Floating is a very powerful practice to face the other side. You are very likely to have never experienced anything the like and it is also super beneficial for your body and your mind. This following Full Floating Guide will reveal everything you need to know about floating and how to get started with your own first floating experience.
Full Guide – On how to experience Floating the right way
In this Guide will you will get to know what Floating is all about, what to take care of when you plan to do your first floating experience and how you can prepare yourself. It will also cover why Floating is such a transformative practice to face your other side, why it is such a beneficial modality in our modern times and what kind of beautiful insights you can expect from a floating experience once you followed all our tips displayed below. But let’s start from the Beginning:
What is Floating?
Floating was invented by John Lilly in the past century. It refers to stepping inside an isolation tank or floatation chamber and experiencing the isolation of the brain from external stimulation, also called sensory deprivation. In these alien like bathtubs you experience the absence of light, sound and gravity. They are filled with almost a ton of warm Epsom salt water. With a higher salt density than the dead sea, you just float effortlessly in these dark chambers.
Within a few minutes you then enter the sensory deprivation state and start to experience amazing things. Your mind and body experience a state of blissful rest that cannot be replicated or achieved anywhere else on Earth. On the right you see a personal account of my first floating experience.
“You are completely free from the downward forces of gravity. There are no pressure points along your body. You simply lay on a pillow of water while exerting no energy, like an astronaut floating in space, going on a long and deep journey…”MY FIRST FLOATING EXPERIENCE
How to experience floating the right way?
All around the world there are meanwhile Float centers where you can experience the magic of floating. You can even buy your own float tank and use it at home. Here’s how the process works in detail:
When you step inside a float chamber and lay down you just float effortlessly on the surface because of the high amount of salt. The water temperature is steadily kept on the level of your body temperature (35.5C ) and so it feels like you become one with the water. It’s a feeling of returning back to the mothers womb. A state a lot of ancient cultures strive to get back to i.e. during plant medicine because it is considered our first state on earth and the ultimate place of being nurtured.
Once you close the chamber, no outside noise and light will get in, and so you float in total piece and quiet. In this environment your mind calms down, your body gets to rest, the outside world disappears and incredible beneficial things start to happen…
The Benefits of a Floating experience:
There are so many benefits of floating. It helps with insomnia, loss of libido, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, depression, neck, back or spinal chord problems, arthritis, magnesium deficiency, high blood pressure, diabetes, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis hyperactivity, restlessness, burnout and even enhances your creativity, problem solving skills and positive outlook on life. Here are the 5 Benefits that stand out to us.
Top 5 Benefits of Floating:
1 – It fully calms and relaxes you
In a way Floating can be compared to fasting. When you take away food or in the case of floating sensory data the body starts to enter a state of self regulation and self healing. In the deep relaxing states during Floating your Body increases the production of Endorphins and simultaneously ceases the production of stress related checmicals. This is great for depression, anxiety and phobias as it increases optimism, self-assertiveness and positivity. Your brain enters the deeply meditative Theta wave state, which is also known to help with Insomnia and sleeping disorders.
Floating is also very powerful for pain relief. Basically because you take away your Body weight on a injury or a certain muscle that is hurting. And even for serious illnesses like Fibromyalgia it is known to be helpful. The widespread pain in Fibromyalgia appears to result from imbalances of Dopamine levels. Due to the high relaxation state while floating the brains dopamine levels are better regulated. Floating also helps with Osteoporosis as it supports the Adrenal gland and regulates the Endocrine system. And even for People with neck, back or spinal chord problems like scoliosis floating is very beneficial because it can assist with structural alignment of the spine.
2 – It makes you experience transpersonal states
The benefit that interests us the most is probably this one. The Transformation enthusiasts, mind explorers, consciousness seekers, psychedelic adventurers or simply students of love and life will be delighted to get to know that the floating tank is a strong amplifier of their practices. Meditation, Visualization, or other mental stillness techniques are incredibly amplified inside the tank because the brain is already in the deep relaxing Theta state.
But even for those who didn’t build up a deep meditation practice over years yet, or who just seem to can’t find the time, energy, willpower to do so, floating let alone is incredible. There is nothing to memorize, to learn or to practice. Just by being in the float tank you will easily access the same Theta brain wave state that is usually associated with deep meditation, by literally doing nothing.
The world of senses is just taken away from you, you have no chance to distract yourself anymore. You have to go inwards and thats when you really start to face the other side…
3 – It’s amazing for Athletes & physical active People
Floating is physically super restorative. It enhances Athletes performance in many ways. Floating improves blood circulation enabling large muscle groups to receive oxygen rich blood more easily which decreases the need for rest. Floating also makes People recover from their injuries faster and it even alleviates pain because of the reduced muscle tension.
In float tanks the muscle tension is reduced to almost zero because Users lay on a pillow of water with no pressure points. This also helps to release lactic acid, a by-product of high activity, many active athletes are aware of it as it causes fatigue and stress. But not only that. Lactic acid is also found to have strong negative effects on athletes minds. It can cause anxiety and disables athletes to make quick game decisions. So the faster removal of this by-product leads to very positive effects in athletes such as mental clarity, faster decision making and better leadership skills. Check out what Basketball MVP and NBS Superstar Stephen Curry has to say about the Benefits of Floating:
4 – It helps you to quit bad habits & beautifies you
In the floating community the effect of sensory deprivation on smoking cessation is well documented. Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) related research has shown isolating one’s senses could actually help change ingrained behaviors. The reason is that floating brings you to these deep meditative and reflective states of mind. It is there that you analyze your behavior patterns in a completely new way. It also gives you the necessary boost in self-confidence towards your ability to change your attitude and habits.
Your Body also absorbs magnesium during the whole Floattime. Getting this critical mineral that most people are deficient in. The high density of the Magnesium Sulfate makes you resting without pressure points, like a great massage. When the tension is removed, the skin becomes smoother as a result of the muscles behind the skin of your face being relaxed. In addition, floating in Epsom salt makes your skin softer, smoother, and draws toxins such as lactic acid away from your body.
5 – It makes you enjoy huge Work/Business Benefits
Being employed or owning a business in our busy western work environments, gets more and more stressful, no matter what side you are on. One obvious indicator for that are the steadily increasing occurrences of depression, Burnout Syndrome or chronic fatigue disorders. A shocking amount of people state they feel empty, exhausted, burned out, and unable to cope. One of the top three factors why employees leave a job is stress, usually it’s number one.
Floating can change that. It not only relaxes you (Benefit one) but it also comes with many other benefits for your ability to strive in the rational, materialistic world. Floating increases your problem solving skills and enhances your learning ability. It also boosts your creativity by making your brain rest from its normal obligations for a while. But it even goes deeper than that. Floaters will tap into a whole other level of creativity, because it doesn’t come from a place of reason but from your other side. Furthermore floating frees you from time and betters your ability to focus on detail oriented tasks. Lastly the increased productivity of endorphins makes you more optimistic and positive.
So from a business owner perspective: Floating will lead to less stressed, more creative, happier employees which are more productive and less likely to call out sick. You will have lower health care costs, less fluctuations which all ultimately leads to a more striving business.
FAQ:
1 – I am claustrophobic, can I still float?
Yes. Just research a place that not only offers “float tanks” but also “float rooms”. Float rooms are like a large walk-in closet with a high ceiling and a spacious door. They were speficially designed for people with fears of enclosed spaces or other handicaps.
2 – Is this float water clean & can I drown?
Newest float tanks are equipped with state of the art filtration systems. Furthermore, almost one tone of Epsom salt water is dissolved in one float tank, which makes it 10 times saltier than normal ocean sea water. This creates not only a naturally extremely hygienic and bacteria resistant environment but also makes it sort of impossible to drown. You basically can’t sink even if you try to and there is only 10 inches of water in a tank. A fancy bathtub is more dangerous.
3 – Last Tips before you float
Do not shave at least 4 hours prior to your float and also cover cuts on your body i.e. with liquid band-aid as the high salt content can burn. It is also required to shower at the float center before entering the tank. During your float just try to go without any expectations. Just be open, there is no right or wrong. Just relax and enjoy this self-time. After you finished your float make sure to schedule some time for integration. Give yourself some time to reflect on how you feel. Notice your sharpened senses, enjoy your mineralized hair and skin, take a deep breath and be welcomed to the world of floating.
Where to float?
Want to find a float center next to where you live? Here is a list of countries and their respective float centers. You consider buying a Float tank yourself? Float tanks in general are quite expensive. However, they are for sure an amazing long-term investment in yourself. Here are 3 of the best state of the art Float tanks. The third one is in fact a tent and probably “the most affordable Float tank” in the world. Get more infos by clicking on the pictures.
Float tanks are the perfect deconditioning tool because they separate us completely from our relationship with the outside rational world. They allow us to eliminate harmful programming, bad habits and most importantly reconnect us with our other side. What’s your take on Floating?
