i’ve been doing breath-work almost every morning sometime between 1 - 7am for about 9 years. have you seen the wim hoff vids? "fully in" he says - "let it go...fully in let it go". i do it in bed on my back, then after the 30th breath let it out and stop breathing. no need to breathe for a while because you've oxygenated your blood. i monitor the metrics with a watch and note the heart rate dropping into the 50s as the hold continues. i took this up because i love diving, wanted to make my lungs stronger and value natural immunity.

the fourth cycle is my own addition - big inhale after 60 breaths and then holding for as long as I can.
the fifth cycle is the same as the first. 

it’s nice being comfortable with not breathing. i visualise being underwater in that blue/green stillness. in bed i can hold my breath for a fairly long time because the body is doing nothing. it’s a different matter when you’re moving your body through the water.

free divers blow me away!

so ocean swimming 3 mornings a week allows a chance to practice it. beautiful cold clear water teaches without saying a word. backstroking is a meditation - like swimming through the sky. clouds can be stunning displays of geometry and colour. cloudless days watch the birds - always different types and different wing shapes. you glide with them. sometimes a gannet dives in right beside you - a bee flying above you - a dragonfly did once.

every swim i feel welling of joy in my heart and often find myself singing that buddhist chant - "om mane padme hum..."