The Trials and Triumphs of my First Five Floats

I’m going to be honest with you, my first two floats were average as. In fact, it took me three floats to figure out the dos and don’ts, and five floats to totally understand the benefits of sensory deprivation. Read on if you want to know how you can skip past the typical beginner mistakes.

A bit about myself. I’m a twenty-something outgoing, sociable gal – an extrovert through and through. As a Public Relations student I live and breathe social media, social life, social everything. When I feel down I normally just talk it out with a friend who puts an emotional bandaid on me, or hide in social media. Being alone as a way of recharging had never crossed my mind until I tried floatation at Float Culture. Their isolation tanks helped me open my mind to a new level, helped me understand myself as well as others, and healed my sore body and soul.

Five Lessons From Five Floats

1. Have no expectations – your experience will be different to anyone else’s and even to each previous float.
2. Just because you’re in the tank doesn’t mean all your thoughts and anxieties will disappear. Allow yourself to follow your train of thought and eventually you will just go into a meditative state naturally. The key is to just go with the flow (pun intended) and not force anything.
3. Try floating with your arms up by your head – it enables diaphragm breathing and puts your neck and shoulders into a nice neutral position.
4. To avoid getting salt into your eyes wipe your face after your pre-float shower to avoid drops of water running down your face and making you want to scratch your face with salty hands. You should also avoid moving your arms directly in front of your face and if you need to sit up suddenly – get the fresh water spray ready.
5. Try not to have coffee or other energy stimulants that day, or have it several hours before your float.

Five Benefits From my First Five Floats

1. If you think you might be suffering from tech addiction, where you feel anxious or genuinely upset that you can’t check your phone – you need to float. The more time you spend away from your phone the easier it will get, and eventually you might even have a whole conversation without looking at your phone. Imagine that! BYOs just got a little more fun.
2. You will learn to appreciate boredom. It boosts creativity, you can cultivate mindfulness and relieve stress and anxiety.
3. If you don’t float for the mental benefits, at least do it for the way your skin looks after – Epsom salts draw toxins out of your body and leave you literally glowing. I swear I looked younger.
4. Another physical benefit floating can give you is total relaxation of the body, which can help in the recovery of injuries. I have a rolled ankle and my osteopath said that ankles take a long time to repair because we never fully rest that muscle – as we are never weightless. But when you’re floating you actually feel weightless and you aren’t using your muscles or joints, so this can aid your recovery as it did mine.
5. You can use the tank for visualisation. Whatever it is that you want to achieve, you can visualise it inside the tank and the energy your produce during the float can create a shift in your behaviour and awareness. I spoke to a few athletes who actually use floatation as a way to visualise a fight and anything that can happen throughout the fight to bring more awareness to their technique and set them one step ahead of their opponents.

I hope the above advice from my personal experience will help you leave your doubts about sensory deprivation at the footstep of Float Culture.