‘I should have been born with fins!'

Move over Ariel, free diver Alana loves to relax 60 metres under the sea

For Alana Caskey, meditating means being tens of metres under the water, holding her breath for minutes on end. Freediving is an unusual hobby but the 42-year-old jokes she should have been born with fins.

Like a human fish, Alana can hold her breath for over five minutes while she plunges so far under the surface her lungs shrink to the size of oranges. “It’s very relaxing. It might be a battle against your own mind but it’s addictive,” she tells Woman’s Day.

Alana is one of Australia’s most impressive free divers and is often found in the blue water wonderland of Port Stephens on the NSW Hunter coast – her home base. But her passion has taken her all over the world, including the Blue Hole offthe Egyptian coast, where she went the deepest she’s ever been on her third visit. “It was only 59.8 metres but I’m calling it 60,’’ she laughs.