Increasing Self-Awareness, Underwater
Her life is split in two, but the two halves constantly complement each other. It is a life that is both above and underwater: as a professional and researcher out of the water and as a freediver and world champion master of dynamic indoor freediving (plus a whole series of other titles) underwater. And Silvia Pozzi's nature is encapsulated in these alternating roles and passions: "My enemy is boredom, I can't stand still, I've never been able to," she says.
In this merging of interests, Silvia graduated with a degree in molecular biology and obtained a PhD traveling between Italy and the United States, but then she felt that research for its own sake started to be too restrictive. "It was my life, but I felt that there could be something more. Anyone who does research is focused on their own microenvironment, while I wanted to have a look at the governance of research itself. So I decided to do a Master degree, the SDA Bocconi MIHMEP (Master in International Healthcare Management, Economics and Policy). The program’s international perspective gave me a broader viewpoint and helped me understand the impact of research at the level of health systems. I was missing a sort of 'grounding' and the Master provided that for me." From there, she worked for the Emilia-Romagna Region and then the Telethon Foundation. Then the first wave of Covid hit, and she felt the need for a new turning point. "I realized that I wanted to focus on other aspects as well. At that time, I had already started freediving and I met two people, Alessandro Vergendo and Rosa Rita Gagliardi. They are freedivers, trainers and above all mental coaches to great athletes. They use a method related to freediving to support competitors at the highest levels — including Olympic medalists — to achieve their goals. It’s called the Deep Inside method."
From there, the good researcher that she is, Silvia decided to create a validation protocol using the tools of neuroscience (a protocol she called Mind the Deep), to scientifically confirm what she already saw working with athletes and to be able to extend that method to the managerial field. "We tested it at Bocconi at the part-time MBA, because managers who work during the day and have to study and take exams in the evenings are subjected to a stress similar to that of great athletes. The method showed significant improvements in self-awareness, attentional focus, stress management and emotional regulation. All aspects that managers share with athletes."
How did Silvia get involved in freediving? "It was pretty random, actually," says Silvia Pozzi. "I love spending time in the mountains.” (She even holds the record for the youngest climber of Mont Blanc, summitted at the age of 13.) “When I was seven years old, one of the two times my parents took me to the beach in the summer, I did a freediving test. I stayed underwater longer than everyone else, but that was the end of it and I never got into it. Then, as an adult — 11 years ago — a friend got me involved in a freediving course and I fell in love." The problem was that "the love was unrequited," she says. "At the beginning it was a huge effort even just to learn to do 25 meters in dynamic apnea. Then something clicked." That was in part due to the help from the Deep Inside method she had learned.
"Freediving is wonderful," she explains. "One of the most spectacular things is that our body undergoes physiological changes attributable to the diving reflex, which is typical of mammals: for example, your heartbeat slows down, blood flows mainly to the heart and lungs and if you listen carefully, the hollow sound of your heart fills your soul."
But competitive freediving — a sport that has awarded Silvia several medals — is also a race to push the boundaries further and further. Athletes aim to get as close as possible to fainting without reaching the critical point, as it would result in disqualification. "We have to come out 'clean,’ as we say. The level of hypoxia we reach during freediving is high but compatible with life, otherwise no one would survive. However, it heavily impacts the three senses we have available in the water (sight, hearing and touch) and this makes it even more intimate." This is paired with an even closer dialogue with oneself, "which is almost a metaphysical experience. The outside world is gone and you’re all that’s left."
