About Floating

Located within Experience Wellness Chiropractic, the TANKHOUSE Float Room is a serene, private space.  Our tank is a state of the art FLOAT POD containing 200 gallons of water and 1000 pounds of dissolved Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate) heated to skin temperature. Despite its name, Epsom Salt is not a salt, but a combination of magnesium and sulfate.  In floating, it is used to make the water dense allowing the body to float at the surface.

Before entering the FLOAT POD

Everyone is required to take a quick shower to remove any lotions or cosmetics.  Most FLOAT participants choose to wear nothing while they float for the most unencumbered sensory experience  (if you are more comfortable, you can choose to wear a bathing suit).

Each room contains earplugs and Vaseline to cover up small cuts and grazes. We recommend earplugs to avoid swimmers ear and salt in your ear canal.

After showering and entering the pod, the water will stop filtering and become still, indicating that your session is beginning.  The water will feel slightly warm (it is heated to skin temperature) and the dissolved, medical grade Epsom salt will completely support your body, and you just FLOAT (it is impossible to drown in the solution, in fact it takes great effort to just touch the bottom of the pod though the water is only 10 inches deep!).

Suspended in this weightless state, the letting go begins: your brain begins to release endorphins and dopamine, naturally reducing stress hormones and as your brain (thoughts) quiet, your body relaxes and a deeply relaxed, meditative state begins.

In-pod Experience

Music will begin as soon as you enter the Pod. Music lasts 10 minutes in the beginning followed by silence and 5 minutes at the end of your session. It will take awhile for your brain to settle down, but the music is designed to distract you from your own thoughts. Please do not become frustrated if it takes your mind a bit to settle down as everyone experiences this at first. The real benefits are normally only noticed after the session is complete.

Remember you are in a private room, so you can leave the pod door open if you wish (you may feel a chill if you leave it open the entire hour), alternatively you can prop it partially open with your towel, rolled up. You might want to leave the pod’s interior light on, or not. (Switch is to your right while lying down).

If you get salt in your eyes there is a bottle of pure water hanging inside the pod.

Ending the Session

Music will begin at the end of your session letting you know your time is up. If you fall asleep the lights will turn on gradually and the automatic purification system will start, waking you up. If this doesn’t work and you are still asleep you may hear a knock on the door.

Upon exiting the pod make sure to thoroughly rinse off all salty water and to rinse your ears thoroughly, as in rare cases crystalline salt can cause ear aches. Salt can be corrosive to clothes, but is great for skin and hair. Epsom salts don’t rob your skin of salt, thus there is no pruning or wrinkling, but instead your skin will be left soft and silky.

Please try to vacate the room within 10 minutes at the end of your session, as we need to prepare for the next client.

History

The Float Pod (often referred to as the floatation tank, sensory deprivation tank, or an isolation tank) was developed in the 1950s as a research tool by Dr. John C. Lilly. Working at the National Institute of Mental Health as a neurophysiologist and medical practitioner,  Lilly was researching how the mind/brain responded when external stimuli were removed.  In an effort to create an environment in which light, sound, and touch were reduced, Lilly designed a float tank very similar to the tanks we use today.  Lilly’s work was ground breaking: scientists assumed that the brain would essentially stop functioning if sensory input was removed, but Lilly found just the opposite.  His research showed that when external stimuli are removed the mind/brain has an incomparable opportunity to rest and recover and that the practice of regular floating leads to increased creativity and reduced stress, all while producing a sense of well-being and euphoria.