Banish stress and forget your worries with a flotation session
First I feel as if I’m levitating. Next I imagine that I’m an astronaut hovering in space or a fetus protected in her mother’s womb. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this relaxed. My whirling thoughts—the phone calls I have to make and work I have to complete—have been banished from my mind and replaced by an overriding, pleasant sensation.
In fact, I’m suspended in a warm salt solution of magnesium sulphate in a flotation chamber in Schwabing. My task is to lie quietly for an hour in the dark in a pool filled with salt solution so dense that I float effortlessly. The water is 35 degrees Celsius, the same temperature as the human body, so you can neither freeze nor fry. In short, it’s complete mental and physical relaxation.
The pool resembles a large bath, housed in a small room with a dim light that I can turn on and off at any point. Float, Munich’s only flotation center, also offers a flotation capsule that looks like a cross between a giant egg and a space ship. “You can open and close the capsule’s door at any point if you feel claustrophobic,” says Benjamin Tochtermann, one of the center’s owners.
Visitors can use the center’s fluffy white bathrobes, towels, luxury beauty products, hair dryers and shower, and are also given a pair of earplugs to block out the water while floating. The center’s arty, luxurious interior and the meditation music in the background adds to the aura of calm.
I’m told to “let go completely,” both physically and mentally, and lie back, submerged in the water. I bob around for 15 minutes before I really start to switch off. I’m amazed by how quickly the time goes by. Before I know it, the light at the end of the tank starts to flash and the water starts to circulate, signaling that my session is up.
The best thing about the experience is the feeling of complete relaxation and mental clarity it provokes. I feel calm yet alert. All my muscles are relaxed and my skin feels wonderfully soft.
Flotation therapy was developed from the early work of Dr. John Lilly, an American neuro-physiologist and psychoanalyst. In 1954, he conducted research into how the brain would react when it was denied external stimulation. He devised flotation tanks, which were originally called sensory deprivation chambers. When the therapeutic benefits of these chambers were discovered, the name was changed to flotation therapy. Floating is a way of isolating the mind and body from any external stimuli, which induces deep relaxation.
What’s more, floating has numerous health benefits. It relaxes all the muscle groups, reduces migraines and various pain symptoms, regulates blood pressure problems, alleviates skin problems, boosts the immune system, reduces stress, jet lag and rheumatism symptoms and increases the brain’s learning capacity and its creative powers, says Tochtermann. Floating is also recommended during all stages of pregnancy, particularly as the mother-to-be can temporarily relieve herself of the extra weight of her baby.
There are various theories as to why floating is so beneficial and therapeutic. One is the antigravity explanation—namely that the buoyancy afforded by the dense salt solution eliminates the body’s specific gravity, bringing the floater close to an experience of total weightlessness. Gravity is probably the single largest cause of human health problems—bad backs, sagging abdomens, aching feet and muscular tension. This theory asserts that, by freeing our brain and musculoskeletal system from gravity, floating releases vast amounts of energy and frees up large areas of the brain to deal with matter of mind, spirit and an enhanced awareness of internal states.
There is also the brain-wave explanation. More interesting than the well-known alpha waves generated by the brain in moments of relaxation, are the slower theta waves, which are accompanied by vivid memories, free association, sudden insights, creative inspiration and feelings of serenity and oneness with the universe. One way to increase one’s production of theta waves is through meditation—or indeed, floating. Floaters quickly enter the theta state while remaining awake, aware of all the vivid imagery and creative thoughts that pass through their minds. Floaters continue to generate a larger number of creativity-promoting theta waves for up to three weeks after treatment. Sounds good. My only question is, can I install a tank at home, please? <<<
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