I started this project at the beginning of February with a vision of combining SCUBA Diving and Yoga and turning it into a PADI distinctive specialty. I'm a PADI (dive organization) dive instructor as well as a 200 hour Yoga alliance certified teacher. I'm currently living on Grand Cayman, working solely as a dive instructor and I miss teaching yoga. I've heard of several dive shops around the world that run diving and Yoga retreats but few that actually combine the two in the water. I had researched to see if anyone had already created a "Dive/Yoga" course where people could be taught how to properly practice yoga on a scuba dive. My research showed me little.
I thought great, my project would be geared toward writing and creating PADI's very first, "Dive-Yoga distinctive specialty". With this specialty, people could get certified to practice this perfect collaboration and I could extend it all over the world. But wait, it's 2018... how could no-one have come up with this idea already?
There are thousands of PADI professionals and probably a few hundred of them are yoga teachers. How can I believe I am the first person to try and create this? With this thought continuously weighing on me, I did a bit more sniffing around and with some help of another PADI professional, I found a website that changed my entire project.
When Amanda and I first spoke, I told her of about the grant I received and all of the work I had put into my project up until this point. We spoke of her wanting to expand her course for other instructors to teach all over the world and how Grand Cayman has been on her list for some time. Excited to hear that, I told her I have been planning on running two workshops on the island before I leave in July as part of my project and how I'd love for her to be involved if possible. We are currently in the planning stages and seeing what can be done.
Fast forward to the present, I'm excited to say I have a new direction for my project. Instead of being the creator of a Dive-Yoga distinctive specialty, my vision is now to become a Yoga-diver instructor and see if I can help create a demand for this specialty on Grand Cayman as well as the next place once I leave here.
With this change to my project, I've been trying to think of what I want to do with all of the curriculum I've already wrote. I have over 50 pages worth of material and research, logged dives with trial and error, posters made and the whole 9 yards. I can't let all of my hard work go to waste! So, as I kept going back and forth, I've decided to continue to write, and grow everything further. Truly make it my own, adding in my travels and adventures and who knows, maybe one day down the road, you'll find my name on a book in your local Barnes and noble...or I might just keep it on my bookshelf. Either way, 2018 is shaping up to be an incredible year and I'm ready to share my journey with all you beautiful souls!
Feeling all the vibes,
Ashley
About Ashley:Ashley grew up outside of Atlanta Georgia always having a passion to travel and explore. After college she became a flight attendant with Delta Airlines and her life forever changed. Exploring all the beautiful corners of the world she decided she wanted to live like all the vagabonds she had encountered on her travels. She then quit flying and became a dive instructor and Yoga teacher and has now traveled to and lived in over nine countries making her dreams a reality. |