“You have to be in the moment and become one with your surroundings, in this case, the water,” says Shubham Pandey. The Lonavala-based freediver will conduct workshops in Hyderabad from March 13 to 15. Beginners will learn the theory and practise breath-hold techniques, along with relaxation, kicking and body posture in a confined water space.

Freediving, still an emerging sport in India, traces its roots to the single-breath technique once used by divers hunting for food or pearls. “The Ama — Japanese sea women — used this method to gather seafood and pearls,” Shubham explains. Similar practices existed in other parts of the world.

Unlike scuba diving, which relies on oxygen tanks, freediving requires divers to hold their breath. It demands calm, focus and gradual training of lung capacity to stay underwater on a single breath.

Shubham Pandey
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Shubham began his career 11 years ago as a commercial diver for industries, inspecting pipelines, carrying out underwater welding and handling other maintenance work. He later explored recreational scuba diving and discovered freediving while in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A certified instructor with Professional Association of Diving Instructors and Scuba Schools International, he now conducts freediving workshops in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kerala and Goa, as well as in Indonesia, Mauritius, the Maldives, the Philippines and Thailand.

“My father was in the Navy. I’ve seen divers since childhood and always aspired to be one,” he recalls. Though he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in electronics, the idea of a regular desk job did not appeal to him. “The only option I knew then was commercial diving.” Later, while working as a dive master in the Andamans, he discovered freediving — a shift that opened new possibilities.

“Scuba diving is a lot of fun, but freediving demands far more focus and discipline. You cannot party the previous night and freedive the next morning,” he says.

Nearly 70% of Shubham’s students are women. “I think women enjoy challenges,” he says. Some of his female students have shared that, with practice, freediving has helped them cope with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). “The breathwork requires an inward journey. It becomes meditative and can help overcome fear and anxiety. When you go underwater, the heartbeat slows down and the body begins to save oxygen, helping to adapt to the environment.”

During one of the workshops in which participants are taught breathwork practices.
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He says participants learn to work with gravity, master equalisation and become aware of the water moving around them. Shubham founded the freediving company Unobreath in 2021 and has since coached people from varied backgrounds, including swimmers Sajan Prakash and Siva Sridhar, former corporate lawyer and competitive freediver Archana Sankara Narayan, filmmaker Homi Adajania, cinematographer Jay Oza and fashion designer Gaurav Gupta.

Shubham himself can dive to a depth of 60 metres and hold his breath for five minutes. “On land, we react rather than observe,” he says. “Freediving teaches us to observe rather than react.”

(Shubham Pandey’s freediving workshops will be held on March 13, 14 and 15; 10am to 1pm; at DD Sports Swimming Pool, Kanchi Gachibowli. To enroll, call 7410095842 or 69246848. Price: ₹6000 per session)