Imagine shutting down every now and then while you’re awake. Imagine giving your muscles and brain the deepest rest possible. This is precisely how you feel when you enter into a floatation tank, reports Agenda.
Relaxation will soon be synonymous with the word ‘floating’. But attempting to describe the sensation of floating effortlessly to the uninitiated is like attempting to explain the laws of gravity to a five-year-old — it must be experienced to then understand. On any regular day, our senses are constantly bombarded with external stimulation — our brains process more information now than ever before. Information on TV, radio, billboards, pop-ups on your screen, in the toilets, or at the back of that bus you were stuck behind for two hours on your way home from work, surround you. There is also the sound of construction next door, or just the barking of the dog and honking of vehicles outside. These are just a few of the many unwanted distractions we face while trying to fulfil our purpose in life.
In a city like Delhi, where there is constant sound and air pollution, the average sound levels on most busy streets would be anywhere between 50-75 dB. Considering that every 10dB increase makes the sound twice as loud to the human ear, the health implications of constant exposure can not only cause hearing loss but also other unwanted physiological changes. Not to mention the PM 10 and 2.5 levels of air pollution which have been found to be the highest in the world. Such an environment is conducive to stress.
Whether we work long hours pandering to deadlines and professional commitments, or take care of home, family, and daily chores, these activities tire our mind. And what do we then do to unwindIJ We might go to the movies, meet friends, exercise, or go get drunk at a bar, but these activities in fact provide more stimulation to the mind. They make us happy but we are not ‘switching off’. Our brain remains active, and tired.
Finally, even when we sleep, the touch or shape of the mattress, the sound of the air conditioner or the fan, and even the night lamp, are being processed by our brain. Our body gets some rest, but our mind is still mildly active. Now imagine shutting down every now and then while you’re awake. Imagine no external stimuli in terms of sound, smell, sight, taste, and even touch. Imagine giving your muscles and also your brain the deepest rest possible. Give your body and mind a mini holiday away from the city’s hustle and bustle. This is precisely what you treat yourself to when you enter into a floatation tank, also known internationally as an isolation tank, or sensory deprivation tank.
Floatation is new in India, a trend that is fast picking up. The country’s first luxury dedicated floatation centre is liquid Sanctuary in Meharchand Market, New Delhi. Earlier there were floatation pods set up in Bangalore and Pune as well. The shape and design of floatation pools have evolved over the years from coffin style tanks, to clam shell style pods (in Pune and Bangalore), to luxury tanks or tubs (in Delhi) that are now customised in many designer shapes and sizes. Open style tubs, such as the one at liquid Sanctuary, eliminate the fear of claustrophobia.
But floatation has been an important part of alternative medicine offered in the United States for more than 60 years. Dr John lilly invented the concept way back in the 1950s when he was constantly experimenting with the human mind by depriving it of all external stimuli. Floatation began to be prescribed for conditions such as insomnia, post trauma disorders, fibromyalgia, and muscle injuries.
A copious amount of medical research on floatation has ever since continued to take place in universities and laboratories in the US and Europe, and the results have been published in well-established medical journals. For instance, Dr Justin Feinstein of the laureate Institute of Brain Research (lIBOR) in Tulsa, US, has been prolific with his research on floatation. He has studied the effects of floatation on systolic and diastolic blood pressure for physically and mentally healthy individuals, and discovered significant drops while the subjects would float. Recent studies prove floatation regulates a vital neural circuit. This circuit is known to be critically involved in mental illnesses and the generation of anxiety.
Research undertaken by Dr Sven-Åke Bood at the Human Performance laboratory at Karlstad University in Sweden also concludes that regular floatation sessions can provide significant relief for chronic stress-related ailments. Further studies involving a sample of people with long-term conditions such as anxiety, stress, depression, and fibromyalgia found that more than three quarters experienced noticeable improvements. The University of Gothenburg in Sweden has also published papers on the positive effects of floatation on improving creativity, and decreasing stress, pain and also the burn-out syndrome.
The Ohio State University in the US has also done scientific research on the subject, with some incredible results proving floatation to be a necessary activity for those who work out at the gym, are athletes, or practise sports. lactate is a metabolic product created in the muscles when glucose is broken down during physical exertion. But floating gravity free in floatation tanks allows lactic acid to be transported out of the muscles faster, thereby reducing contractions and strain. The best results for muscle growth are achieved by stimulating the muscles with high intensity during training and then allowing for deliberate relaxation. When experiencing weightlessness in a floatation tank, all groups of muscles can relax deeply. Such relaxation techniques after intensive training are said to lead to more rapid muscle growth. Research projects have also shown that by allowing the body to lie suspended and gravity free in a floatation tank, healing processes, especially of sports injuries, are accelerated.
During the past five years or so, floatation excited the medical practice and is now available internationally in commercial establishments. The excitement about it is so great that since then more than 180 floatation centres have opened up in the US alone. Floatation centres all over Europe, Australasia, Middle East, and Asia have cropped up as well. There is, in fact, an elaborate float conference held in Portland, US, every year for the past five years where experts in the field and regular floaters share their knowledge and experience.
Floatation in India has immense value. With all the noise, pollution, and stress we are surrounded with all the time here, floatation can be a necessary antidote. We are not far from the time when we will include floatation as a routine weekly activity.
After a late night out, floatation is an excellent morning-after activity. The high density of Epsom salt is said to pull out toxins from the body and helps alleviate symptoms of a hangover. Imagine having no headaches and enjoying a productive day after guzzling down all that beer at a late night party! A one-hour float works miraculously on coping with jet lag. You can float away your body’s adjustment to the time difference or lack of sleep after an international flight, with a one-hour float. Hotels, gyms, and airports can benefit immensely from housing a floatation tank on their premises.
Established meditators as well as novices find floating immensely useful as it helps them easily switch off and move into a meditative state. International artists and musicians regularly use the tank for inspiration and creativity as well, just as athletes use it to speed up recovery and visualising their game day. Floatation, of course, continues to be extremely beneficial for people who suffer from chronic muscle pain, insomnia, and anxiety. It is also proven that floatation is superbly advantageous for pregnant women in their last trimester for lower back pain relief and also to experience a deeper connection with the baby. On the whole, an average person can use the tank to meditate, relieve stress, reduce the effects of jetlag or a hangover, reduce muscle soreness after a workout, or just experience the novelty of the zero gravity therapeutic environment.
Chirag lilaramani, the founder of Delhi’s only floatation centre, liquid Sanctuary www.liquidsanctuary.com, says: “In a floatation tank, you reap the benefits of both meditation and Epsom salt baths. Just like meditation, floating is also a practice that has a learning curve and an accumulation effect — the more often you do it, the more effective it gets; it must be incorporated into your lifestyle to compound its benefits. Think of it like feeding your body with stuff like broccoli, apples and avocados regularly. Just once in a while won’t make a considerable difference.”
liquid Sanctuary is also filled with air purifying plants and air purifiers, so here you breathe the purest air possible in Delhi.
So how do you really floatIJ In a nut shell, you start by taking a shower, inserting your ear plugs and lying down in a private pool or floatation tank filled with 10-11 inches of water, which is heated to skin temperature, with about 600 kg of dissolved Epsom salt, which makes the water dense and extremely buoyant. Unlike a bed where the skin feels pressure against it at all points of contact, lying down on a bed of water is almost indescribable. The floatation tank typically will have underwater speakers and lights controlled by the floater. Since the water is heated to skin temperature, your nervous system won’t rush into activation to cool or warm your body. The waterbed free of any friction or pressure will deactivate your body’s postural muscles, relax every muscle including ears and thus reduce blood pressure and improve blood circulation, reduce lactic acid which causes muscle soreness.
And what is floating doing to your brainIJ The absence of sound and light and no external stimulation reduces the brain’s work load and forces it to switch from a beta state to theta for moments. In such a state, your brain releases natural endorphins that will inhibit the body’s stress hormone (cortisol) production. Experienced meditators experience prolonged moments of the theta state. Theta waves come and go in the tank and the more often you float, the longer your brain will be induced in this state. This state is said to enable us to manage stress better, improve memory, enhance learning and increase creativity. Of course there are other benefits as well, as the Epsom salt in the tank exfoliates your skin and conditions your hair naturally and may also help reduce cellulite.
