I’ve decided to go all “hard-hitting journalism” on you and take you on the inside.
No, sadly, I can’t take you inside of a corrupt politician’s office or see the inner workings of some important CEO’s daily life — but rather my experience takes me so far as to explain what exactly happens when one “floats.”
That’s where you ask: What the hell is “floating?"
And that’s where I tell you, “floating” is where you’re placed in an isolation tank with a bunch of Epsom salts and water that’s measured to body temperature. It’s supposed to have crazy effects on relaxation and promote a state of calmness. People use it as a sort of way to enter a meditative state.
Aside from the psychological benefits, the physical ones are great as well. “Floating” is supposed to benefit any sort of muscle injuries or muscle soreness. The salts work to flush lactic acid from overused muscles, which help offer total body relief.
The physical benefits are what really appealed to me. Considering I’ve been struggling with a muscle injury for about two years now, I decided to give it a shot.
When you first walk into the spa, they give you a sort of five-minute introduction on how everything works.
The first thought that pops into my head: “I’m gonna have to get into that?”
Second thought that pops into my head: “No way am I going to close that thing all the way” (Did I mention I kind of have a fear of enclosed spaces?)
Seeing my face, the guy giving me the introductory spiel says: “Don’t worry, there are no wrong ways to float!”
My third thought: LOL, just watch me.
So, he leaves, and I start the process.
Basically, you start out by showering everything and making sure you’re 100% clean. After that, you get into the tub and get adjusted to the feeling.
So, by this point I’m in the tub and I’m in awe at how I’m actually floating. This is where I tell myself “Ok time to relax.” Except of course this is also when I’m reminded that I have an endless to-do list and I start having a mini attack to why I’m taking 90 minutes out of my busy day to focus on me.
But then I decide STOP (Yes, I know my mind tires me out too sometimes.).
I then became very aware that I was actually freezing. Yes, freezing. So, I decided to be bold and close the tank all the way (did I mention I’m scared of enclosed spaces?)
Once the thoughts of thinking someone was going to murder me went away, I actually realized how amazing this experience was.
I started losing feeling of my body and (as cheesy as this sounds) becoming one with the water.
It’s the weirdest sensation to describe. Your body becomes all slimy with the salt water, you enter this almost hallucinatory state of mind and you just are.
It’s a 90-minute break from reality and from everything that goes on in the outside world.
After my initial freak out, the 75 minutes left were absolutely amazing.
Post floating session, I felt light as air. The next morning, waking up, my muscles felt like they had been through a really hard workout and were all extremely sore but in a good way… I know, sounds weird but trust me it’s an experience to go through.
10/10 would recommend. Happy Floating!
