Freediving and yoga as tools for self-development.

I started practicing hatha yoga and freediving in 2010, and since then these processes have complemented each other in my life. Very quickly, freediving turned from a fascinating hobby into a way of self-discovery, shaping my life and filling it with new meaning. In 2013, I completed an instructor course with Natalia Molchanova, and since then I have been actively working as a freediving instructor, teaching people to love the water and find themselves in it. Over the years, I have trained more than 200 people — from complete beginners and those who cannot swim or have a fear of water and breath-holding, to athlete freedivers.
Thanks to my work as an instructor, I’ve had the chance to visit many places around the world — from the White Sea to the Philippine Islands — diving in both warm and cold waters, in various oceans, seas, and even mountain lakes.
Gradually, my passion for depth and desire to better understand the training process led me into competitive freediving. Since 2019, I have become the Russian champion in depth disciplines, participated in many competitions including World Cups and Championships, became a national record holder in no-fins and free immersion depth diving, and in 2020, I set three world records for depth diving in the mountain lake Cherek-Kel in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Going through the challenges of competitive activity, I realized that the main driving force in freediving is not ambition, but the love for diving itself and the curiosity to explore one’s limits — and this process is more interesting than the result. For this reason, I enjoy working with people who have different natural abilities. Seeing the process of change leading to a specific result is the greatest joy of teaching — and this result does not necessarily need to be measured in meters and seconds. Freediving teaches us to better feel and understand ourselves, which is far more important than external metrics.
That’s why in my practice and teaching I apply yoga methods, and I believe that breath-hold diving, like yoga, helps in achieving a state of inner balance and harmony. Based on this vision, I founded the freediving and yoga school FreeBalance.
Since 2022, I have been living and working mainly in Armenia, where, together with the Armdiving club, I am developing freediving by conducting courses, pool training, and open water sessions in the mountain lake Sevan. In the summer of 2023, I set a world record for no-fins depth diving in fresh water (CMAS CNF Fresh Water World Record) in Lake Sevan.
As a school instructor, I teach freediving and hatha yoga. In addition to regular classes and courses in the pool and open water, I conduct online yoga sessions, organize retreats and workshops on relaxation techniques, yoga, yoga therapy, and various aspects of freediving. I also train future freediving instructors, giving people the opportunity to acquire a challenging but truly valuable profession — to teach others to dive and make them happier.