REVIEWS

• EVENING HEARLD - Monday, May 22 2000
  
  
• IRISH INDEPENDENT - Tuesday, July 11 2000
  
  
• City Living, in the EVENING HERALD - Tuesday, March 27 2001

 

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EVENING HEARLD - Monday, May 22 2000
by Vicky Jocker

It was only when I was asked to try out a floatation tank that I realised how claustrophobic I was - and even though I'm able to swim, and in my fitter times could do a few laps around a pool, I remain apprehensive about drowning. The thought of inactivity for 60 to 90 minutes also had me terrified. Put it all together and I realised I was more than a little anxious about going through this experience.

A stern chat with myself was needed. "Face the fear and do it anyway, Vic," I told myself. "If you can do this, you can do anything!" When I made the appointment with Wendy, she told me the float could actually help with my claustrophobia - I thought "yeah right!". I decided to just put the whole prospect to the back of my mind, as the tank itself was in danger of becoming a full-blown phobia! When The Day arrived, I set off through Dublin chaos and traffic. I was running very late - not good on a beautifully sunny but hot summers day - and the thought of parking around Baggot Street was another issue in my mind. It was already 11.10am, the appointment had been made for 11am, and without the mobile phone I would have been lost.

STRESS
Stressed out beyond endurance, I arrived at the Harvest Moon Centre and was shown into the very warm, steamy room which houses the floatation tank. It was just as ominous as I had anticipated, about five feet height and width, eight feet in depth and completely enclosed. A little light illuminated the interior, and came with the recommendation from Wendy to turn it off! And I was supposed to spend the next hour or so in there, in the dark, completely alone. My immediate concern was not drowning, because - let's face it - when it's dark and your mind does nothing, the temptation is to fall asleep. Wendy left me to it (thankfully, she was only a knock away) and in I got - I even closed the door!

Surprise Number One - the temperature was very comfortable.

Surprise Number Two - the water was like silk.

Surprise Number Three - when I turned off the light, I found it quite comfortable, not at all as scary as it had seemed from the outside.

As time went on I could feel my body relaxing, literally muscle for muscle, letting all gravity go. I imagine that the only other time you would experience this would be as an astronaut. After a while, I noticed my breathing getting really deep. And twice I thought my hour must be coming to an end, but then the thought floated away. It felt as though I had nodded off, but yet I couldn't have.
It occurred to me, on a very practical womanly level, that this amount of salt must be bad for my skin, but that was: Surprise Number Four.

Wendy told me it was wonderful. And later I would find that my skin and hair had never been softer.
The knock to finish came, and I thought how I wouldn't mind staying in another little while, just as you would when the alarm rings in the morning and you hit the snooze button. Now I can see the benefits in it - I really can understand the claims made for floatation therapy.

HYGIENE
My other concern was the whole issue of hygiene. Again, information is a great thing - the tank has a special filter and is cleaned after every session. The Epsom salts themselves disinfect everything, so it is a completely scientifically sterile environment. Needless to say, when you get out, there is a shower provided. What more can I say, except that I can see that another two or three sessions would be the dot on the I. The sinking feeling I had before I went is gone for good.

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IRISH INDEPENDENT - Tuesday, July 11 2000
by Eddie Lennon

Floating is the new-age remedy for life where there are too many things to think and worry about. It replaces the sensory bombardment of daily life with temporary sensory deprivation - achieved by floating quietly in salted water in an enclosed tank.

The idea is that you float in a foot of Epsom salted water (which itself is supposed to have a recuperative effect) and just relax. There's no sound, no light, no distractions - only the sound of your breathing.

Floating is also believed to trigger off a flow of Endorphins, wich are the body's natural painkillers, the feelgood chemicals that alleviate anger and stress and give us a welcome tranquillity in times of crisis and confusion.

To say that I was sceptical about the idea of floating in a dark, enclosed water tank for an hour is, to put it politely, an understatement. The idea seemed pointless, odd, and a little eerie.

So on a warm Saturday afternoon, I went along to the Harvest Moon on Baggot Street. The manager, Peter Kane, asked me to fill out a multi-choice questionnaire. I had to tick off, on a scale of 1 to 10 in different categories, what kind of mood I was in and how I felt. The idea was to get a "before" picture - the "after" questionnaire would come later. I was quite relaxed, but feeling a bit flat after a busy week. I wasn't "gloomy", "listless", or particularly "tense". I just felt a bit worn out and on the scale of 1 to 10, any negative feelings I had varied from "just a little" to " moderately".

So I stepped into the eight-foot tank and closed the door. I switched off the small blue inside to get, hopefully, the full effect. I lay there restlessly in darkness, trying not to think about feeling claustrophobic. My neck muscles were taut after a week sitting in front of a computer. Nudging occasionally against the side of the tank made me even more restless.

My mind was cluttered with an unruly army of things to do, deadlines to meet, and a party to go to in the evening. Before it began, I was wishing the hour away. I was looking forward to getting out, having a shower, taking some notes, then hitting the town.

After 10 minutes, a strange thing happened. Because the water was heated to body temperature, the sensation of being in water disappeared. I had a slightly quirky feeling of drifting in space. I started daydreaming. The thought occurred to me that this how an astronaut might feel after two Valiums and the lights switched off.

I became peculiarly calm - a bit like when you lie back in a bath in a foreign country a few days into your holiday and it suddenly strikes you that that you're completely chilled out. I found myself enjoying the darkness, which had been a bit unsettling.

Then an even stranger thing happened. I stopped thinking. It only lasted for a few minutes. But it seemed, literally, like hours. Back to nonchalant daydreaming. Then I ruined the strange rhythm of this cerebral twilight zone by rubbing my eyes, which was itching. The sting of the salt water meant I had to get out of the tank and wash my eye.

After that first half-hour, somehow I couldn't manage to get back to that non-thinking nirvana. Like going to sleep, the harder I tried the harder it got. So I just lay back and relaxed, daydreaming. A few minutes later I experienced a peaceful, half-stoned sensation. Out of curiosity, I felt my pulse. It was even and very, very slow.

Afterwards, at the deserted reception desk, I spotted the "after" questionnaire and began to fill it out. On the scale of 1 to 5, all but a few of the positive values hit 5, and the negative stuff plummeted to zero. I felt quietly euphoric.

Even though I hadn't felt especially tense an hour ago, I was sure now that I'd been more keyed up than I'd figured. The taut feeling in my neck was gone. I felt refreshed and clearheaded, the mental equivalent of wiping the slate clean.

Leaving the centre, I spoke briefly with a smiling, attractive young woman. She told me she'd just had an all-over body massage. The blissful way she said it was like she was describing a sinfully indulgent dessert. I heartily recommended the floating experience to her - then strolled away on Baggot Street to a future whose complications seemed like more than a ripple in a tank.

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City Living, in the EVENING HERALD - Tuesday, March 27 2001
by Vicky Jocker

If you're feeling stressed with your fast-paced lifestyle, there's a great idea floating about. Floatation therapy dates back to 1950 in America. Two neurophysiologists started to explore the idea of what would happen if the brain had no stimuli - like touch, sound and light. It took until 1970 to perfect the idea. The first tank was designed in such a way that the person floating was suspended upright and had a complete underwater breathing apparatus!

TOTAL CALM
Over the next 20 years, the whole system was refined so that the skin temperature of 93.5 Fahrenheit could be retained and that Epsom salts would allow for horizontal floatation in about one and a half feet of water. It promotes total calm, as one hour in the tank is equal to eight hours asleep.

FATIGUE

It has been known to alleviate jet lag, fatigue, mental and/or physical stress, as well as just rejuvenating and revitalising.
It removes stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
The good news is that floating can help create mental clarity, alertness and increased creativity.
It helps problem solving, expands awareness, and is successfully used for auto suggestion, for example in learning foreign languages.

Experts discovered that regular floating helps combat depression and fight anxiety and fear.
It boosts motivation, confidence and performance and is used in facilitating rehabilitation from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders and phobias.

It is known by many athletes that taking a regular float helps them in their performance, and helps prevent sports injuries. It is also known to speed up healing.
It also relieves arthritis, migraines, backaches, injuries, muscle strain and over exertion by releasing endorphins ( the body's own natural painkillers).
Floating also increases circulation and distribution of oxygen and nutrients; reduces blood pressure, pulse, and heart rate; and is also helpful with PMS.
Should you decide to go for a float, you'll find that the water is like silk. When you are finished and have a shower, your skin and hair remains as soft as a baby's for the following few days.

COMFORTABLE

Winter or summer the temperature is completely comfortable as the whole environment is adapted to body temperature.
Taking a float lasts about 60 to 90 minutes.
The tank is enclosed but there is the option of having a light on.
I was worried about slipping under the water, but there is no danger and you just keep floating without even thinking about it.
The time just flies away, and when the knock comes on the door that your session is finished it seems like you had only got in!
There is only one floatation tank in Dublin.

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