With one breath, I am part of it

~ Live & Learn

“My leg muscle badly broken, they thought I might lose it. They had to leave the fracture open for 10 days to avoid that process. That is the reason I started the cold water treatment. At first, I didn’t like it. The cold was agony, but slowly I got used to the feeling. There is no place for fear, no place for panic, no place for mistakes. Under the ice, you need total control of the place, the time, and to trust yourself completely. When you can do all that, you can find a different world, a world so peaceful, so beautiful, endless and desolate. With one breath, I am part of it.”

Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad holds the world record for a 50-meter dive under ice. She discovered her love for the sport through cold-water treatment while recovering from a downhill biking accident that almost took her leg. British director and photographer Ian Derry captures her taking a plunge under the Arctic ice.

30 thoughts on “With one breath, I am part of it”

  4. That is one of the most amazing videos I have ever seen. I watched over and over again until I felt right there with Johanna. Such a beautiful, foreign world just under the ice.

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  7. Pingback: With One Breath | Donkey Whisperer Farm Blog

    1. Had to look up”sisu”. Learned something today. Like it.

      Sisu is a Finnish word that cannot be translated metaphrastically into the English language, loosely translated to mean stoic determination, grit, bravery, guts, resilience,[1][2] perseverance and hardiness,[3][4] expressing the historic self-identified Finnish national character.

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  9. I was going to comment earlier, but it took me a while to realize I’d been holding my breath. Whew! All back to normal now. This woman is amazing, but to be honest, … give me a warm beach any day, preferably shark-free, as I’m a bit of a wimp.

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  10. Vast, desolate, breathtaking beauty freedom under the constraint of an ice ceiling She is one with the chosen environment…in exploring the rarely seen world under the ice, as a solitary person, she discovered in herself, a strength and courage…and is gifted with freedom. /// What did your Eric think of this video and the remarkable women? /// thanks DK for an eye opening view of life, elsewhere…

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      1. Thank you. I keep thinking about how she, Johanna Nordblad must be so conditioned to the cold…I feel through the ice, in the large, deep pond one winter when I was thirteen. Thankfully I was so near the shore, near the far end, in the shallows, breaking through only up to my waist. I remember the numb, solitary walk home, the Levi’s so heavy, clinging as I waited to cross the road, I kept thinking, is how cold the ‘Abominable Snowman’, was. …I arrive home and man, did I get the business from the sisters (the tattle tale’ers) as I walked the flight of stairs, dripping…reached the top floor, turned right, straight into the bathroom, i was so thankful for the hot shower…./// one of our dear neighbors, when I was a girl, was such a hard working, handsome, strong and gentle ‘Finnish’ man with a bashful smile, a great laugh, he was so helpful, he is a man of true value, who would help me and my siblings as our parents were divorced…I saw him physically ailing at my Mom’s celebration of life late, last September. His dear wife is the one who cried when I sent her a small gift, several months ago. Just days before ‘You’ posted about letter writing, sending cards, etc (in May?).. Does anyone use snail mail! Some of us, your readers said yes we do! /// The Finnish man’s Widowed Aunt Annie came to visit them often…she had the Finnish accent, was very sweet, so industrious and of strong stock…she was always making yummy pies…she told me that when her husband was still living she be up early to bake pie, daily as he’d loved having a slice of pie with his breakfast! She had such a hardy laugh, lively smile, twinkling eyes and gentle soul, she was very aware, possessing such common sense…

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