Yoga is in everything we do.

Yoga is in how you care for your family.

Yoga is in how you care for yourself.

Yoga is in how you stand, how you breathe.

It is in how you decide to exist in this world.

Yoga is in everything.

So why don’t I call the Underwater Meditation and Mindfulness PADI Specialty course “Diving Yoga?”

Simply put, because, contradictorily, you can’t do yoga while scuba diving. Scuba diving is a mindfulness practice. It complements a yoga practice. But it is not yoga.

While there are yogic roots in everything we do, calling everything “yoga” can cause more harm than good.

History of Yoga

Yoga was first created in India over 3,000 years ago. The ancient practice focused solely on the philosophy of spiritual and ethical enlightenment. The original goal of yoga was to end suffering and create spiritual liberation.

Originally, the practice was passed orally between generations. This preserved the focus not just on physical postures (asanas), but on ethics and cultural context. Yoga practices focused more on the spirit than on the physical body.

By the time Western colonizers arrived in India, yogic practices were deeply ingrained in the culture. Instead of perceiving it as being spiritually enlightened, colonizers misunderstood these practices as being primitive. During British Colonial rule, yogis were reduced to practicing quietly.

In the 20th Century, yoga was made popular again. However, in an effort to make it more palatable on a global scale, the focus shifted away from the spirit and toward physical health. The “yoga body” was trending. Soon, every gym offered a yoga fitness class.

As a result, we stripped away the spiritual, religious, and cultural roots. Once yoga became monetized, even more damage was done to the once sacred practice.

How does this relate to Meditative Diving

To call the meditation and mindfulness specialty “yoga” would be a disservice to those who came before. To the practice of yoga itself.

Underwater Meditation and Mindfulness was created with intention. And while we sometimes do asana-based yoga before entering a meditation dive, the dive itself will never be called “yoga”.

However, a meditation dive is a mindfulness practice. It is a form of meditation. And you will experience similar internal results to following a yoga practice. But let’s use more conscious terminology when speaking of mindfulness activities. This allows us to honor the history of yoga.

In Conclusion

What are your thoughts on the roots of yoga? Would you still call a meditation “yoga”? Or a mindfulness practice, such as an intentional dive? Leave your comments below!

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