The Deepest Form of Relaxation: Exploring the Benefits of Floating Regularly

Introduction

Throughout my life I have been always on the go, always looking for the next level. I’ve never felt settled and comfortable, always setting the next goal as soon as the current one nears completion and pushing myself all the time. With this attitude, I felt myself under pressure most of the time, and with pressure comes stress, loads of stress, and the feeling that I never had enough time. I was burning the candle at both ends, but I concluded that this was what life required.

For those of us who want to thrive and lead a healthy lifestyle in this high-pressure world of instability, confusion, constant change, and stress, we couldn’t stand a chance if we were physically or mentally sluggish. So when I got to know about flotation therapy, I quickly realised that this could be the natural answer to the stresses of this ever-changing world of ours. Regular floating can be the way to relax your tired body while engaging your subconscious mind as you control your thoughts.

I discovered that regular floating made me a healthier and happier person. I said goodbye to a stressful lifestyle as I exercised and reinforced my body’s capacity for happy thoughts, healing, good sleep, creativity, and imagination. I had lower blood pressure, easier concentration, and more energy. I discovered how regular floating positively changed my life and helped me focus on the things I want out of life.

The powerful technique of floating can help people, especially go-getters, to achieve their goals, to become much more centred, and to tackle the issues and problems that life throws at them easily and calmly. Isn’t true that if we approach our problems in a relaxed state, we stand a better chance of solving them?

So when I was called up to run one of the very first flotation centres in England, I was completely blown away by the difference this form of therapy made in my life. The experience of lying in a tank, a gravity-free environment, experiencing weightlessness and proper blood circulation, sold me on the idea of floating regularly. I thought of the millions of people out there with busy lifestyles like me who could find the results from floating regularly very helpful. I thought of people who may be magnesium deficient, who may be at risk of developing or already suffer from poor blood circulation, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, stroke, cancer, heart disease, fatigue, and those who may be so stressed out that they cannot even sleep at night.

At the flotation centre, I started researching flotation and the difference it made in people’s lives. My position at the time facilitated this research, as I always found the time to chat with all my clients about their experiences on the day to see what changes regular floating was making for them. What I found was that there was not enough information out there about how this fantastic therapy can be beneficial in the long term. I was so involved with the floating business that even my spare time was eaten up by research on the topic, and I promised myself that as soon as the opportunity arose, I would put pen to paper to let the world know in depth the benefits of being present within, switching off, and being in solitude and seclusion while spending some time in a gravity-free, sensory deprivation isolation tank for just an hour or a lunchtime holiday.

Some of the long-term benefits described in this book will just blow you away. Read and digest this information and keep the book close at hand for reference. This is not just intellectual entertainment, so please do act on this book’s contents for the well-being of yourself, your friends, and your family.

Chapter 1

Flotation Therapy

It simply means being present within—Festus George-Sawyerr

Floating was first developed by American scientists at NASA back in the 1950s to train astronauts in what to expect whilst in a gravity-free environment. During these experiments, scientists also found other benefits of floating, including relaxation, stress relief, and pain control, as when subjects lay in a supine position in a flotation tank, their bodies released plenty of beta endorphins. As you may be aware, endorphins are hormones that bind to opiate receptors in the brain and reduce or eliminate pain. They also positively affect emotions, making you feel happy, relaxed, or euphoric.

Credit must also be given to Dr John Cunningham Lily, a medical practitioner and neuropsychiatrist who tried out the effects of sensory deprivation in 1954 in a dark, soundproof tank. He had read arguments that cutting off stimuli to the brain would put one to sleep, and in his curiosity to support this argument, he created a tank that totally cut off an individual from external stimuli. He also went on to study the origins of consciousness and its relation to the brain, and in the early 1970’s, he came very close to making what we use today as a floatation tank.

As Dr Lily found, regular floating isolates you from external stimuli, which enables you to forget your body and focus on your mind. The practice is based upon a scientific approach to deep relaxation called restricted environmental stimulation therapy, or REST. Whilst you are in the flotation tank, you experience relaxation, as your mind and body are shielded from all external stimulation, reducing the brain’s normal workload by up to 90 per cent. In this gravity-free environment, created by the high concentration of magnesium sulphate in the water, the body conserves a great level of energy, allowing it to heal and rejuvenate itself.

Only astronauts in space have experienced a true zero-gravity environment; the closest most people will get comes from lying in a flotation tank. This experience of near-zero gravity allows you to relax every single muscle—your neck, arms, face, thighs, and back, and every other part of your body that has been tense. You let go! Regular floating takes you away from the physical world, which lets your brain become more creative and attend to matters that you normally give little attention to as you go about your daily schedule.

One of the sources of stimulation for human beings is the temperature on the surface of the body. Floaters will discover that the temperature inside the tank is isothermal over the surface of the body, so the nerve endings covering the surface of the skin no longer perceive a separation between the skin and the warm salt solution inside the tank. This brings me to one of the questions my clients frequently ask: Why do I have to float in the dark? Won’t I feel claustrophobic? Regular floaters will enjoy floating in the dark, as the darkness allows areas of the brain which are in constant use in the physical world to be liberated from their work. Research has shown that in an isolation tank, the electrical activity of the brain decreases and the brain generate theta waves, which are associated with deep relaxation. Floating in the dark also induces a balance between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. There is a shift in activity from the normally dominant left side of the brain, which does all the logical, analytical, and rational work, to the right side, which takes care of intuition, mental clarity, and creativity. During this period, regular floaters experience harmony between both sides of the brain, which allows them to use a huge amount of untapped brainpower. More information on the brain appears in chapter 14.

It is worth pointing out that even regular floaters occasionally feel as if nothing is happening whilst they are in the tank. Many times, it’s not until you have come out and had your second shower and gotten dressed, that you start to feel the effects. This awareness can create the ultimate sense of consciousness, as you realise that each passing moment of your life brings new possibilities—possibilities that you can only act upon by choosing to heal and live in a peak state.

In practical terms, floating means lying naked in a supine position in a private tank containing ten inches of a solution of silky, warm Epsom salts heated to body temperature (between 36 and 37 degrees Celsius, or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit), enabling your body to float freely and effortlessly. In the process, you experience the deepest REST the human mind has ever known, all in the luxury of your own private environment. You will have two showers, one before and one after your floating session. All good float centres gives you the option of using a pillow and music and lighting which you control to help you slowly drift away. It’s advisable to wear earplugs whilst lying in a flotation tank, as salty water may get into your ears and form crystals in your eardrum. I would also stress that you should pay attention to any cuts and bruises on your body, as the salt solution may sting them, so carry some Vaseline with you, as not all centres provide it. As you lie in your tank, you may leave your arms loose by your sides or place them behind your head, whichever is comfortable for you. I strongly advise every floater to take advantage of the floating lounge or sitting area, which any good float centre should provide, after a session to soak in the experience for at least fifteen minutes. During this time, you can listen to meditative music and drink a glass of filtered water or a nice cup of herbal or organic tea before going back out to face the real world again.

You can listen to meditative music for a brief period whilst getting ready to float and towards the end of your session to help bring you round slowly. Most centres will also play such music in the waiting area. Some of my clients have drifted off to sleep after their sessions as they listened to this sort of music. My flotation centre will accommodate clients’ music preferences. Some of my clients request to hear music all the way through a session, and others have requested that we play music which they have brought along.

According to Dr Andrew Weil, Music has a special power to influence consciousness. Not only can it lift your spirits, it also elicits a direct and measurable effect on the nervous system. If you have ever been moved by a powerful piece of music, then I am sure you can relate to Dr Weil’s comment. Because music can have a significant effect on our health and well-being, a good flotation centre will make it their duty to provide the right music for your flotation session. Music is totally focused on your health and well-being, and the best part about it is that you don’t need a prescription for it; its benefits will come to you naturally. According to George Patrick, PhD, chief of recreation therapy in the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of the US National Institutes of Health, the more he listens to this sort of music, the more he is convinced of its medical effectiveness.

It’s one of those things you have to experience for yourself.

—Richard Doyle, University of Pennsylvania

Most of my clients meditate whilst floating away, allowing the music to get them into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all, as they get two therapies for the price of one, and the more relaxed they are, the better results they get from their flotation sessions.

Meditative music does helps the human body to switch off. Some of my clients have told me that it was when the music started they were able to place their minds back into their brains where they belong. The music helps to get you in the mood to let your troubles float away. Some tracks that I play are clearly designed to wash your worries away whilst having your first or second shower. Should you choose to listen to music throughout your session, these tracks create an ambience of therapeutic radiance which will bring your creativity to life.

Conclusive research conducted over three years by the US National Institutes of Health confirms that soothing music induces a relaxation response and relives many symptoms of anxiety and stress. There could be no better place to get the full benefit of this sort of music than in an environment where you come very close to experiencing weightlessness in ten inches of magnesium sulphate solution at body temperature: a sensory deprivation flotation tank.

As brilliant as floating sounds, not every one of my thousands of clients felt excited or spaced out after their very first session. Some of my clients have told me that it felt like they were spinning around 90 degrees in the tank, even though they were not moving at all. Others have reported not feeling anything until they got home, and they found that their sleep pattern had changed things, they were now able to face situations that normally would have got them angry with a different approach, prompting them to feel more in control and a hell of a lot happier. Please remember that it may take up to four sessions before you feel completely relaxed in your flotation tank and that your feelings and experiences may vary