I feel ‘float’tastic!
I have Jason to thank for it too! When he first mentioned this whole float experience I thought it was way out there. But he convinced me that a float was a meditative experience and I had to try it just once. If I tried it and didn’t like it he would never bug me about it again. I tried it for the first time about a year ago and loved it and hated it. I loved it because if you allow the float it can take you to a wonderfully deep calm meditative state so quickly due to the sensory deprivation. I had been meditating for a couple years when I took my first float and it took me focus and concentration to get into a meditative state; in a float a meditative state can be achieved so easily, so quickly, it kind of felt like cheating to me. But then this beautiful thing happened after the float that made me realize there is a place for floating in my life. And it can be a compliment to my meditation practice, rather than in competition with it.
Plus a float is wildly different then sitting cross legged to meditate which I believe you can do anywhere anytime and you don’t even have to sit cross legged. To float you do have to go to a float studio. You have to pay for your time which varies place to place and depending upon whether you buy a one time pass or a monthly membership. A float is a monetary investment into your well being where as meditation is free. But for the investment you are provided a state of the art sensory deprivation pod full of Epsom salt (actually 900 lbs of Epsom salt) that you emerge yourself into naked for one hour. It is a bath on steroids. I wish I could throw some essential oils in to enhance the experience but I am sure that would mess up the very complex filtration system used to ensure a clean pod. On a recent float I realized that in order to turn inward and connect to one’s inner voice and life purpose, Brene Brown, was right we need to be vulnerable. Going for a float certainly puts you in a state of vulnerability by the nakedness but if you can get past that and allow it can bring a state of calm; in my opinion it is so worth the investment.
The float studio we are regulars at, Float Milwaukee, claims that “people have cut strokes off of their golf game, developed complex scientific theories, and drafted whole portions of books while floating. Additionally, research has shown that floating can assist with PTSD, anxiety, and depression.” I can not attest to solving any scientific theories yet. During my floats I really try to maintain a calm quiet mind and then after the float the magic happens. The creativity flows and I can write and write and just my overall state of being is positive. It feels so great! I hope you give it a try, just once, and see what happens! I’d love to hear about it!!!
Here is a doctor’s perspective on the float experience if you are interested.