[Fondueset]

Hi Cliff,

I have a lot of yoga under my belt - 30+ years. Lately my interest has been drawn more to Taiji/bagua/Qigong - approaches emphasizing deep relaxation and feeling/energy work. The interesting thing about these practices - and also pranayama and some of the other Yogic energy work - is they work from the inside out. Bagua is a more vigorous martial form encorporating some interesting back bends that act on the midsection and rigcage. Flexibility, however, is not the same as relaxation - and I've found Taiji facilitates a kind of whole-bodily equalization with the environment that gives rise to efficient, minimal movement. I try to apply the sense of movement as an expression of space to my work with the monofin.

Just focusing on deep relaxation during surface intervals increased my dive times by a full third.