Float, float on
Keeping in line with my 2019 promise to myself, I took a vacation day and decided to engage in a float session. In case you missed it, the promise was to do something positive for myself on any singular vacation day, instead of just sleeping in or running errands.
What’s a float session?
The act of floating takes place in a shallow flotation tank filled with sterile salt water that’s the same temperature as your skin. Ideally, you should float butt naked in complete darkness and silence, to deprive your senses of stimulation so you can relax.
Some of you old heads might remember a movie from 1980 called Altered States, where the main character combined the sensory deprivation tank experience with powerful hallucinogenic drugs. It didn’t turn out well in the movie, and I wouldn’t recommend it in real life either. 🙂
But why?
The point is to float, unencumbered, in complete darkness and silence, and RELAX for anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes. Your goal should be to let yourself go to the point where you achieve a feeling of weightlessness.
The ‘why’ is because we live in a world of CONSTANT STIMULATION. We’ve become a society with short attention spans, a pack of Pavlov’s Dogs, constantly reacting to bleeps from our phones, computers, televisions, and gadgets in our cars. If you’re the type of person who never unplugs, and is uncomfortable with silence, then this probably isn’t the experience for you. But if you’re open to unplugging, and trying new experiences, then keep reading.
Preparation
Have no doubt that I’ve done my research. Floating has been around for a long time, and these are some of the purported benefits. If you’re interested in a particular benefit, I suggest you do some digging of your own. There have been a lot of float studies.
- Stress relief
- Pain relief
- Insomnia
- Improved concentration/focus
- Muscle recovery (athletes)
- Depression
- Anxiety
- An overall sense of well being
Here are a few common questions, some of which I also had.
- Is this sanitary?
- Will it be like sitting in someone else’s bath water?
- How, and how often, is the water cleaned?
- How big are these tanks?
- Will this make me feel claustrophobic?
- Can I wear a swimsuit if I don’t want to float naked?
- What if I can’t swim?
- If I fall asleep, could I drown?
I’m a visual person, so my primary method for learning and taking in new information is by observation (you can learn more about learning styles here). I’m like Missouri, the show me state, so the first thing I did was Google to see what float tanks look like. There are many types of tanks, but the following three kept coming up consistently.
Disclaimer: the following images are posted for informational purposes only. I am not affiliated with, being paid by, or endorsing any of these websites or companies.
First up is the old school tank. It looks kind of like a freezer to me.
Then there’s the float pod, or what I like to call the clam shell.
The third type is an open concept. This is for the claustrophobic, and the looks can vary. Here’s one type, what I call the kiddie pool, and typically looks like this:
Here’s another open concept type, what I call the mini swimming pool. Some are open with no walls, and some have walls like a shower like the one pictured below.
After satisfying my initial curiosity with internet pictures, I took a field trip on a lunch break to a place called Float Horizen so I could put my eyes on some tanks in their natural habitat.
The staff was friendly, and after answering some preliminary questions, they offered a tour. They have four tanks, one clam shell and three of the mini swimming pools. I was surprised how roomy they are, even the clam shell type. Each room has a shower, mood lighting, and the option to have music. They also have all the additional accessories you might need (toiletries, towels, ear plugs, etc). After putting eyes on some actual rooms, I was convinced I wanted to give it a try. I just wasn’t sure about the when or where. Float Horizen is in the city, and I needed to look into options closer to home.
Spontaneity
I was at work on a Thursday, feeling like I wanted to take Friday off. So I submitted the request last minute and wrangled a friend of mine into joining me for a float session. I did a quick Google search and came across a place called Float Alchemy in Murfreesboro, TN. My friend made the appointments and we were on our way first thing the next morning.
First Impressions (and another disclaimer)
For those who don’t know me, I’m going to preface everything I’m about to say with this. This is my personal opinion about my experience (it is my blog after all). Unless the situation calls for it, it’s never my intention to bad mouth or demean anyone else’s hustle. However, I’m not the sugar coatin’ type. And if I ever intentionally throw shade at someone or something, I will always tell you why. Having said that, here’s what I thought about my experience.
I arrived early and received a warm welcome from one of the founders, an easy going guy named Mark. We chatted for a minute before he handed me an electronic tablet to complete a waiver, which was a quick and easy process. My friend showed up shortly afterwards and as she was completing her waiver, the other founder, a woman named Amy entered the area. She gave us a cordial greeting, then joined Mark behind the counter to have a conversation with him. I quickly tuned them out as they began talking about someone’s whereabouts, perhaps an employee. Whatever the conversation, it was none of my business, however I had no choice but to tune back in when her tone changed and she raised her voice slightly, complaining about having a lot to do and not much time to do it in as she walked away.
While the exchange wasn’t a huge deal, it stuck with me because I’m a first time visitor seeking a relaxing experience. As a new customer, first impressions matter. The situation felt slightly uncomfortable and awkward. Here’s the thing though. Whether new or repeat customer, if I wanted to hear people complain about working, I could’ve just went to work and saved my vacation day. While I can give the benefit of the doubt (we all have our moments), I’m HUGE on customer service. So much so that, for example, I have no qualms with going with the second best product or service if they provide better customer service than the number one product or service. Kudos to Mark for continuing to treat us like valued customers as if nothing ever happened.
A Tour of the Facility
Next up Mark gave us a tour. After showing us what I’ll call a “chill room,” a place with comfy seating (including hammocks) and blackout curtains, I noticed a kind of beverage station as we were about to round a corner towards the tank rooms. It caught my eye because there was tea on it, and I love tea. As I leaned in to get a closer look, I noticed ants. The ants were drawn to a bottle of honey, and a bottle of agave sweetener on the counter. Now I’m going to try to be fair here. Ants happen, and this wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Maybe we caught them on a bad day, and maybe someone forgot to put the bottles up the night before. Because if the bottles aren’t put up and the counter cleaned on a regular basis, you will have ants. I politely brought them to Mark’s attention, and he assured us that he had something with which to dispose of them very quickly. Put a pin in that cause we’re coming back to it.
The facility has three float rooms and he showed us all of them. The first room we went into was an open float room, where a round tank was embedded in the center of the room. My friend booked this room specifically for herself. As soon as we stepped inside the room the humidity was almost overwhelming, and I caught a slight whiff of mold. And I know mold when I smell it because I’m allergic. He explained that all of the rooms have a switch within easy reach to turn off the lights, if darkness was our preference. They also provide a spray bottle of regular water, in case you get salt water in your eyes. There was also a little kit with silicon ear plugs, makeup remover, and vaseline for any small open cuts. There’s a shower in each room and they provide shampoo, conditioner, washcloths, towels, shower shoes, and a robe.
Next he took us into the room I would use, and explained that he’d built both tanks himself. And while I’m all for ingenuity and DYI, I admit this brought up a different concern for me. I researched commercial tanks, so this was taking me into a territory that I was unprepared for and had no knowledge of. Commercial tanks have a built in system for cleaning the water. So, how do you clean and manage a non-commercial tank?
Now I understand there isn’t much that can survive in water filled with 1,200 pounds of Epsom salt, but a.) I’m a kind of a germ-a-phobe, and b.) salt water doesn’t eliminate hair. But again, this wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Also, in all fairness, I didn’t ask Mark how they cleaned the tanks. But I DID do some research after the fact. My understanding is that maintenance, cleaning, AND state inspections in Tennessee are about the same as a public swimming pool.
Mark explained that due to a cancellation, the third room, his personal favorite, was available if we wanted to use it. It had the old school style tank in it, and he said for him it gave him the best weightlessness experience.
The Experience
Here’s are a few pics of the tank I used. It was similar to your every day residential home tub/shower combo, with the exception of a door for full enclosure.
The experience started with some spa music, which was the signal to shower to remove any lotion or oils from your body and and styling products from your hair. I showered before I left the house, and didn’t apply any lotion, deodorant, or hair product, so I was already feeling like a piece of chalk, but I was obedient to the process and took a quick rinse anyway. I want to take a moment here to suggest if you’ve recently colored your hair or shaved any part of your body, you should wait a few days before floating. Freshly shaved skin will be on fire in all that salt water, and if your hair color isn’t set, you will be embarrassed when the water turns murky.
I smushed the silicon ear plugs in my ears to form a seal and keep the water out, then I stepped in, butt naked, and eased down into a sitting position. And my backside immediately popped right back up to the surface of the water. And if you know me, you know that’s a lot of bootay. I say that to say this. If you’ve ever had problems floating in a pool or other body of water, I guarantee you won’t have any trouble in a float tank. If you can’t float in a float tank, then find another facility because they’re doing something wrong. Also, to answer a question from earlier, the chances of you falling asleep, flipping onto your stomach, and drowning are minimal. You’d have to be some kind of special to do that.
Once I got my bearings in the water, I reached over and turned the lights off, plunging the entire room into complete darkness. Not long afterwards, the spa music faded out and I was left in complete silence. And my initial thought was I cannot sit here and listen to myself breathe for an hour. If you like to pray or meditate, this experience is perfect for that. It was so annoying to me, hearing myself breathe AND listening to my heartbeat, that I started concentrating on slowing my breathing. And while I was doing that, I kept brushing up against the sides of the tank. Which I couldn’t figure out why because it’s not like there are jets in the tank. I kept thinking why am I moving around so much? Each brush against the sides interrupted my concentration, so finally I stretched myself out like a starfish, then pulled my limbs in slightly so I was centered in the space.
As I lay there alone with my thoughts, my noisy breathing, and my bass drum like heartbeat, I was struggling with completely relaxing my neck and shoulders. Which wasn’t a surprise because that’s where I carry ALL of my stress. I started out with my hands down by my sides, like in all the online pictures, but for some reason that wasn’t working for me. So I switched it up and bent my arms at the elbow and pulled my hands up by my shoulders, palms up. That wasn’t working either so I finally put my hands above my head, like a jumping jack, and eventually I was able to fully relax.
FINALLY, my breathing controlled, and centered in the tank, I began to experience the so called weightlessness affect. Being naked and having zero pressure points against my body, I couldn’t tell where my body ended and the water began. In fact, I had no idea how far down in the water my head was resting until I pulled my arm in slightly to avoid brushing the side of the tank. Had it not been for the swim lessons I took a few years back (shout out to Lauren Worden at Worden Aquatics) I would’ve completely panicked when I realized how far up the water was around my face.
For my non-swimmers, this particular facility had styrofoam float rings that you can rest your head on. So if you aren’t comfortable with having your face surrounded with water, give your local facility a call and ask if they have something similar. They kind of look like little toilet seats with a notch for your neck.
Although it’s hard to have a good sense of time in darkness and silence, I don’t think I got settled enough to have the total “float experience” until there was about 10-15 minutes left of my session. But I will say, despite what it took to finally get there, I did find it be to relaxing and I enjoyed it.
After the Float
The spa music faded back in, signaling it was time to shower and end the session. I brought a small bag of toiletries and hair products, however they had a nice room set up with a large mirrors, bright lighting, hair dryers, diffusers, and a nice array of hair care products. I was surprised to see the Shea Moisture brand, which I like to use, along with Lubriderm, both of which are pretty pricey. Having these types of products available would make it easy for someone to float, say on a lunch break, and be able to go back to work refreshed and looking put together.
Getting back to the pin in the ant situation, when I came out of my float room I was super thirsty. I went over to the beverage area and sure enough, the ants were gone. My thing is this though. I would love to know what he did to get rid of those ants so quickly. Hoping the cups weren’t covered in chemical bug spray, I said a quick prayer and got me a cold cup of water. My friend was already waiting for me in the chill room. She didn’t have the best experience, her imagination ran a little too wild, so she chose to end her session early.
Amy checked my friend out first, and when she got to me, she asked what I thought. I was sure I wanted to float again, however I hadn’t decided whether or not I’d return to this location. So I gave her a polite “I’m still processing.” She then told me not to let my first experience form my opinion, to which I responded with “ok.” Then she said, “that’s why most places offer a three float deal for new folks, so you can try it a few times before you make up your mind. We’ve got a package if you’re interested.” I nodded and told her I wasn’t interested, and she launched into some statistics about the benefits of floating.
I raised my hand like a stop sign and said “I read your website,” my way of politely letting her know I’d done my homework. Even though she was very nice about providing me with more information, it felt too much like a hard sell and was a complete turn off. The thing is, they already had a special going for the entire month. She should’ve just kept it at “well as I mentioned we’ve got these discounted rates all month long, I hope you decide to come back and visit us.”
Quite frankly the main reason I wouldn’t return is because of the extremely high humidity in both rooms. We never actually stepped into the third room, but I think I’d feel a little claustrophobic in the traditional style tank. While I’m not an expert by any means, I understand that the climate in the room has to be just right to experience the weightlessness effect. But had I not visited the Float Horizen facility, I wouldn’t have known that an overwhelmingly humid room is not a requirement. By the time I was finished my sinuses felt a bit stuffy and I couldn’t wait to get out of the room so I could get a breath of fresh, cool air.
The Verdict
I would definitely go again, just not at the same place as I already mentioned. Also, I would prefer to have music, which Float Horizen does offer the option. You can listen to their spa music or bring your own playlist. I understand the point of sensory deprivation, but for me, music relaxes me. It’s ingrained into every aspect of my life. I even dream about music. I also like the idea of a commercial tank, with it’s own filtration and sanitation system. Let me be clear, I am not calling Float Alchemy’s tanks nasty, I’m just saying for my own personal germ-a-phobic peace of mind, I’d rather go commercial next time, rather than home made.
Weightlessly yours,
Angela