We’re excited to welcome Diveheart adaptive diving back to Cozumel next week! Renee “Apple” Applegate, who ran Dive Paradise from 1994-2017, loved working with this organization, and we’re honored to continue supporting their inspiring mission to improve confidence and independence in children, adults, and veterans with disabilities through the scuba experience.
Did you know that diving offers the perfect buoyancy and balance to people who might struggle on land? The effect of being neutrally buoyant can be so therapeutic that people often feel significant relief from chronic pain and limitations underwater. In fact, according to founder Jim Elliot, studies at Hopkins University have shown that the body releases an extra output of serotonin below 66 feet, and they’ve seen spinal patients who report being free from pain after spending time at these depths!
Diving has been shown to help people with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, chronic pain, PTSD, autism, and numerous other disabilities. Those with limited mobility enjoy a liberating experience of moving more easily through beautiful underwater spaces. The potential impact of sharing scuba diving with individuals with disabilities is enormous!
The warmth of Cozumel’s waters is particularly therapeutic. If Diveheart’s mission and work inspires you, you are invited to participate in upcoming opportunities to dive with Diveheart at Dive Paradise, and/or to join this elite group of adaptive diving instructors and buddies via Diveheart Instructor/Buddy Training Courses. Join us for some fun and meaningful adventures with these awesome human beings! You can learn more by clicking here.
Please help spread the word – Diving can be life-transforming, even life-saving in
many cases, through introducing people to a new sense of purpose and ability around a fun activity immersed in the beauty of nature. Diveheart’s instructors and buddies have undergone rigorous adaptive diving instruction in order to be able to dive with and assist individuals with disabilities. They can work with virtually any type of disability. Their participants include individuals who have paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputation(s), vision and/or hearing impairment, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and many other types of physical and cognitive disabilities. Diveheart focuses on abilities, not disabilities, to provide safe and inclusive activities for adaptive divers to enjoy the wonders of the aquatic world.