Therapy: The Flotation Experience
by Aeshja Holbrook-Kennedy

I step into the flotation tank for my first float. I find myself a bit anxious and unsure but as I lay back in the warm silky water, the dark silent environment overtakes me and I can't help but let go, and the more I let go the more I feel like I'm peacefully drifting in space. I'm amazed at the sound of breath flowing in and out of my body.

I start to become very relaxed and all my previous apprehensions melt away. I watch my mind meander through a myriad of thoughts as if I'm watching from some other place outside myself I become aware that I'm thinking and I return to the sound of my breath and again I fall into feeling so relaxed. 1 start to dream yet I'm fully awake. I feel tingling sensations and a wave of euphoria surges through me.

A passing thought about how much time has passed, but then it doesn't seem to matter. I notice all the different parts of my body and discover that when I focus on certain areas I can feel the muscles let go even more.

At times I felt like I had fallen asleep and yet I'm also awake so that I'm not really sure if I fell asleep, or am dreaming or awake.

I emerge from the flotation tank nearly two hours later although, if asked, I wouldn't have been able to judge the passing time. I feel so centred, at peace, physically rejuvenated, and at one with the universe.

There is no doubt that floating has powerful effects on a number of levels, including the physical. emotional, intellectual and spiritual. But why does the passive act of floating have such actively beneficial effects?

The float tank is essentially a large enclosed bath containing a highly concentrated solution of warm water and Epsom salts. Floating on your back, devoid of the usual sensory input that is constantly bombarding us (no light, sound, gravity, even the feel of the water, which is exactly skin temperature, disappears), you are suspended in a state of deep relaxation. This unique environment triggers what is known as an 'automatic relaxation response' in the body.

This happens because the mind and body are free from all external stimuli. Without having to deal with this usual barrage, the body and mind now have a chance to let go completely; to realign,.replenish and restore its systems.

When Dr. John C. Lilly developed the isolation/flotation tank in 1954 to explore the effects of sensory deprivation on the mind, he had no idea of the healthful benefits that would follow This became known as Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy or REST. Research on floating REST has given us a number of explanations for these healthful benefits. Some of the most important are as follows:

[top]

ANTIGRAVITY - It is estimated that the effects of gravity take up as much as 90% of all central nervous system activity and is the single largest cause of many ailments, including bad backs, painful joints, muscular tensions. When floating, the body experiences total weightlessness.

Theoretically, this means that the brain and musculoskeletal system, free from dealing with the effects of gravity, now has vast amounts of energies, and large areas of the brain are liberated to experience other matters of mind, spirit and expanded awareness of internal states.

BRAIN WAVES - During flotation, the brain relaxes, going from the mentally busy fast waves known as beta to slower alpha and theta waves. Alpha waves are generated in moments of relaxation, but more interesting are the theta waves which are associated with vivid memories, free association, sudden insights, creative inspiration, feelings of oneness with the universe. Most people tend to fall asleep once entering theta wave state. However, studies have shown that floaters quickly enter theta states while remaining awake.

NEUROCHEMICALS - Tests indicate that floating reduces the levels of stress-related neurochemicals such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, ACTH, cortisol - substances associated with tension and anxiety. At the same time, research shows increases in the secretion of endorphins, the body's natural opiate that has an analgesic effect and often induces states of euphoria.

BIOFEEDBACK - Use of biofeedback machines work by enhancing our concentration to focus on a single, subtle change in the body, which is amplified by the machine, thus enabling us to shut off our awareness to the external environment. In the float tank there is no external stimuli and our awareness of every physical sensation is magnified. We are able to relax and focus at will on any part or system of the body.

HOMEOSTASIS - The human body is an exquisitely intelligent, self-regulating, self-monitoring system that constantly works to maintain the body in homeostasis - balance and harmony. External stimulus is continually disrupting our natural homeostasis. Stress, the natural process of reaction to stimuli, is in itself harmless.

However, the accumulation of stress, without the balance of release, can be harmful, often leading to illness and disease.

In the fast pace of today's lifestyle, it is now widely recognised that stress management and stress reduction is an essential ingredient to total health, along with nutrition and exercise.

But how many people canactually say they know what it feels like to be totally relaxed. When accumulated stress is maintained without release for a prolonged period of time, the brain starts to accept this 'stressed-out' state as your normal state of being. Your true homeostasis, a relaxed body and mind, is essentially forgotten.

The brain is frozen in continual 'fight or flight' mode and our automatic relaxation response is weakened. Without the internal awareness of how true relaxation feels, learning techniques on how to physically and mentally relax can be difficult to achieve.

The good news is that what is forgotten can be remembered. When we effectively remove the external pressures, our ingenious human system then automatically devotes all its energy to restoring itself. The use of flotation has been proven to be a fast, effective and effortless way to initiate and strengthen the body's automatic relaxation response and return the body to its natural state of balance and harmony

[top]

LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN - The left hemisphere of the neocortex operates analytically, processing information on a small-scale. The right hemisphere is intuitive and is able to absorb large scale information, putting all the pieces together in a bigger picture.

In our current day to day lifestyle, the left brain function is more predominant. Researchers have found that floating increases right brain function where the noisy chattering of the dominant analytical left brain is put to rest, and unlimited creative possibilities unfold before us.

For the floater, all these beneficial effects are effortless and immediate. There are no special techniques to practice. There is nothing to do but get into the tank and float. The period of floating time is all individual choice with most people finding a one hour float sufficient to induce feeling of deep relaxation and enhanced sensory awareness.

Flotation could be the biggest advancement in recuperation, stress management, and self-development to date with flotation therapy being used in conjunction with programs for the reduction of weight, smoking, alcohol consumption and other habits and addictions, and by professional athletes for training and rehabilitation.

For others, flotation provides a sacred space for inner exploration and self-realisation. With all that, it seems that the use of flotation is only limited by our imagination.

[top]