Medical Science, Comando 105 Motivation, and BLW Doctrine
A run, a bike ride, a swim session or even a long walk produce important changes—especially in blood circulation and breathing—that anyone can easily verify. Effort, heavy breathing and subsequent recovery also create a calming effect at the mental level. However, these effects are not always enough to release the stress and tension of a workday or the battles life throws at us.
BLW evidence: Acute exercise improves mood and attention, but chronic stress requires training in autonomic regulation (activating the parasympathetic system, raising HRV, and modulating cortisol reactivity). Relaxation techniques complement exercise because they teach the nervous system to return to calm on demand.
Through daily relaxation practice, the freediver learns to connect with themselves and with the underwater world in a way that also enriches daily life. The brain has evolved to adapt and learn through constant stimuli and the process of cause and effect.
The starting point is recognizing and confronting any false or limiting beliefs about oneself. These negative thoughts can condition daily life subconsciously and block the learning of new skills. The most common include:
• I cannot control my body
• I feel powerless when facing what I can’t control
• I will never control my fears or anxieties
• I’m afraid of being punished—or punishing myself—if I make mistakes
• I believe I’m “omnipotent,” “perfect,” or always right
• I feel weak and lack energy
• I’m prone to psychosomatic reactions
• I can’t achieve what I set out to do
• I don’t like myself
• I don’t believe I have any potential
Scientific basis: Rumination and negative self-beliefs increase muscle tension, sympathetic activity and heart rate. Guided relaxation and autogenic training consistently reduce heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance while improving state-anxiety, sleep quality, and heart rate variability (HRV). This isn’t placebo—it’s applied neurophysiology (vagal activation, cardiorespiratory coherence, and modulation of the HPA axis).
Breathing and Relaxation
• Daily activities—work, social life, family life—significantly influence metabolism. Experiments have shown that people change both physically and psychologically depending on schedules, social opinions, and rhythms of the environment. This happens independently of personal choice: simply being present is enough.
• In this way, we unconsciously acquire patterns of metabolic adaptation that conflict with the autonomy and self-control we would like to display.
• On the other hand, scientific research has demonstrated that people in states of relaxation can reduce heart rate, voluntarily regulate metabolism, breathing, and skin conductivity—without losing consciousness, but rather entering a state of deep physical and mental relaxation. In current terms, behavior is “voluntary” when we choose to act, and “conscious” when we are fully aware of what we are doing.
• This type of control is simple when moving skeletal muscles, but nearly impossible when trying to regulate internal organs or glands. Homeostasis, the body’s internal balance, is maintained by involuntary and unconscious mechanisms, automatically reacting to external and internal stimuli. Higher brain regions cannot directly alter these behaviors—only indirectly. A stressed executive can step outside for air, but cannot “will away” indigestion with the same ease.
• When fear or anxiety arises, people often act in ways that temporarily reduce discomfort, but in the long run are maladaptive—like smoking cigarettes to relieve tension, which creates its own stressors. Neurotic personalities may respond with bursts of anger or, conversely, repress thoughts and emotions. In both cases, relaxation training works as re-education: breaking negative links and replacing them with positive, constructive ones.
• Relaxation provides physiological, psychological, and social benefits, making it a legitimate tool for personal health and therapy. Alienation from one’s body can be reduced through this practice, offering the fascinating experience of regaining control of internal balance.
• More than other sports, freediving grants fast access to the ability to truly listen to one’s body.
BLW applied science: Breathing patterns with longer exhalations than inhalations (e.g., 4/8) activate the vagus nerve, improving HRV and feelings of calm. Slow, soft, subconscious nasal breathing—what BLW defines as Improved Respiration—optimizes oxygen use, filters air, and stabilizes the O₂–CO₂ balance that regulates brain excitability.
Relaxation: Technique + Mindset
• When people discuss relaxation methods, each tends to believe their approach is “the best.” The real issue is not the method itself but the mindset and the psychological-physiological profile of the practitioner. Relaxation techniques are many: autogenic training, mental training, yoga, pranayama—all efficient, all traditional.
• Except for yoga, most relaxation exercises are done lying on one’s back with soft support under the head, or sitting in a ventilated space. They should always be practiced on an empty stomach. The sequences demand more mental than physical effort.
• To relax, one must adopt an attitude of receptive openness toward the body, while passively observing oneself. The goal is to listen to the body’s messages—to truly perceive ourselves. The fundamental rule: be open to yourself, immerse in a state of total introspection that silences external stimuli and distractions.
• To understand relaxation, we must acknowledge how rarely present we actually are in daily life. The mind constantly drifts, and we usually notice it only when trying to focus on a task. In reality, body and mind are rarely in full coordination.
• Therefore, we must train to calm and direct the mind, developing insight into its nature and function. The aim isn’t merely temporary well-being or behavior control—it’s to understand reality beyond conditioning. In a sense, relaxation provides a rebirth, helping us realize how often we are disconnected from our own experiences; how even the simplest and most pleasurable acts (eating, talking, driving, reading, making love, planning, remembering) pass with the mind already jumping ahead. This “not being present” becomes a habit that distances us from life.
Medical foundation: Mindfulness and autogenic practices reduce sympathetic hyperarousal, enhance interoceptive awareness, and promote cardiorespiratory coherence, leading to better emotional regulation and improved decision-making under stress.
Yet with practice, awareness becomes so concrete that it breaks the chain of habitual thoughts, unlocking new alternatives to the routines of daily life.
Mind and body can sometimes dissociate—the mind drifting, unaware of what the body is doing. But they can also reunite: habits can be built to achieve full coordination between both domains.
The result is conscious self-control, visible to others. Self-esteem strengthens, confidence replaces anxiety, and everything feels more natural and fluid. Others notice the difference: a movement performed with total awareness carries unmistakable grace and precision.
This awareness becomes a natural unity of body and mind, with crucial applications in freediving. Awareness is the first condition for safe freediving; balance between mind and body keeps the diver attuned to their state, making practice safer and more fulfilling.
Different relaxation techniques exist, all valuable, and they can be distinguished by the communication channel they employ.
Humans access the world through the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Three dominate—sight, hearing, and touch. Each person has a predominant sense shaped by experiences and environment. For example, in the 1800s—before radio or television—communication was primarily auditory. Today, we live in an age of images—television, advertising, internet—making most people visual learners.
In line with this, people can be divided:
V = Visual, they understand because they see
A = Auditory, they understand when it’s explained verbally
K = Kinesthetic, they understand when they physically do it
Thus, a visual person may relax best through visualization, an auditory person through sounds and words, and a kinesthetic person through touch, water, or movement.
For each individual, some techniques will work better than others. Even for the same freediver, one technique may not always work the same. Every day is different. Adapting to conditions and leveraging one’s resources are key to evolution in freediving. That’s why developing mental capacity during training is as crucial as the physical—and the techniques must vary depending on the psychophysical state at that moment.
How to Relax
To relax deeply we must first recognize mental bad habits, unproductive reactions, and common patterns. Relaxation means adopting psychological strategies to combat personal mental habits.
Relaxation techniques help rediscover balance, often lost in daily life. They also improve self-esteem—but only if we truly believe in them.
We must distinguish passive relaxation from active/dynamic relaxation.
- In passive relaxation, a guide or recording provides the mental pathway. Effectiveness depends on listening to the body and managing mental energy.
- The final objective is active/dynamic relaxation: the student guides themselves autogenically, using self-dialogue as their compass.
Medical reinforcement: Moving from external guidance to self-induction consolidates self-efficacy and strengthens cortical-autonomic control. It is linked to stable improvements in sleep quality, anxiety reduction, and HRV. Integrating a 4/8 breathing rhythm (or 5–10 nasal cycles per minute) activates vagal tone and creates the physiological economy sought in BLW.
Comando 105 Mantra
“Relaxation is not surrender—it is readiness.
Inhale softly, exhale longer.
Lower your pulse, raise your awareness.
Mind and body aligned, one line of fire.
Where others tense, you become efficient.
Breathe like a Warrior.”
BLW Closing
Relaxation techniques don’t compete with physical training—they amplify it. They are science applied to physiology, pure tactics for performance and safety in freediving, sports, and life. Practiced daily, they transform stress into usable energy and distraction into operational presence.
Practical drill (5–8 min): find a comfortable position, eyes closed; perform a slow body scan; adopt nasal breathing 4/8; brief visualization (sea, forest, or mountain); short self-dialogue: “my body is heavy and warm… my breathing is calm… my mind is clear.” End with a long exhalation and open your eyes.
⚔️ BLW Doctrine: Relax to be Ready. Command yourself. Breathe like a Warrior.
