I breathe deep, imagine falling asleep. I go under.
I space out my concentration, taking in all sensory input at once. The sound of the water, people yelling above, a whistle, the cold water, the rope in my hand, the slightest breeze of turbulence on my skin.
The breeze, like a warm summer’s day. A warm. Summer’s. Daaaaaaaaaay…….
All my muscles relax, with the exception of my mouth and hand. My shoulders hunch, arm floats up, knees bend, hips bend.
My mind slows.
My heart slows.
I am approaching the sleeper-state.
I am a girl-shaped egg. Hibernating.
I feel pleasure. Pure pleasure.
The pleasure continues.
It is incredible.
The light on my eyelids increases. It’s getting brighter.
…
Am I dead?
Am I seeing the light?
…
I awaken, check my stopwatch. 1:36. I should have stayed asleep.
Now that I am awake my body starts talking to me again.
It wants air. It burns.
I stay calm.
My diaphragm starts contracting. It feels and looks like a punch to the gut. I convulse every few seconds.
I hate contractions. I haven’t yet learned to love them.
I look up, hope that the dive masters can see me contracting because it looks quite strange. The instructor is watching me.
I wait the contractions out: 5, 10, oh fuck I hate these things, 20.
I check the stopwatch: 2 minutes, I’ve proved my point. I held my breath twice as long as the dive master. I come up for air.
(Source: punkpaleo)