Ocean Deep Yoga

18/06/2026

After a long break from writing anything, I'm happy to share with you this article I wrote about how yoga is more about how you do whatever you do than what it is that you're doing. Here is a small excerpt with the link at the bottom:

"...Traditionally, the physical portion of yoga - postures, breathing exercises, formal meditation, diet - is designed to bring clarity to the mind and rid the body of stiffness, gas, and pain so you can sit in meditation and not be bothered by a needy, weak body. But yoga doesn't just happen on the mat, and meditation can look very different than sitting on a cushion or when wearing a certain outfit, or when holding your hands a certain way.

It could be cycling, cooking, an instrument, your relationships, your job, a sport, a new art form, a building project or agricultural endeavor, or a new business. Each of those can be a yoga practice, each task required can be seen as a tool to return to now - a meditation. So within each yoga practice there is meditation. Don’t let it stop there though. ..."

follow the link to read more :)

if you like it, please share with your friends, leave a comment or shoot me a message!

I’ve dusted off the copy of the Bhagavad Gita that my dad gifted to me some years ago. I read it before my first teacher training, and referenced it for years to come. Then a long break. I closed the books and decided to let life be life for a while. Now I came back to the same pages I’ve once r...

01/06/2026

Does Yoga Actually Help Freediving?
The answer may suprise you. Stick with me here.

In the West, most have come to understand Yoga as a series of postures that require a high level of flexibility, and in some cases strength as well.

This is like having a Ferrari and only being aware of and using it for the cupholders.

“Citta vritti nirodha,” or “the cessation of the mindstuff is Yoga.” Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, 1.II

Yoga is the practice and art of bringing alignment to your being and stillness to your mind.

The deepest beneft of Yoga is only available if you know what Yoga actually is, and that it is availabe in ANY MOMENT. not just on your mat or in the presence of a well-trained, practiced and knowledgable teacher.

Yoga happens inside you.

If we have a flexible, fit body, but are riddled with emotional imbalance, and still running from our fears, and we are unable to manage our mind and emotions, then we are not practicing Yoga correctly. We are fit and flexible. Thats it.

The aim is stillness within, and harmony amongst the various systems of the body: Nervous, Digestive, Muscular, Respiratory, and Skeletal.

It has very little to do with your flexiblity.

In fact, the only reason asana (postures) were even a part of it was to rid the body of pain, stiffness, gas, and bloating so that higher practices of meditation and pranayama (breathwork) were not hindered by the body’s aches and pains.

If you’re dives are limited because your body is tight and you have pain, then yes. CERTAIN TYPES of Yoga and specific therapeutic practices will absolutely restore vitality, mobility, and resilience to the body, making it easier to move and breathe. This takes effort and discipline (tapas) to overcome.

If the issue is not a limitation of the body, then we need the Yogic techniques and understanding that produce inner stillness.

Those are:
Pranyama (Life Force(breath) control. The most effective way to settle the mind and emotions)
Svadhyaya (self-study, reading to gain higher perspective and understanding of the Bigger Picture. Larger perspective means seeing little s**t for what it is: little s**t. Scrape it off your shoe and walk on.)
Pratyahara (sense withdrawal. Turn your senses and attention inward to perceive your internal condition, not the external)

Now let’s ask again, does yoga actually help freediving? Yes, but now we understand Yoga as a means to produce stillness internally. That state of stillness is Yoga.

Your ability to, for example, touch your toes is not Yoga. The letting go along the way is. The presence along the way is. The alignment and recentering physically, emotionally, and mentally, is yoga. Those skills, you can take into the water, during your breathe-up, during the evolving stages of your descent and ascent.

When not bothered by obsessive mindstuff, you are more able to do the following:
conserve oxygen
produce less carbon dioxide
enjoy your dives more
dive from a place of calm presence rather than anxious, comparison-driven striving
you will equalize better because you are more aware of the reality of this present moment, feeling how the soft pallet,
tongue, trachea, jaw, facial muscles, cervical spine, thorax, back, belly, groin, legs, etc. feeling everything and
responding with softness and grace.

So sure, go to class. Learn some techniques but what is more helpful is developing the capactiy to use those skills in life, in what you actually do with your energy. My teacher said that at some point, you need to let go of even your practice as this can be its own form of bo***ge eventually.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do your dives suffer more from your body or your mind?
Have you ever considered working with a professional to develop specific strategies to handle stress?

I am currently taking clients and students who want to learn how to overcome the inner barriers to deep tranquility and access the serenity that is available to us through freediving.

Shoot me a DM or leave a comment if interested!

18/05/2026

The ocean isn’t just a place to explore. It’s a mirror for the mind. 🌊🧠

When we think of freediving, we often think of an extreme sport—depths, discipline, and physical limits. But emerging research is revealing something far more profound: voluntary breath-holding (apnea) acts as a powerful form of "embodied mindfulness."

Neuroimaging shows that when you enter a dive, your brain activates the exact same neural networks utilized during deep, advanced meditation.

By demanding absolute presence, the water forces us to:
🔹 Quiet the Default Mode Network: The brain region responsible for mind-wandering and intrusive thoughts—a massive breakthrough for managing ADHD and distraction.
🔹 Regulate the Nervous System: Deep breath control shifts the body out of "fight or flight" and into a deep parasympathetic state, actively lowering clinical anxiety and depression.
🔹 Build Trauma Resilience: In recent clinical evaluations, structured freediving retreats significantly elevated traits of mindfulness and emotional resilience, offering a temporary "refuge" from negative affect.

Whether you are a freediver holding your breath in the big blue, or a yogi practicing pranayama on a mat, you are actively retraining your central nervous system to find calm inside the storm.

We don’t dive to escape life. We dive to handle life's pressure that we can't escape.

👇 Have you ever experienced that total mental stillness underwater or through breathwork? Let me know in the comments.

14/05/2026

Unlock a new dimension of performance and tranquility with a PFI Freediver Course, right here in San Diego, California. Designed for the high-performer who seeks more than just a certification, this specialized three-day experience seamlessly blends expert freediving technique with the principles of yoga, breathwork, and deep mindfulness.

# # **Master the Depth Within**
Whether you are a fitness enthusiast looking to push your physical limits or a water lover seeking the ultimate stillness of life beneath the surface, this course offers a premium, boutique environment tailored to your growth.

# # # **The Experience Includes:**
* **Expert Instruction:** Led by a certified PFI Freediving Instructor and 500-Hour Yoga Teacher.

* **Mind-Body Mastery:** Learn to manage the mind and emotions to create deep relaxation, both inside and out.

* **Physical Milestones:** Train to dive up to **20m/66ft** on a single breath and hold your breath for up to **4 minutes**.

* **Specialized Curriculum:** Comprehensive training covering physics, physiology, and safety management.

* ** High Standards for Instruction:** Limited to just **6 participants per course** to ensure personalized attention and high-quality instruction.

# # # **Upcoming Summer Schedule:**
Courses are held over three days (5 hours/day) including online classroom sessions, confined water training, and open water dives:
* **July:** 1st & 3rd Weekends
* **August:** 1st & 3rd Weekends
* **Investment:** **$595** for a specialized, high-end experience that trains you to master your own nervous system

# # # **DM me or call/txt to Secure Your Spot**
**1:1 courses are also available upon request** for those seeking a completely private training environment.
**Contact Owen Costello for a consultation and booking:**
📞 **(860) 575-1493**
🌐 **oceandeepyoga.com/pfifreediver**

14/05/2026

Can you spot the difference between these two forward folds?

One has a litany of benefits and will lengthen, coordinate, and stabilize several muscle groups, as well as protect your knees and lower back! You will see major improvements in your flexibility and mobility without compromising structural integrity of your joints.

The other will potentially lead to weak knees, knee pain, and potentially torn ligaments as well as increasingly the likelihood of persistent back pain. You might see minor improvements, if any, and the increases in flexibility may come hand-in-hand with destabilizing the knee and/or hip joint, and potentially compressing the spine.

Learn what to do to get the most out of each posture you practice. Alignment, energy, and a pain-free body are all possible but not unless you practice CORRECTLY. You do not need expensive programs or complicated equipment

You need to learn how to engage your own body, target certain angles, breathe intentionally, and understand what it actually takes to balance YOUR body, not someone trying to sell you a series of complicated maneuvers that are only accessible with a certain baseline of flexibility, which for most people, is very high.

Let's work together and you will gain the skills to heal yourself. My goal is that you do not need me for more than a year. Once your body is free of pain and rebalanced, the work will not be so much to maintain it and you can get to enjoying your life and loved ones again! 🧘‍♂️🙏🏻📿

02/03/2026

Struggling with physical tension on your dives? Try this try-phasic video series I made to help increase lung capacity, relieve tension throughout the body - particularly the spine and thoracic area, and deepen relaxation. Each series builds on the last so they're best as a bundle!

How would these online courses benefit me?These yoga classes are designed to increase lung capacity, improve respiratory function, stabilize the mind and emotions through Hatha Yoga. Apply mindfulness, asana-based movement, and deliberate breathing in such a way that every breath becomes an instrume...

02/03/2026

What a year it's been! After a break from running courses to follow the current of life for a bit, I find myself relocated to the cool waters of San Diego. I will still be offering courses in Hawaii for part of the year as the friends I've made and the Aina itself hold a special place in my heart. Needless to say, the next courses held will be in SAN DIEGO, CA! Check out the flier for dates and please be patient and flexible as I navigate the new envrinoment. Dates and locations may be subject to change temporarily. See you underwater!

10/01/2026

Learn to freedive this January in Kona, Hawaii, on Big Island! Depth and time aren't magic. They are the result of good technique, proper knowledge, and efficient movements all taught and developed over these 3 days.

For more info, please scan the code in the photo. Otherwise, ready to dive in? 🐋🐬🦭

27/10/2025

PFI Freediving Course on Oahu 11/21-23!

If you've been looking for a sign to take vour first freediving course, here it is! This course teaches all the necessarv skills to not onlv dive into the depths of the ocean in COMPLETE relaxation (which means deeper and for more time than you thought imaginable) but also how to use your own physiology and knowledqe of phvsics learned in this course to make your diving more efficient and safer

I am also a 500 hr yoga teacher and use what Ive earned and practiced for over 10 vears to guide others into an unparalleled state of relaxation and presence. Every instructor will tell their students to relax. From my experience, many lack the knowledge and skill set to do so without confusing people, stressing them out or havina them do tedious exercises and drills that circumvent the actual goal: relaxation, awareness, and proper ex*****on

My approach utilizes tools that every living person on this planet has access to: the bodv and breath Through calmly investigating our state of being before we dive, we start from a place of spaciousness and awareness.

You will not chase depth as a result of anxiety and/or the need to "prove" anything. You will achieve depth as a result of the techniques anc methods taught here.

To put it in perspective, after one quided relaxation during my client, Nick's pre-dive breathing, he doubled his bottom time to over 3:00

Dive wisely, Dive in peace.
Dive with Ocean Deep Yoga 11/21-23 in Honolulu, HI

CONTACT: see post image for # and email or DM me here.
Deeply,
Owen

Now in San Diego, CA Ocean Deep Yoga is your source for expert freediving instruction, private and group freediving coaching, and Hatha and therapeutic yoga.