Skydiving as Therapy?

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

If it were possible to prescribe a skydive, lots of sky-savvy therapists would go right ahead and do it.

Does that strike you as a funny thought?

Maybe it shouldn’t. Skydiving is, after all, a pretty powerful force for good. It’s no less than amazing what a skydive can do for a weary heart; a directionless moment; soggy motivation. Skydiving isn’t just for “adrenaline junkies.” Far from it! We insist that skydiving can be therapeutic (as well as fun!)–we see it in action every day. Here are some of the ways it can help.

Skydiving For A Life Reboot

Maybe you’re thinking about skydiving because you’re facing up to a life event that’s causing you to challenge–well–pretty much everything.

You should know, first off, that this isn’t an unusual phenomenon at all. Many of our guests come to us in the midst of the most serious challenges of their lives: a divorce; a cancer diagnosis; the loss of a loved one. These guests don’t decide to skydive because they’ve lost hope and feel like they have nothing to lose; they want to approach what they’re going through from a different angle. They want to prove possibility.

Folks also come when the challenges are happy ones: a proposal; a graduation; a new job. But whether for the hard or the happy, these shake-ups require the shaken-up to step into a new imagining of themselves. “Leap of faith” much? Taking that cliché and turning it into a whooping, yowling, laughing celebration is often just the thing.

Skydiving For A Power-up

Your friends and family might shake their heads and tell you you’re “crazy.” Your own head might tie itself in knots over the idea. To stand up amidst all that naysaying and jump from 14,000 feet, bathed in the clamor of your own thudding heart, and then falling head-over-heels for the experience? That’s power, y’awl.

The experience of a skydive is like an electric shock, jolting you into the realization that if you can jump out of a plane, you can do anything.

Skydiving For Healthy Perspective

Skydiving isn’t going to solve your problems. (Unless your problem is having open weekends and the burning desire to pick up the hobby of a lifetime…then, yeah. It’ll solve your problems.)

That said: Skydiving offers a massive shift in perspective. Skydivers share the conviction that the act of skydiving puts the jumper into a deep “flow state,” living entirely in the moment, which opens up a lot of space for healing and for moving forward. Past injuries and future concerns dissolve during a skydive. For at least one crisp, clear minute, one is present. To some folks, that’s priceless.

Skydiving For Love

We know that everyone who joins us out at Skydive Monroe has a story. Guests arrive as strangers; then, after the experience is over, we witness a flurry of hugs, celebrations and tears in the landing area as it all pours out and those stories are told.

We are lucky that we get to do the job we do; that we get to share those stories. Every day, we get to make the world that much better by bringing new skydivers up into the air up there, and showing them how healing a little freefall can be. Curious? We’d love to show you.