Floating To Health

Stephenie B. Phelps

You are lying weightless on a lake as calm as glass.  The water's temperature is so perfectly adjusted that you cannot feel it on your skin.  Gentle music plays in the background as your eyes relax and close.  The silky waters nourish your skin with minerals as you let your head relax back - the weight of it safely floating in the dense waters.  Your arms float weightless at your sides while your spine softens into the serenity.  As your spine softens and lengthens, every muscle in your body relaxes – all of the stress and tension is pulled from your body and washed away by the quiet waters.  Your lungs fill with the mineral-rich air while your heartbeat slows and you slide effortlessly into an even deeper relaxed state.  In this state, your brain also relaxes, releasing endorphins and filling you with a sense of well-being.  Free from the distractions of sight, sound and gravity, your brain is able to focus on healing and repairing damaged cells.  You feel light and rejuvenated.  Your mind is clear and refreshed.  Your body is long and relaxed.  You have experienced the joys of floating!

Floating is R.E.S.T. – Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy.  R.E.S.T. is achieved through the use of a floatation tank.  This is a very large tub that has approximately 10 inches of water infused with 1,000 pounds of Magnesium Sulfate or Epsom salt, so that you are completely buoyant.  The water is kept at 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit – skin temperature.  After a few minutes in the tank, you no longer feel the water on your skin.  The buoyancy of the water helps your body to completely relax - no longer having to work against gravity.  Float tanks are enclosed and you wear earplugs so that your brain can rest from sights and sounds.  Taking away the effects of outside stimulus allows your brain to work on other matters in the body and mind – freeing up energy for healing, meditation and soul searching. 

There have been numerous studies done on the benefits of floating.  The most prominent benefit, aside from the relief of stress and anxiety, is relief from pain.  After several years of chronic back pain from pinched discs and several months of physical therapy, I finally found relief after my first float.  It also helped relieve me of the frequent anxiety attacks I had experienced since giving birth to my twins.

Floating is also used for beauty enhancement (I discovered that the salts in the water are very good for my hair, skin and nails), advanced learning, improved athletic performance, sports rehabilitation, self-motivation, weight loss, expanded creativity, anti-aging, treatment for depression, and increased business productivity.

It has been a truly amazing experience for me – a therapy that has many benefits and no negative side effects.  I no longer use pain or anxiety medication and float when I have an injury, am under stress, or feeling ill.  I also float when I have major decisions to make, when I feel like I am working on an attitude adjustment or just want to enjoy quiet time with my spirit.

I recommend that you give it a try – Happy Floating!!