MINDFUL DIVING INSTITUTE · BEFORE THE DIVE · THE BRIEFING
The Briefing Sheet
Read it, don't memorise it. Every line fits inside your agency standards and your dive plan.
The script
- 1ARRIVE Six prompts. One line each. Say them slowly.
- — A — ACKNOWLEDGE your current state without trying to improve it.
- — R — RELEASE unnecessary tension: jaw, shoulders, hands.
- — R — READ the environment: water, wind, entry, exit, team.
- — I — INTENTION one behaviour you will practise on this dive.
- — V — VERIFY with your buddy and the plan.
- — E — ENTER with the plan and not ahead of it.
· Safety is the first mindfulness practice. Nothing here replaces your agency's briefing.
- 2The readiness scan Leaders speak their colour first. Amber first — it gives everyone permission.
- — BODY illness, pain, fatigue, cold, hydration, equalisation history.
- — MIND attention, pressure, fear, urgency, distraction, willingness.
- — SKILL recency, conditions, task load, equipment familiarity, honest confidence.
- — CONTEXT weather, site, team, plan, time pressure.
- — GREEN proceed · AMBER say it aloud, adjust · RED a clean limit
· A colour is information, never a judgement. Adjust the plan to the colours in front of you.
- 3The buddy agreement Pairs face each other and complete five sentences, both ways.
- — A sign that I may need a pause is…
- — The best way to get my full attention underwater is…
- — A concern I want to be able to say early is…
- — When either of us ends the dive, we agree to…
- — One environmental behaviour we will protect together is…
- 4One still minute Sixty seconds. Slow, continuous breathing. Eyes soft or closed.
· Never breath-holding, never skip-breathing. Just slower than usual.
- 5The dedication Offered, never demanded. One breath, in silence:
- — “This dive is for…”
· Anyone may pass. Silence is a complete answer.
Safety first
- Slow, continuous breathing only — never breath-holding or skip-breathing on scuba.
- No practice during descents, ascents or gas management. Safety is the first mindfulness practice.
- Nothing here replaces the standards of SSI, PADI, CMAS, RAID or your own agency.
- Anyone may pass. Silence is a complete answer.