Who Should Try Floating?
Originally posted March 21, 2019
We might be biased, but we think everyone should try floating. It brings a little bit of nothingness into chaotic lives and can reduce stress, anxiety, and soreness for anyone. With that being said, here are a few particularly good reasons you might want to try floating.
Pain relief, including recovery from intense athletic workouts or injuries
You work long and hard. Perhaps you chase after children, lift too many heavy items or sit for hours in front of a computer. You multi-task, bombarded by light and noise and demands. Everyday stresses manifest themselves as pain: back pain, neck pain, aching joints and muscles, debilitating headaches. Or you are training for an athletic event, perhaps over-training, and are feeling the fatigue and muscle tightness settle in.
Floatation Therapy encourages the production of endorphins, the "runner's high" hormones which curb sensitivity to pain. Your heartbeat and breathing slow, and you can't help but relax completely. This total relaxation promotes blood circulation and muscle growth. The Epsom salt solution reduces lactic acid build-up. You are weightless, so there is no pressure on your body. You find perfect spinal alignment. Injuries to muscles and tendons heal more quickly. Floating helps sufferers of fibromyalgia and rheumatoid conditions, and can relieve migraines caused by tension in the neck.
Stress, PTSD and addiction control
You are overwhelmed by stress. Perhaps there are unreasonable job demands, a death in the family, too many deadlines to meet. Or perhaps you have quit smoking recently or begun a weight-loss plan.
Imagine yourself floating effortlessly in a pool of warm water, enveloped by a dark calm. Your body relaxes completely as the Epsom salt solution replenishes depleted minerals. Endorphins, the "feel good" hormone, are produced. Anxiety and depression loosen their grip and you feel at peace. Your brain, freed of everyday sensory input, falls into theta-wave patterns. You have insight into your recovery path, and can clearly visualize your goals.
Floating diminishes the production of the stress hormone cortisol. This lowers the pulse and blood pressure and allows muscles to relax. These responses lead to long-term benefits such as a stronger immune system and lowered risk of diseases caused by stress and hypertension. Floatation therapy is a powerful tool for overcoming addictions and trauma. Studies have found that the immediate effects of floating, stress reduction and deep relaxation, alleviate withdrawal symptoms and promote a sense of tranquility and well-being. Within the safe womb-like environment, it is possible to work through emotional crises and phobias in a calm, objective way.
Bodymind Float Center is committed to helping veterans find relief from physical pain, stress and PTSD.
Sleep disorders
You toss and turn. It has been days, perhaps weeks, since you've slept deeply. Maybe you have a tough deadline to meet, are jet-lagged, or are going through a crisis. The anxious thoughts won't turn off, and the bed feels so uncomfortable.
Sleep disorders are very often stress-induced. Floatation Therapy gives the body a complete rest, allowing endorphins to be produced. The mood lightens. Cortisol levels decrease, as do blood pressure and heart rate. Anxiety and stress are relieved. The tank is dark, quiet and warm. Many people fall asleep during a float session. Theta-wave state is induced. Studies have shown that just one session can break a long pattern of insomnia.
Floating and pregnancy
You are in your second or third trimester, and are really noticing the extra gravitational strain on your body. You are anxious about your future, and your hormones are driving your emotions in unexpected directions. You'd like to rest more, but your mattress is feeling like a rock.
Floatation Therapy provides a safe and effective way for women to escape the physical demands of pregnancy. The water is heated to skin temperature, 95 degrees. Unlike a hot tub, the body's core temperature does not rise over the course of a session. Floating takes away added strain on the spine and soothes backaches and aching joints. Floating has been proven to help other common conditions of late-stage pregnancy- insomnia, depression and anxiety- by decreasing cortisol levels and encouraging the production of endorphins. We offer an assortment of neck pillows which can be used to achieve the most comfortable position. Women may float on their side, back or even belly. It is often noted that the Floatation Therapy creates a "mirror effect" of the baby floating in the womb of the Mother and the Mother floating in the womb-like float tank. Women can bond with their babies in this peaceful environment.
Check with your doctor or midwife to see if floating is right for you. We do not recommend floating for women in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Creativity and Performance Visualization
You are an artist, an executive, or an athlete. You are presenting tomorrow, playing a tournament, or perhaps giving an audition. That nervous feeling is in your stomach, and you can't sleep. Writer's block hits and you begin to pace. Where are the ideas? The phone keeps ringing and children clamor for your attention. There is no time to focus.
Now imagine yourself alone, floating effortlessly in warm water. All is quiet and dark. The nervousness slowly subsides and your body relaxes. You have all the time in the world, and you can slow down. Suddenly ideas come to you- a new step sequence, your next chapter, the title for your poem.
Floatation Therapy is increasingly being used by artists, athletes and professionals who want to work through a creative block or improve their performance. During Floatation Therapy, the brain is freed from sensory input. There is no light, sound, touch, not even the pull of gravity. You enter the theta wave state and produce slower brain-wave patterns normally experienced just before falling asleep or during deep meditation. This state often brings sudden insights, creative inspirations and clear imagery. You are able to visualize an upcoming performance vividly. You achieve a new level of mental clarity, and can prepare your routine in a completely relaxed state. You are able to deliver peak performance in conditions of extreme pressure.
The theta wave state also enables "Super-learning", the ability to focus and absorb information quickly. The floatation tank is equipped with a stereo system. Students, executives, musicians and dancers can play audio recordings of material that needs to be learned, while visualizing their presentations in a relaxed state.
Floating and Spirituality
You are looking for a way to revitalize your meditation practice, to gain insight into the big Questions. You wish to move away from the hubbub of daily life. You seek solitude, a quiet sanctuary where you can calm your thoughts and find peace, perhaps move closer to God.
The floatation tank provides this peaceful sanctuary. When floating, most people experience a theta brain wave state such as experienced only in deep meditation or momentarily in the twilight period just before falling asleep.