COVID-19: How scuba diving lessons are helping me during the pandemic

By Neha Contractor

In May 2020, I returned to Bangalore from the Andamans as the island was shutting down due to COVID-19. Before this, I had quit my corporate job and spent all of 2019 learning more about the ocean and teaching scuba. I was able to dive whenever I could. On my days off, I would still get up early and get to my workplace to join the morning dive and experience that amazing feeling and buzz from this aquatic sport.

The last seven months have been tough. I’ve seen my loved ones and colleagues struggle. But I’m going to share a little secret on how I am making the most of this time and hopefully, this may help you too as it has my loved ones.

Even before the pandemic, when I quit my job I was worried. How will I survive financially? I took the plunge but without any plan. The ocean and diving taught me a few things that have changed my perspective in the following ways:

Focus on understanding yourself

While diving, you can’t control the environment, but you can control yourself. While I’ve heard this many times before, I truly experienced this when I started diving. The ocean has such great powers and can be so unpredictable, but if you are mindful and respectful of the environment and focus on the moment, you will learn so much about yourself and accept the insecurity of your inability to eliminate all risk. Sometimes, you just have to do all you can: breathe, stay calm, and go with the flow.

Stay Calm in a difficult situation

Panicky divers are dangerous to themselves and the people around them. Such people might injure or endanger others by flailing around and hitting the equipment of others. They could also ascend to the surface too quickly and injure themselves. So my life lesson is this. Being reactionary and quick to act in a state of stress often leads to wrong decisions. It is best to step back, take a few deep breaths, calm down, and re-evaluate your situation or decision. Remember, focusing on breathing is meditation.

Deeper isn’t better

There are groups of divers who challenge themselves to go deeper than each other, often to fatal ends. Why? For most divers, the best experiences can be had at depths of 10-15 metres. This is where the sea life is most colourful and abundant, and you get to spend more time at these depths by enjoying the life around you. This principle applies to our lives as well. Often, we get lost in competition and chase meaningless goals  for the sake of it. We forget to slow down, be thankful to what we have, and enjoy living in the moment. To appreciate the small things is harder than it sounds, but it is one of the greater benefits of life.

Live in the moment

Because time is a gift and what you make of it is how you define your future self. While diving, you learn to be mindful of how you are spending your time because before you know it, it’s over. Don’t waste the time you are generously given in life.

There is always more to discover

Even after thousands of dives under my belt, I still feel I am learning something new every time I dive, and this fills me with excitement. Life’s lesson is that we know so little in life, and there is so much more to learn and experience. So be open and look forward to new discoveries of yourself and the life around you. Like my dad  says, when you hit rock bottom, there is only one way, and that’s up. So don’t fear failure, remember you’re learning something new, and this too shall pass.

Swimmingly good time

Diving was the start of living my dream. I could not believe it myself. The strength I’ve gotten by simply submerging myself into nature has helped me get through these tough times. I love being a scuba diving instructor and the lifestyle that comes with it is priceless. I now co-run Aquanaut, a dive centre in Bangalore.

How it all started…

I’ve been a water baby all along. I have my folks to thank for what I am today. They have not just been a great inspiration but also amazing supporters of all my crazy adventures. My dad taught me how to swim when I was three, and he had just learnt a few years before that. He called me a water chuha (rat).

Travelling around the world

I’ve travelled the world backpacking as a solo traveller. I’ve experienced and learned from so many adventures, but the one that took my heart was diving. I used to travel a lot on work so I had tight travel schedules. But whenever possible, I would try to squeeze in a quick dive. Now I wasn’t certified, so all I could do was a DSD (Discover scuba dive). I did almost a 100 DSD’s until I reached a point when I just had to be certified.

My first dive

But wait, I missed the most important part… how did I find my love for diving! The first time I ever descended in the ocean was in Sri Lanka, this was a year before the tsunami hit. I was nervous as hell… I may have even peed in my wetsuit during our confined training. My instructor was patient and had a great sense of humour. 

He gave me my first lesson

Humour is a great way to tackle fear. I took his lead and followed him gradually into the depths of the ocean. I could feel my heartbeat a thousand times faster. My breath was short, and I was kicking profusely to stay close to him. He had his eyes on me through this slow descent. At some point, he held my hand, smiled at me, and with a simple hand gesture, he asked me to slow down. He asked me to breathe in short and have longer exhales. 

My lesson number 2

Deep breaths calm you down instantly. I started feeling a lot more at ease and just then, my coach saw something and pointed me towards it. I turned to see this huge turtle swimming towards us. In all the excitement, I completely forgot my fears. 

Lesson number 3

Distraction is a great tool to ease fear. That moment just did something to me that I cannot describe with words. The turtle was just swimming around, tugging at some corals, and occasionally, lifting its head, and checking on us. We locked eyes at some point and that was it!

Scuba diving was love at first sight! Over the years, I’ve dived across so many countries, and every time, it’s been the same feeling! From amazing encounters with whale sharks, mantas, numerous different kinds of sharks, and now my favourite nudibranchs, my experience has been nothing less than divine! With every dive, I learn something new or see something I’ve never seen before, making me understand the power and expanse of the planet. It also makes me realise the importance of protecting it.

Professional diver now

I took up diving professionally only last year and it has been quite a treat. In one of his classes on coral reefs and its ecosystem, my mentor Mark Soworka advised me to dive with a magnifying glass and stay still in one place over the reef. I went for a dive on the reef I was visiting for months. As I pulled out the magnifying glass and held it over the reef, I saw a completely different reef! I saw so many micro organisms and the beautiful way in which they all work in this incredible life-giving ecosystem. Now, whenever I descend into the ocean, my heart beats out of excitement and wanderlust. Not fear.

Neha Contractor is a resident of Jakkur, a PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer who, apart from Open Water and Advanced Open Water, is trained to teach Nine Specialities. She runs Aquanaut, a dive centre in Bangalore.

Pics courtesy: Neha C