Sense of peace in freefall

[websean 0]

Last weekend I returned to AFF after several months off (I'm a busy university student) and had an awesomely surprising experience during my level 4 jump. Before the hiatus, I really struggled to relax in freefall and felt tense all over, but after coming back and getting a few jumps in I started to totally relax. And on my last jump, for the ~60 seconds of freefall, I noticed that for the first time in a long time, all of the life/school/work stress I'd been holding onto wasn't bothering me anymore. The freefall was just such a peaceful sensation. Of course the stress slowly crept back as I drove home from the DZ

I was originally drawn to skydiving purely for the adrenaline (and to meet likeminded people) but I think the tranquility of freefall will be what keeps me progressing in the sport.

I'm curious, does anyone else get a similar peaceful/relaxing experience from jumping or is mainly just about the camaraderie and adrenaline?

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Oh yeah, I actually relaxed for the first time in the wind tunnel. I hit the air and just felt all my muscles just relax into it. Skydiving's pretty much the same way now. I relax as soon as the door opens and the cold air hits me. In freefall and in the tunnel, I always feel like I'm just going to melt away in the wind. Which... is kind of weird, I guess, but there you go.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[keithbar 1]

In freefall nothing hurts and your other problems don't matter. it's what drew me to the sport 36 years ago and what keeps be here now

i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .

[Trafficdiver 8]

I've never been able to think about daily BS in freefall. Even the times I worried that I would...they still disappeared at the door.

[Baksteen 84]

Congratulations, you've become a skydiver.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[PeteW 0]

My third jump back from a 9 year break I did backflips. While slowly rotating I felt the same. Completely relaxed and at peace with the world. Funny thing is I have really bad anxiety and depression. Returning to skydiving has been the biggest help so far. I'm way less irritable, more patience with our son ect. It's a strange but wonderful feeling.

[hillson 0]

The next phase is:

Did I take the dog out?
Did I remember to lock the door?
What am I going no to have for lunch?

Etc etc.

[sammielu 3]

It's why we skydive. The adrenaline is only present the first few jumps (or when trying something new or when a problem arises).

The peace, joy, and pure smiles are there in every skydive. You're a skydiver now my friend!

[theonlyski 8]

websean

The freefall was just such a peaceful sensation. Of course the stress slowly crept back as I drove home from the DZ

You're doing pretty good, usually the stress creeps back up when you go to pay manifest!

I've had maybe 2-3 stressful jumps, and they were usually AFF jumps where something was going wrong, but nothing that a beer around the bonfire at the end of the day couldn't fix.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[muff528 3]

hillson

The next phase is:

Did I take the dog out?
Did I remember to lock the door?
What am I going no to have for lunch?

Etc etc.

Do I REALLY need this watch?
Ramen noodles aren't so bad.
I'll pack that for you cheap!
Lessee, ...if I buy an old camper I could live on the DZ and make a pretty good living as an instructor!

[Bessie 0]

websean

Last weekend I returned to AFF after several months off (I'm a busy university student) and had an awesomely surprising experience during my level 4 jump. Before the hiatus, I really struggled to relax in freefall and felt tense all over...

There are still plenty of ways to feel stress in freefall. Self-induced. For example, if you get into belly flying and doing big ways. A lot of team mates will be depending upon you to be in the right place at the right time, and if you screw it up, you ruin the dive for everyone. So that's a lot of performance anxiety you put on yourself to do well in the sky.

Enjoy the simple pleasures while you can. And come back to them every now and then.

[377 22]

I've been jumping since 1968, still active, and thought I was no longer scared, was at peace in freefall, etc etc... I truly believed I was a freefalling Zen Master, beyond all earthly cares. then the facts blew up this illusion, BIG TIME.

I belong to a group which combines skydiving with ham radio. We made some APRS radio telemetry gear that broadcasts GPS and pulse oximeter data to mountaintop repeaters which put the data on the Internet in real time. Anyone with a browser can see our speed, course, altitude, heart rate, blood oxygen level etc.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7gV5LMQG1a4YzRlN2VhYmMtOTM2ZS00Mjg2LThmYTctODlkYmRkMDlhNTc5/view?ddrp=1&hl=en&pli=1#. We also send live video to the ground on 5.8 Ghz.

My resting pulse rate is around 74 BPM. During jumps it spikes as high as 173. At peace? Relaxed? I was just kidding myself.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[websean 0]

What an unusual coincidence, I've had a Extra class ham radio license for 10 years (I've even run APRS before) but I'm rarely active these days. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks all for the great responses!

Sean