Natalia Molchanova is one of those people who are hardly known, and whose presence on this planet added to it rather than took something away. She died last summer diving at about 40 meters depth, which for her being a multiple champion in the sport of free diving was really a fairly ordinary event. She was 53, and she added poetry to my life, and increased enormously to the blue, to the azure that is within me.
I was in America and some how missed her sad demise, and only became aware of it this morning. It made me very sad. Her history as a free diver is not normal, she was an ex swimmer and got into free diving late in life as something to help with her divorce. She progressed so well that in a comp in Slovenia her winning Static (breath holding time) was better than the mens best. Her static was over 9 minuets.
Natalia wrote poetry, here is one. If you have ever had your head underwater it is very much more poignant.
I have perceived non existence
The silence of eternal dark,
and the infinity.
I went beyond the time,
time poured into me
and we became
immovable.
I lost my body in the waves
Perceiving vacuum
and quiet,
Becoming like its blue abyss
And touching the oceanic secret
Iam going inwards
recollecting
What I am
I am made of light
I peer intensly
The depths reveal a breath
I merge with it
And into the world emerge.
Natalia used to help me, and I guess hundreds of others. Just by watching her grace with a mono fin, the suppleness of her strong lithe body gave us all more strength. She was the first woman to free dive over 100 meters depth among many things. For a number of years I used to do my apnee exercises while watching her. I watched Natalia a thousand times swimming under the Blue Arch of Dahab. Thank you Natalia.
