“Getting your PADI” is one of the famous phrases along travellers, but what does it really mean? 

Travellers are dealing with a misconception. They are thinking that PADI is the name of the entry level scuba diving course and don’t know that actually PADI is one of the biggest diving organizations in the world.

What is P.A.D.I?

In 1966, two passionate divers created the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). PADI was one of the first diving organizations that developed teaching materials for entry-level divers till professional divers. They became in the 80’s the leading scuba diving organization in the world. Because of this people are relating them to the first scuba certification course. As a dive instructor you will hear the phrase “I like to get my PADI” lots of times during your instructor time.

Getting your PADI

Getting your PADI means getting certified as entry-level scuba diver. They offers 2 entry-level certifications:

1. PADI Scuba Diver
2. PADI Open Water Diver

PADI Scuba Diver Course

The PADI Scuba Diver Course is a subset of the PADI Open Water Diver Course. The course is made for people who are short in time or for people who always want to dive with dive professional.

To enroll in a Scuba Diver Course the student must be minimal 10 years old and need to be in good physical health. Scuba diving experience is not required. 

The PADI Scuba Diver Course at Oceans 5 Gili Air

Oceans 5 Gili Air offers a Scuba Diver Course over 2 days. The student will be trained by one of their experienced dive instructors.

There is first a theoretical part during the course. The students will learn about the diving principles and terminology. 

After that the instructor will take the students to the pool. The students will be introduced to the basic scuba diving skills. When the instructor thinks that the students are ready, he will take them out for 2 dives in the ocean till a maximum depth of 12 meters. A dive boat brings the students and instructor to one of the dive sites.  The dive instructor will be always during the dive close to their students for safety. 

After two days the dive instructor will certify the students as long they met all the performance requirements of the Scuba Diver Course. This certification is for lifetime and later it can be upgraded to the Open Water Diver certification.

PADI Open Water Diver Course

The PADI Open Water Diver Course is the first scuba diving certification level. The Open Water Course is the worlds most accepted and acknowledged scuba course. Millions have learned to scuba dive and most have continued to explore the mysteries and marvels of the aquatic paradise through this course.

To enroll in an Open Water Diver course (or Junior Open Water Diver course), you must be a minimum of 10 years old. You need sufficient swimming skills and want to be in suitable physical health. No previous knowledge or experience is necessary.

The Open Water Diver course involves three stages:

• Knowledge Development to understand basic principles of scuba diving
• Confined Water Dives to learn basic scuba skills
• Open Water Dives to use your skills and discover!

The PADI Open Water Diver Course at Oceans 5 Gili Air

Oceans 5 conducts Open Water Diver Courses in 3-4 days. During these days the students will be trained to become a diver with confidence that can dive indecently to a depth not greater than 18 meter.

Our experienced dive instructors are teaching the entire course. The course has 4 dives in the ocean. These are just a few minutes away from our dive shop. Oceans 5 tries that the students will visit 4 different dive sites during the course, but all is depending on the weather and water conditions.

Oceans 5 Gili Air cares about their students that are why they organize courses only in small groups, maximal 4 students per instructor. The dive instructor will have a personal connection with the students and doesn’t see the students as a number. 

You’ve tried diets before. You’ve tried eating more of this and less of that. Eating healthier is important to you, so you can avoid illness and pain, and start living that life of joy you crave. Are you ready to feel good? It’s easier than you think. You just need help from the right mentors to help you see you are capable of getting off the dieting rollercoaster ride, and move your wellness journey towards a happier, healthier you! Grab your fork, and let’s dig into these practical nutrition tips from leading scientists and a Registered Dietician, to help you change your life for the better.

1. Have a Plan About Food

Life is busy. There’s so much pressure in life, the last thing you want is to have to think about food. “Have a plan about food,” suggests Registered Dietician, Lon Ben-Asher, Registered Nutritionist at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida. “Having a plan means you’re not buying lunch out every day, where you’re stepping into a minefield… putting yourself in the line of temptations.” It is easier to eat more nutritious, healthy foods when you have a plan.

2. Eat More Whole, Plant-Based Foods

Perhaps the biggest nutrition tip that will change your life is to eat more whole, plant-based foods. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and legumes are awesome examples. “Removing as much processed foods from your diet, eating more whole, plant-based foods, is always going to result in a healthier body,” explains Lon. “It can be really hard in today’s day and age, but try to eat less convenience foods.” Eating more whole, plant-based foods are scientifically proven to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality amongst middle-aged adults.

3. Walk Away from the Pantry

In a stressful moment, eating a bag of crunchy, salty potato chips or a chocolate donut may be just what you think you need. Walk away from the pantry! This nutrition tip will change your life! “Remember that eating is one coping mechanism used to manage stress.  It works for the short term, but we can pay a price – in our health, energy, weight gain…” remarks Lon. “The key is to find other coping mechanisms… my favorites are walking …or listening to books on tape.” You do not need to eat to cope. Emotional eating can lead to struggles with weight, sleep, and mood. Check out this Alpilean ice hack.

4. Don’t Eat Breakfast (If You’re Not Hungry)

“If you wake up in the morning and you are not hungry, then don’t eat,” says Lon. When it comes to healthy eating, rules are not black or white. Each person is unique, as such what you need to eat and when may be different than another person. If you find waking up in the morning, you’re not hungry, then don’t eat breakfast. Listen to your hunger cues! Some people prefer to eat pretty soon after waking, while others find they aren’t actually hungry until an hour or two, later.

5. Make Vegetables the Star

Vegetables should be the star of your plate, according to Kimberly. A true celebrity in healthy diets, vegetables are worth eating more of. Eating vegetables is scientifically proven to promote health: linked with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and incidence of cardiovascular disease, as well as promotes healthier blood pressure and weight loss. Eating more vegetables will truly put a smile on your face! For every extra portion of fruit and vegetables, adults ate each day, their happiness increased exponentially, reports a study in the American Journal of Public Health, after surveying a group of over 12,000 Australians. If you’re thinking, “I hate vegetables,” then you may enjoy this list of ways to make vegetables taste good.

Diving for everyone!

Diving with people who have disabilities? Contrary to what some people may think, scuba diving is adapted to most disabilities. 

Scuba diving activities with people who have disabilities

Scuba diving for disables has become a fashionable, prestigious and very interesting spare time activity. Scuba diving can be seen be as a multidimensional therapy in water, which allows people with and without disabilities to share common activities.

Classes

Classes taking place in water and diving help to break the barriers resulting from being in a new environment, i.e., water, to regain the awareness of one’s own body and movements that one can make, feel the position of one’s own body, feel the possibility to give directions to movements and benefit from being able to increase independence in water.

Aquatic environment

The aquatic environment enables the relaxation of muscles, which may have a positive effect on spasticity and increase the joint range of motion often significantly limited in the natural environment. 

Summarized

In short, it enables improve movement and coordination in a way that is much easier than in a terrestrial environment. Such exercises have a positive effect on the respiratory system and blood circulation as a result of learning how to breathe correctly. An individual who takes up diving has got an opportunity to learn and demonstrate independence by taking care of her/his own safety, as well as the safety of her/his companions. Diving encourages you to spend time with other people and, thus, gives an opportunity to be in a group whose members are people without disabilities, as well as people with disabilities, giving the sense of affiliation with a group and responsibility for its members.

Everybody can dive?

A person, who likes to start a course, needs a medical clearance of a doctor. The medical has to tell the scuba diving instructor that the person is fit for diving. 

During a course everybody, disabled and abled students, have to meet the same performance requirements. A PADI Scuba Instructor can only certify students as all performance requirements are met for that course.

Some disabled divers will never met the performance requirements for a PADI Scuba Diver Course and/or PADI Open Water Diver Course. But this doesn’t mean that they can’t dive. For the persons who cant meet the performance requirements of a Scuba Diver or Open Water Course, there are other options to dive. Under direct supervision of a PADI/DDI Instructor the disabled person can participate in a PADI Discover Scuba Diving Program, or a DDI Try Dive Program. The difference is that the programs, PADI Discover Scuba Diving and the DDI Try Dive, are not certification levels.

It’s a first time scuba diving experience in a safe environment with a scuba dive instructor. First there will be a theory session, followed up by a pool session. There is an optional dive in the ocean till 12 meters for the divers who are confident enough and the instructor agrees to it.

Oceans 5

Dive centre Oceans 5 Gili Air became in 2014 a Disabled Divers International Instructor Training center. They offers DDI courses for disabled recreational scuba diver as DDI professional courses.

Disabled Divers International

Disabled Divers International (DDI) is a non-profit organization, with the aim to promote, develop and conduct disabled scuba diving training programs for professional and non-professional students. All board members are volunteers, dedicated to promoting and developing disabled scuba diving internationally.

Since its introduction in 2010, DDI has gathered extensive support and recognition within the diving industry and conducted both professional and non-professional programs all around the world. DDI professionals and DDI Dive Centers can now be found in 58 countries with more on the way, enabling disabled diving worldwide.

DDI programs are designed to work in cooperation with existing scuba diving training organizations and their training programs. DDI programs adds a new layer on top of the existing diver training, allowing individuals who would have difficulties fulfilling all requirements and standards to experience diving safely with modifications and enhancements to their training and or equipment.

DDI professional training adds to the diving professional a new set of tools and knowledge to train disabled divers safely and certify their students as a scuba diver, with varied levels of limitations depending on the student’s ability to perform program requirements and standards.