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  • scuba health

    Health and Scuba Diving

    When most people think about scuba diving they picture vibrant coral reefs, sea turtles and colourful reef fish and although these are definite reasons to go diving, they are not all that diving has to offer. Did you know that scuba diving has a multitude of positive health effects? Some of the health benefits of scuba diving are derived from the physical activity which it entails, but there are also proven mental health benefits too. In fact, you might be surprised to learn just how far reaching the effects of scuba diving are on both your physical and mental well-being.

    Here are just a few of the key benefits which you can experience when you join us for scuba diving in Bali.

     

    1. Breathing and Respiratory Systems:

    Scuba diving encourages divers to take long and slow deep breathes. A slow and calm breathing pattern reduces the risk of a lung-expansion injury as well as mucus build up. This breathing pattern has also been known to help with existing conditions such as asthma. The breathing technique used for diving is similar to that used during some styles of meditation and it helps to slow the heart rate, promoting a state of peacefulness. Slow rhythmic breathing can also have a grounding and calming effect on the psyche.

     

    diving health
    Improve your mental wellbeing underwater

     

    2. Resistance for Strength, Flexibility and Fitness:

    Have you heard of resistance training? When you go scuba diving you’ll be doing that too! Whenever you are moving underwater, your muscles have to work harder than they would do on land due to the increased resistance caused by the water around you. The level of resistance increases significantly again when you are swimming into even just a mild current.

    The more you dive and swim, the more your muscles begin to strengthen, and you’ll develop endurance as well as flexibility. Scuba diving and swimming don’t just give your legs a workout, it can also help to build up your core strength which is important for a good overall posture in your everyday life.

    3. Lower Blood Pressure

    Most divers will experience a spike in blood pressure when they first go underwater (due to excitement and adrenaline) but this is usually a temporary increase. Once we have recovered from the initial spike, our heart rate reduces as well as our blood pressure. The slow and deep breathing technique that we learn for diving helps to lower your blood pressure and keep you calm throughout the dive.

     

    yoga breathing scuba
    Breathing for diving is similar to that used in yoga and meditation

     

    4. Travel and Adventure

    Although it’s possible to dive virtually anywhere on the planet that has a body of water, divers tend to travel, enjoy exploring and take time to go diving – all of which are excellent ways to destress and have fun. Positive experiences and time out are all proven to be good for your body, mind and soul – much better than being stressed, bored and stuck in a rut. When you start diving in Nusa Lembongan, you’ll begin discovering the region all over again – underwater!

    5. Healing Effects of the Water

    Being underwater has many healing effects. The likeness to being in the womb is believed to promote feelings of security, well-being and happiness. In addition, being in saltwater for long periods of time can cause your body to dehydrate meaning that you tend to drink a lot more after the dive which means that you are replenishing your cells, receiving all of the benefits of the water both externally and internally.

     

    meditation diving
    Relax and get into ‘the zone’ underwater

     

    6. Interaction with Marine Life

    Seeing stunning coral reefs and an array of fish and critters is enough to put anyone in a good mood. However, it has been proven that seeing certain colours can affect the brain in many different ways. Scientists believe that if we are subjected to bright and intense colours, similar to what we see underwater, it can promote feelings of happiness. In addition, the colour blue has been known to induce a calming effect on the body.

    7. Exposure To Sunlight

    Being exposed to sunlight creates Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the rate of absorption of calcium which helps to keep bones healthy and strong. Exposure to sunlight also helps to increase endorphin production within our brains.

     

    Advanced Open Water
    Sunshine and socializing

     

    8. Socializing Benefits

    Diving involves diving with a buddy – it’s a social activity and among divers, we find like-minded people with a common interest. There is a sense of community and of being part of a ‘tribe’ when spending time with other divers – all of which are positive feelings and good for mental wellbeing (lowering stress, building confidence and a sense of security and belonging)

    9. A Great Stress Reliever

    We mentioned already that the breathing pattern for diving is similar to a meditative breathing pattern. Meditating is a great remedy for stress too as slower breathing promotes calmness. Not only that, but when we are diving we are focused on the environment around us, which enables us to completely forget work, family, relationship or financial issues.

    Having this mental ‘time out’ gives the body a chance to rest and bring the nervous system back to a natural balance. Studies have shown that having a relaxed and calm mind has been known to promote a positive mental attitude, helping you deal with your issues in a calm and rational way without feelings of depression.

     

    manta scuba diving
    Manta rays for meditation!

     

    Corona Virus and Fitness

    In the current global pandemic, there are many uncertainties and unknowns surrounding Corona Virus. One thing is widely believed to be true though – that the effects of COVID-19 are generally less severe in a person who is physically healthy and fit than in someone who is otherwise. So, while you might not cherish the thought of going to the gym to work on your fitness, now you can go diving instead!

     

    Corona Virus and Scuba Diving Nusa Lembongan

    At World Diving Lembongan we are following all recommendations regarding health and hygiene standards when diving and we have new procedures in place to ensure that gear is disinfected and all recommendations are being met. Our priority is always your comfort and safety.

     

    SPECIAL OFFER

    DIVE & SAVE: 30% OFF DIVING AND PADI COURSES

     

    If you’d like to learn to dive or join us for a dive trip in Nusa Lembongan, or if you have any questions about diving, health or corona virus and diving, contact us on: info@world-diving.com

    We look forward to diving Nusa Lembongan with you soon!

  • Post COVID – Diving into a New Normal

     

    Although we are still on lockdown right now on Nusa Lembongan, we are getting ready for ‘life after COVID’ – or as it is becoming known in Indonesia ‘the new normal’.

    Our primary goal when we reopen is to ensure the safety of all of our staff and guest divers, so we’ve been busy putting together new procedures to do just that! We hope that every diver who joins us enjoys the phenomenal marine life which we see around the island and does so in comfort and safety. These are the measures that you can expect to find in place on your next dive trip with us…

    Staff Procedures

    Every morning when our staff arrive at the dive center they will wash their hands before entering the facilities, they’ll also have their temperature taken and logged.

    All staff will be hand washing at regular intervals as well as using hand sanitizer and our cashier will be using hand sanitizer between each guest transaction when you come to pay your bill.

     

    post covid scuba diving

     

    Guest Arrivals

    As well as receiving our usual warm, friendly welcome when you arrive, we’ll quickly take your temperature with a scanner and we’ll ask you to wash your hands before signing in. While you’re filling in your paperwork you’ll have a place to sit, overlooking the ocean, with your own allocated pen, and a safe distance away from other guests. If you are diving with a partner or as part of a group, you’ll be able to sit together. We plan to stagger our boat departure times so that the dive center will never become crowded and you’ll have plenty of personal space.

    Dive Boats

    After COVID you’ll have even more space! We plan to reduce the capacity on Big Boat from 12 to just 8 guest divers and our speedboat will continue to take groups of 4 (if you are in a group), or just buddy pairs if you are diving alone.

     

    dive boat nusa lembongan

     

    Dive Equipment

    We want all guests to feel confident in the hygiene of their equipment so if you are opting to use our rental gear, your regulator will be fitted with a freshly disinfected mouthpiece and you’ll receive a disinfected mask and snorkel too. If you would prefer to buy your own mask, snorkel and mouthpiece we have a stock of these items available for sale. To ensure you feel confident in your gear, every diver will be supplied with their own bottle of disinfectant to use to disinfect mouthpieces after diving. Prior to rental gear being allocated to another diver, we will disinfect the entire regulator system including the second stage, the BCD oral inflators, and the internal BCD bladder will also be disinfected.

    Our staff will continue to carry your dive gear bags on and off the boats – unless you would prefer to carry your own – just let us know!

     

    Dive equipment covid

     

    Surface Intervals

    We will continue to supply our famous rice parcels (nasi bungkus) during surface intervals and these will be packed into individual lunch boxes which will also contain your own cup for complimentary tea, coffee and drinking water.

    Facemasks in Indonesia

    It is now required by the Indonesian Government to wear a facemask when outdoors. You’ll find that our staff are wearing masks and you’ll need to wear one too. If you forget your facemask in your hotel room, we will also have a supply of masks available for purchase in the dive center.

     

    diving nusa lembongan

     

    Dive Conditions Post COVID

    It’s been three months since we locked down on Nusa Lembongan and we are excited to see if and how our reefs have changed in the absence of boat traffic! We hope that you’ll be able to join us in re-discovering our amazing underwater world!

    Special Offers and Contact Us

    If you have any questions or would like to make a booking we are still offering special prices on PADI Courses and fun diving up until the end of September 2020 (30% discount and free accommodation for those taking courses).

    Fill in our contact form below or email us at info@world-diving.com

     

     

     

  • Come Up With A Plan! Designing Big Boat.

    Come up with a plans
    Come up with a plans

    Grand Designs.

    Made the Mad Axeman and the Timber Haulers had done their thing so the next step was to come up with a plan! Some serious designing was required. Suggestions came thick and fast. A stronger, longer ladder. A loo with a view. A captain’s chair. Even a water slide! You name it, it was suggested.

    So after scrapping some of the less practical suggestions, out came the set squares, protractors and sharp 2H pencils and the drawing commenced. Now I may have mentioned that my knowledge of boat building was limited to something you could fold from paper and float in the bath, as a result, the task of designing a sodding great 15 metre wooden boat was somewhat daunting.  Nevertheless, after a couple of weeks and much head scratching, a reasonable facsimile of a set of plans were produced.

    Construction Crew Consultation.

    Meanwhile, Pak Nyoman had found our trusty boat builder, the incredible Pak Gandy.  We were formally introduced and I humbly submitted my design.  The boat captains, led by Pak Lombang, boat builders and various hangers on all peered at the plans and there was a long silence. The suspense was killing me. Cigarettes were passed round, cups of coffee consumed, various aspects of the design were pontificated over and, after what seemed an eternity there was a mass nodding of heads. At last the verdict was pronounced.

    “Bagus!”

    Then the plans were neatly folded and …….never, ever looked at again!

    Boatyard in the Jungle.

    There just remained the question of where the boat would be built.  For some unfathomable reason, the location for our boatyard was in the jungle, nearly 200 meters from the sea!  I did question this choice but was reassured that this was a very fortuitous site, approved of by the deities of boat builders.

    There was one other slight problem.  Because rainy season was in full force,  workers, timbers and tools would soon end up soaking wet and like my wet suit, ever so slightly mouldy! So a suitable tent had to be built.  Therefore the greenery was cut back, bamboo sacrificed to the cause and a spidery structure was erected, covered in canvas and lashed to nearby trees. Finally the finishing touch was the installation of the temple and that was it, we were ready to go!

    In our next thrilling instalment, “Pak Gandy scribbles in the sand!”

  • Building Big Boat, “TIMBER!”

     

     

     

    Cutting wood for for the frame

    How To Build  A Boat!

    When we bought World Diving in 2005 we knew that the original Big Boat was getting close to retirement age and that a new boat would have to be found.  This was evident by a couple of facts.  First, the water in the bilge was slopping over the deck boards! Second, the daylight that could be seen through cracks in the hull!

    After much scratching of heads and long discussions we decided to build a new one!

    We consulted our expert in all things boat like, Pak Lombang and he said,

    “Kayu! Harus adah kayu kuat! Saya adah banyak!” Loosely translated this means, you need strong wood. I have lots in my garden. What he failed to mention is that it was still alive and growing!

    The Hunt for Wood!

    So, Pak Made was sought after as he had the largest chain saw on the island. This thing was a beast!  It had a blade over a metre long with the most vicious chain you have ever seen.  This was the Mad Max of island saws!

    So off we ventured into the jungle, also known as Pak Lombang’s garden. At this stage, Sue and I were having qualms about hacking down trees, but we were assured that these trees were on Pak lombang’s land and had been planted with boat building in mind.

    Suitable trees were identified and duly dispatched by Made’s rusty Stihl.  Then came the truly terrifying part. Making sure that he had his protective footwear firmly in place, flip flops with a thick sole, and his eye protectors on, copy RayBans from Kuta, Mad Made started sectioning the trees into suitable lumber.  This involved standing on the tree trunk and using this vast chain saw with a somewhat loose chain to saw thick baulks of wood with his feet either side of the cut. At this stage we walked away!

    Needless to say, everyone else was perfectly comfortable with the levels of health and safety being followed by our heroic hacker and Made even proudly showed off his ten toes at the end of the day!

    Finally, all the required wood had been cut and sectioned and was then stacked up to dry for a month. Then came the next challenge.

    “Pak John, we need a plan, design the boat!” an interesting concept as my boat building expertise to date had involved nothing more challenging than playing Pooh Sticks!

    In the next thrilling installment, “Shipyard in the Jungle,” Johnny Makes A Plan!

  • Beat the Winter Blues and Splash into the New Year

    Tired of the dark grey winter mornings? Desperate for some sunshine and scuba dives? Planning to make a new years resolution to dive more? Planning to take your next level of PADI Course? We are here to help! Dive with World Diving Lembongan during February and March and we’ll give you an instant 10% discount!

     

    Christmas turtle

     

    That’s right, we are offering 10% discount on our daily dive trips, dive and stay packages and PADI courses.

    There is no better time to dive with us than through the winter! Did you know this is also when the water temperature is at its warmest and the dive sites are quieter meaning incredible marine life encounters without other divers!

     

    Jukung Balinese World Diving

     

    Are you an Indonesian National or expat living in Indonesia? Combine your WNI / KITAS 10% discount with our winter savings discount for a massive 20% off trips, courses and packages!

    Pondok-baruna-Sea-view-beach

     

    See you soon in sunny Nusa Lembongan.

    info@world-diving.com

  • New PADI Students

    A Word on Masks -Which mask suits you sir?

    A Word on Masks.

    There you are, a newly fledged PADI Open Water Diver, and you start looking at all the wonderful stuff you can now buy to go with that shiny new C-card.  So what is and is not worth buying? The first thing I would consider are masks.  There is nothing more frustrating than having a mask that leaks and there is nothing more repellent than a mask full of mould that with fraying straps and raggedy seals.

    Modern diving equipment
    For masks, comfort and a good fit is important!

    Comfort and Fit!

    As I said in the article about wetsuits, the most important thing about any equipment is a good fit.  Your mask has to be comfortable as you are going to have this thing on your face for at least an hour.  Masks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes so the first thing to do is find masks that are the right width for your face.  This may even mean trying on masks for children if you have a particularly narrow face.

    Then you need to do the fit test. Without using the strap, put the mask against you face and sniff! You should find that the mask sticks to your face like a demented limpet and holds itself in place. Guys with beards may find this will not happen. Unfortunately air can get back into the mask via your 6 o’clock shadow!

    Where is the rub?

    Now that you have seen that the mask fits, just push it against you face a little more firmly and see if there are any parts of the mask that feels uncomfortable. Remember, water pressure can make the mask fit tighter. I find that certain makes have a hard plastic frame that pushes against the bridge of my nose.  After wearing one of these masks for a day I actually had a bruise where the mask had been pressing on my face. On another occasion, one guest had the firm imprint of a screw head at the end of her nose. This was where the drain valve of her mask was making contact!

    Little Black Number!

    Next is the style of mask. There are so many options out there, but you are ideally looking for a low volume mask.  That is a mask that does not have too much air space on the inside.  These are generally easier to clear. If you need corrective lenses, you will need to look for a twin lensed mask like the Technisub LOOK.  You can buy the corrective lenses for this mask and have the dive shop fit them for you.

    New PADI Students
    The mask sniff test in action!

    After all this you can now go about selecting the colour so that it synchronises with your beach wear! As most wetsuits are black, I decided that this would be my colour of choice, but I am an old traditionalist.  One thing about skirts….. the one on the mask!  If you are a keen photographer, a black silicone material is better as this reduces glare inside the mask and makes it easier to see the screen of your camera.

    So there you have it, fit and comfort, no funny screws and a dark skirt. What could be clearer?

  • Penida Manta Point Bali

    The Mantas are Back!

    manta solo manta PADI

    After a few weeks of absence our wonderful manta rays are back in full force.  After an extended period of big swells which kept us away from Batu Lumbung, Manta Point,  we ventured down the coast yesterday.  The waves were still crashing against the rocks on the way down, and recent reports had been not hopeful, so we did not know what to expect when we went over the side!

    We were not disappointed.  They were every where and had obviously regained their joie de vivre!  They were chasing, swirling, cleaning and even playing peek a boo with the divers behind the corals!  It still blows me away when I turn around and find a manta has snuck up behind me and is inches away with a huge grin on its face.

    After an hour of diving with these gorgeous creature it was time for us to get back on big boat.  We were all reluctant to leave and will be back as soon as possible as the sea is calm for the next few days.

    Why don’t you join us?

    Manta Ray, Manta Point Bali
    Manta Ray, Manta Point Bali