LI KARLSÉN IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST FREE DIVERS REACHING DEPTHS BELOW 70 METERS, DISTANCES LONGER THAN 200 M AND A BREATH HOLD OF MORE THAN 6 MINUTES. SHE IS A FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN TURNED CIVIL RIGHTS DEFENDER AND NOW ATHLETE AND ENTREPRENEUR.
WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES YOU THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DO?
I see my hard work as the true wins, the everyday practice and continuous development, where competitions are just a space where I sometimes pick up the medals for that hard work.
WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR MIND AND BODY WHEN YOU FREEDIVE?
Freediving is a very unique space where you are in ultimate peace, and at the same time in extreme stress. The breath holding is not the focus at all, you tend to completely forget about holding your breath when you freedive since you're completely present in just being.
Physically, your body activates a survival mode called the mammalian diving response which means that your brain and body conserves oxygen and adapts to the extreme pressure around you at depth. Mentally and even emotionally this means that you're in a state of complete presence where the only thing that matters is feeling as comfortable as possible in that quite uncomfortable state and place below the surface. The longer you can stay in that state, of being comfortable in the extremely uncomfortable - the deeper and longer you will be able to dive both for depth and within.
YOU ONCE SAID IN AN INTERVIEW, "PARADISE IS NOT A PHYSICAL PLACE. IT'S A PLACE YOU CARRY WITHIN YOURSELF." WHAT’S YOUR PARADISE LIKE?
I see paradise as a space and not a physical place, since you can reach it anytime and anywhere. It's inside of you and has always been, and will always be.”
“For me, freediving in the ocean is definitely a shortcut to that paradise. Not only because of the environment such as being in nature, but because of that state of presence and at the same time disconnection to everything else but your being that it brings. For me paradise is being at peace, no matter what storm you might face on the outside or inside.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OCEAN?
I truly love the ocean and I hope that she loves me back. She is the best of teachers and merely enhances what you bring to her. If you bring stress and anger you will get that back tenfold in the form of anxiety.
If you come relaxed and curious you will get back a tenfold of peace for your body and mind. Every time I'm in the ocean she teaches me lessons that sometimes mean that she smashes me down with waves, I can then either choose to be angry at that wave for treating me like the ocean, or just embrace it since being part of the ocean only makes me even stronger and more resilient.
ARE YOU EVER AFRAID?
I’m afraid all the time, at least my brain is and especially when I’m preparing for something that’s out of my comfort zone. I truly believe that you should do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone every day, even doing something that scares you everyday.
Black outs (BO) or loss of motor control (LMC) due to hypoxia (low oxygen levels) happens very rarely since safety is so rigid in freediving. It's an extreme sport indeed but it doesn't mean that you are taking extreme risks.
In order to complete a freedive you have to come up to the surface, look the judge in the eyes and pinch your index finger and thumb together and after that say “I’m OK”. Since this means that your left and right hemisphere (brain) are still working, this since it’s not about doing the dumbest dive and passing your healthy limits – it’s about being strong, clever and brave enough to push to the millisecond before that limit is passed.
WHAT IS IN YOUR PIPELINE?
I recently co-founded and launched the health and supplement company called BKM, as in “become”, that focuses on recovery, female performance and longevity. My focus is growing the community around what health is today from a more realistic and comprehensive perspective than the current one – that says that health is the physical state of being free from illness or injury. Which is so outdated and directly wrong! Also, supporting women in health and performance physically, mentally and emotionally in an every day perspective since we are so neglected within not only health- and performance, but also in the science and knowledge around it.
Since I live in Mauritius I'm also heavily involved in the ocean conservation and protection of big mammals there, where I run sustainable retreats with focus on performance and eco-psychology using the ocean's healing and forging powers as my core concept. Freediving is part of it, and will always be a part of my life, but not solely from a performance perspective. Any sport is a good metric, but not necessarily a good measurement of your current health and wellbeing. I call it “The Blue Mind” since it revolves around the ocean and incorporates breathing techniques for thriving in life – not just surviving.