GET HAPPY 12: Urban Float Sensory Deprivation Tanks

Over the weekend, we had our first sensory deprivation tank adventure. Which seems like a strange thing to do on our anniversary, but it was quite an enjoyable experience. Hal has been wanting to try it for some time.

Seattle has a place in Fremont called Urban Float. You climb into a personal space-aged pod filled with water and a crazy amount (850 pounds) of epsom salts. This enables your body to easily float, as it would in the Dead Sea. The water is the exact same temperature as your skin, so after a few minutes, you lose awareness of where your body ends and where the water begins. The outside world disappears as you float in total darkness.

So why on earth would people do this? Think of it as a shortcut to achieving meditative states which would normally take years of practice to produce. When your body is not fighting gravity, it gets to rest and heal while your brain pumps out dopamine and endorphins. Over 30 years of scientific research has shown floatation therapy to improve the overall function of the brain and central nervous system while increasing anxiety-reducing and immune-boosting alpha brainwaves.

I'll have to admit, I was a bit nervous before our 1-hour session. What if I get claustrophobic? (I did for a few seconds). But once I let my body fully relax, my mind did too. I even fell asleep for a moment or two. The feeling of being weightless allowed me to enter a deep meditative state. And like anything, you get better with practice. Unless you specify otherwise, colored lights and gentle music play the first 10 minutes, shut off for 45 minutes, then reappear in the last 5 to bring you back to earth. For me, the music helped me fidget less and control my thoughts. If I float again, which I'm hoping to, I'd keep the music going the entire hour.

Do you have sensory deprivation tanks where you live? Would you ever try it out?


{Pre-edited image via Home Dsgn}