Over the weekend, I was able to go to Chill Space NYC and spend an hour in their float room in a sensory deprivation tank. A sensory deprivation tank is a tank that is completely dark and soundless with a high salt to water ratio, forcing the user to float. Floating can help relieve pain and allow one to de-stress, sleep better, along with variety of other benefits. Personally, I wanted to go to find some sort of relaxation and relief from my severe anxiety, as well as some pain relief in my lower back.
Upon my arrival, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful! I was offered tea or water while I waited, which for me, is always a sign of a very nice place. I didn’t wait too long before I was handed a robe and escorted downstairs to the float room. The room had the tank and a shower. I was instructed to shower with the provided shampoo to ensure I didn’t have any oils or creams on my body, then put in earplugs and enter the tank. Inside the tank were three buttons; one to control music, one to control the light inside the tank, and the last was a help button that would call in staff in case of emergency. I was in complete control. Once my hour in the tank was up, the light would automatically turn on to alert me that I was nearing the end of my session. Then I could shower again with all of the provided products, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and finish off with a body lotion.
First, as a girl living in a dorm room used to a less than stellar communal shower, I could have stayed under their waterfall style shower for the entire session if I really wanted to. It was heavenly. Of course that’s not what I came for. Entering the tank was certainly a strange experience. Due to the high salt content your body is forced to float, and I felt it the moment I stepped in. I laid down and immediately felt the difference, suddenly I wasn’t putting any pressure on any part of my body. I took some time to get used to the sensation before I turned the light off. Once I turned the light off, I couldn’t see anything and I lost my sense of where I was in the tank. At first, it really freaked me out. I had to turn it back on at one point and calm myself down when I couldn’t find an edge. I turned it off again and decided to leave the music on for the duration of my session as it helped me regulate my breathing.
A huge fear for me upon going into this was that I wouldn’t be able to shut my brain off, and that fear was partially true. It did take me a while to stop thinking and just be in the moment. Once I got there and all that mattered was my breathing, the experience was nothing less than stellar. I went into an intense meditative state. All of my senses were essentially muted and it was amazing. When the light clicked on indicating my hour was almost up, I was confused, I thought I had at least another half hour to go, as my sense of time was lost in the tank as well. At first, it was really disappointing, I thought I hadn’t really gotten much out of it due to it feeling like such a short amount of time. When I stepped out though, that feeling very quickly went away. Every ounce of muscle tension or soreness I was experiencing before going was gone. Everything from the intense pain in my lower back to stress induced knots in my neck. I honestly can’t remember the last time my body was that at ease.
My final shower was even better than the first, the products they provide are great quality. The shampoo and conditioner left my hair super soft and the body wash and lotion left my skin moisturized and glowing.
When I left, it was the first time in a very long time that I wasn’t worrying about anything. The world was as beautiful as it could be, and I was really and truly happy. I go through a daily struggle to find happiness due to my mental illness. The physical benefits to floating were immediate, but the mental benefits didn’t hit me until I walked out of the door. Floating was the most enlightening experience I’ve done to date, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about it.
