Frequent floating in an isolation tank does a body good. The feeling of peace and serenity you feel during each session is unparalleled. It isn’t practical to live in an isolation tank though. Regular floating sessions carry a time limit and the effects wear off eventually. So what do you do if you need a pick-me up in-between sessions? How do you recapture those positive feelings in moment where the pressures of everyday life seem to be a little overwhelming? The short answer is you find ways to recreate the floating experience outside the isolation tank. It isn’t likely you can schedule a floating session each day, but that does not mean you need to undo all of the progress you made in those sessions. At the end of a tough day, for example, you can retire to bed a half-hour before your usual sleep time. Floaters reduce stress when they lie peacefully in the salt water and let their body relax as it floats on the water’s surface. You can replicate that experience to a degree by lying in your bed, blocking out noise and light as much as possible and meditating like you are lying in the tank. The weightlessness of floating is not there, but it can help you center your thoughts and feel more at peace. Thinking about your last session can also be helpful. In a stressful moment, just take a couple of minutes and think back to the isolation tank. Recall the peace and serenity you felt. Think about images that passed through your mind. It can give clarity to the moment and help you realize the problems in front of you are not so insurmountable after all. It can help calm the storms of life and supercharge you with new found energy. These techniques are meant to be quick fixes until your next floating session. It is a turbulent world – full of stress, heartache, responsibility and fear. That’s why you should always make spending time in an isolation tank a priority. It is the best cure for keeping the daily grind from grinding you down.
So Carl Jessee and Jory Piglowski stopped by a couple weeks ago. They are travelling the country producing the first “all encompasing” float documentary. See more about that here. Float Nation Documentary They arrived on a Friday night into Salt Lake City and stayed with the owners of Salt City Float (Shawn and Denielle). On Saturday they swung by my place and we did an interview and I gave them a tour of my tank. After we were done at my place we all went over to Salt City Float Spa to get the interview with Denielle. She knows her stuff about floating! I was very impressed. Also, Salt City was over the top nice, it felt like a high end vacation spa. After some time at Salt City Float we headed around the town and up the canyon. They seemed very impressed with the mountains and landscape. I take it for granted living here. We spent a lot of time driving and had LOADS to talk about. After dinner they told me about how welcoming everyone in the float community is. It makes me proud to be a part of all this, and I know Carl and Jory are on to something big! This film will finally put all aspects of floating together in one place. The hippy, therapeutic scientific, healing, medical, spiritual, and inspirational aspects of floating will be gathered and presented in one piece. It is sure to educate and inspire more people to float. At the end of the day it felt like my friends were leaving. I hope to see you guys at the float conference in August. Thanks Carl and Jory! Sincerely…. Shane
Floating in an isolation tank can be compared to watching snowflakes in a snowstorm. It is common knowledge that no two snowflakes are alike. The same principle holds true with floating. No two people share identical experiences in an isolation tank. That doesn’t mean that floating sessions don’t share a few common characteristics. Floating can be broken into two categories: passive floating and active floating. Passive floating doesn’t require much from the floater. Once a person enters into an isolation tank and commits to passive floating, they simply relax and empty their mind. No thoughts. No emotions. They are simply in a state of peace. They know nothing but deep calm as their bodies float atop the soothing water. Active floating is a whole different animal. An active floater can use multiple techniques to achieve some sort of therapeutic goal while inside an isolation tank. The main idea behind active floating is that when the body enters a relaxed state, the mind becomes more open to suggestion. A floater can take control of their subconscious mind and plant suggestions and directions that do anything from helping their body heal from an injury to curbing an addiction. There is no correct approach to floating. Active floating and passive floating both offer benefits to a person looking to give their body a rest from the outside world.
Each person enjoys a different experience when they float in an isolation tank for the first time. The Simpsons offers a satirical take on isolation tanks when Homer Simpson gets to experience being in one for the first time in the 10th season episode “Make Room For Lisa.” Homer takes Lisa to a new age store to find natural remedies for stress-induced stomach aches. She is experiencing these stomach aches after her room is converted into a communication tower by a local cell-phone company. While in the new age store, the clerk offers time in the isolation tanks as a method for reducing Lisa’s stress and ridding her stomach ache. The experiences of Lisa and Homer in their respective isolation tanks are as different as night and day. Lisa undergoes a spiritual and mystical journey typical of what some people who float regularly report when they come out of a floatation tank. She sees an assortment of images and experiences life from the point of view of her cat Snowball and then Homer. Lisa learns to forgive his uncouth behavior and appreciate his efforts to bond with her by doing activities he doesn’t always enjoy. Homer, on the other hand, seems only concerned on whether he can pee in the tank before staring his floating session. Once inside, his isolation tank is seized by repo men and falls out of the back of their truck on a sharp turn. It is found on the road by Ned Flanders and he mistakes it for a coffin. Ned buries the isolation tank and it breaks through the top of an underground water pipe. The isolation tank washes ashore on a local beach and is returned to the new age store. Homer leaves the tank feeling impressed by his “journey.” Both experiences — one spiritual and the other comical — have positive effects on the relationship between Homer and Lisa. The same is true with others who float. They feel better about themselves and their loved ones.
Many people are drawn to floating because it sounds relaxing. Once inside an isolation tank, they realize that it indeed does feel relaxing. Why does lying on top of dense saltwater wash away all traces of stress and anxiety? The simple answer is that floating acts like a light switch. You can turn off the pressures of the outside world and turn on the peace that comes from exploring your inner self. One factor is the environment inside the isolation tank itself. When you are inside the tank, you no longer feel weighed down by gravity. The saltwater makes floatation possible and leaves you resting on top of the water instead of in it. It isn’t exactly like kicking it in outer space in a space shuttle. Still, it is the closest thing to a zero gravity environment that most people will experience in their lifetimes. The human brain undergoes significant changes inside the floatation tank. It releases powerful endorphins. These natural chemicals reduce pain and enhance a person’s mood. They feel better about everything. It allows healing to begin on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. When a person enters the state where this sort of healing can begin, this naturally makes them feel more relaxed. They are free from their normal lives – even if it is only the blink of an eye on the cosmic timescale. Floating is good for the body and soul because it is so relaxing to both parts.
Many medical experts agree depression can be a crippling condition. It negatively affects a person’s physical, mental and emotional health. Finding a cure for depression can involve years of expensive therapy to uncover the root causes and then treat those problems. Does it need to be this way? Why do we accept being told that the best treatment for depression involves seeing a psychiatrist and taking anti-depressants? This is not the only alternative for making ourselves feel good. Spending time in an isolation tank can work wonders when it comes to how we feel about ourselves. Our minds and our bodies need a rest from the stresses and pressures of everyday life. Floating can offer a channel for obtaining that break. When we do not get a release, those negative elements take a toll on our emotions. We start to feel trapped and helpless. We feel like there is nothing we can do to change or improve our situation. These thoughts cause us to slowly lose hope that our lives can be better. At this point, we sink into a state of depression that changes everything about us. Depression does not just affect our mood. It can influence how we sleep and how we eat. It can impact how we approach daily activities from working at our job to hobbies we pursue on the weekend. Floating in an isolation tank can relieve the burdens that cause depression. During a floating session, a person’s brain switches from beta waves to alpha waves to theta waves. When it reaches theta waves, the subconscious mind takes over. That allows a person to see what is causing their depression and deal with those issues at a subconscious level. Regular time in a floatation tank can rejuvenate a person in the physical, mental and emotional realm. It may not be exactly what the doctor ordered, but it is still an effective treatment for depression.
Can floating in an isolation tank make you smarter? It’s a valid question to ask. Floating is an activity that does so much good in so many other areas. Why wouldn’t increased brain power be one of the side effects of regular sessions in a floatation tank? The answer is a simple one. You can become smarter from floating. Why? The biggest reason is that floating unlocks your natural intelligence. When you get inside the tank and shut off the outside world, you allow your mind the rare opportunity to be free. A healthy brain given free reign will do what a healthy brain does best. It will think. It will create solutions to problems. It will provide answers to questions. Our brain is designed to operate like this all of the time. The problem is the outside world. When the stress and pressure of everyday life greets us as soon as we wake until we go to sleep, it can overwhelm our minds. That negative energy can cause our brain to focus on the most immediate task at hand at the expense of learning and growing in a healthy way. We have all been told that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Regular floating sessions will help a person to avoid making that mistake. Your brain needs a vacation from the outside world just as much as your body does. How we feel physically is tied directly to how we feel mentally. When we give our brains a chance to recharge and refocus through floating in an isolation tank, it means we are doing everything we can to take care of our mental health.
Insomnia can feel like a waking nightmare. When you can’t sleep, everything else suffers. Your brain can’t focus on simple tasks. You feel aches and pains in your body. You go from fun and happy to angry and depressed. In a nutshell, sleep is what makes a better you. If getting enough sleep is a problem, floating is a great solution. Floating in an isolation tank offers a perfect time to relax and disconnect your body and mind from those external and internal stresses that are causing so much damage. Studies done on frequent floaters reveal some eye-opening numbers. Among people who did weekly floating sessions, 23 percent slept better, 31 percent experienced reduced stress and 24 percent reduced or eliminated feelings of depression. Floaters who did at least 12 floatation sessions showed improved sleep patterns at night. They felt less tension, anxiety, nervousness and pain during the day as a result. Why does floating work better than a sleeping pill at curing insomnia? Simply put, it is designed to rejuvenate your body. Floating in an isolation tank leaves your body in a weightless state and peaceful environment where it can heal and recover from the forces dragging it down. It pays to float because floating has such a positive effect on everything else connected to our lives. You can set up a session at your local spa or build your own isolation tank from any number of isolation tank plans. The smart choice is to make floating a part of your weekly routine. A good night’s rest is your reward.
Thousands of people make resolutions at the dawn of each new year. One of the most common resolutions involves weight loss. It can mean dropping a few unwanted pounds or completely overhauling a lifestyle. The problem is that many such New Year’s resolutions fall by the wayside in a matter of days or weeks. People find that breaking bad unhealthy habits and creating new healthy ones is easier said than done. Their weight loss goal gets put on the shelf for an undetermined period of time and life goes on as it did before. This scenario does not have to play out over and over again. Floating is a nice tool that can actually help break the cycle of disappointment. Spending time in an isolation tank can help you reach your weight loss goals and feel like a new person. How do floating sessions work where fad diets fail? The simple answer is floating helps you get at the root cause of what is causing your weight gain. When you float, you can relax your mind and body. You can shut out the distractions of the outside world and focus on yourself. This allows a chance for self-discovery and the opportunity to sort out health problems and emotional issues contributing to your weight. Floating lets you cleanse negative emotions and stress that can prevent your physical body from functioning at a healthy level. When you master your emotions, you can control how much food you put into your body and what kind of food you put into your body. Spending time in a floatation tank can be just the sort of dieting tool you need. Anything that promotes peace and relaxation will promote a healthier body in all forms.
People enhance their value to the outside world through their skills. Finding way to improve those skills can open doors to prosperity, better health and happiness. Floating is a tool that can serve as a skill enhancer. Think about it for a second. Floating is designed to free your mind. The natural talents you possess and the skills you acquire through education and experience are both rooted in your mental capacity. So if floating is good for your mental health, it can also be good for your working life. It is almost like a personal energy shot to your creative center. Floating opens mental doors that might be closed or invisible to you in the stress and noise of the outside world. It offers a chance to remover the clutter from your thoughts and focus your attention and energy on what matters most. When you no longer can sense the difference between the air and water and your own body, that is when your mind is free. Such freedom can be channeled to enhancing certain skills or talents you possess. Maybe you are learning to play a difficult song on a musical instrument like the piano or violin. Floating can give you a chance to replay the notes of the music in your mind and unlock how to translate what you read on a sheet into beautiful sounds. Maybe your talent lies in designing a home or yard. Floating can help you see new patterns, shapes and colors that lead to revolutionary designs. Floating in an isolation tank can be a gateway to enhanced skills and talents that enhance your own value in your eyes and the eyes of others in your life.
Recent Comments