yoga and breathing exercises Rebecca uses as part of her freedive training can be found in the OMdiver online programme here