Besides
being great fun to use, the floatation tank is a well-documented
scientific instument...
Floatation
is based on a scientific approach to deep relaxation...
called Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique
or REST. Floatation REST shields the body and mind from external
"environmental" stimulation. This reduces their respective
workloads by up to 90%, conserving vast amounts of energy which
is then re-directed inwards. The effect is called the parasympathetic
response, or relaxation response. One of the main proving-grounds
for floatation REST has been world-class sports and athletics
where success depends on the athlete's ability to achieve "peak"
performance from mind, body and spirit - under conditions of extreme
pressure.
Tension
and stress wear down our bodies, lower our resistance to illness
and injury, upset our emotional balance, reduce our ability to
think clearly, and even make us more accident-prone. Floatation
releases deep muscular tension (often unconscoiusly "locked"
into the body), starting a chain-reaction that spreads throughout
the body to every organ, tissue and cell: Blood pressure, heart
rate, muscle tension and oxygen consumption (cell metabolism)
are reduced to healthy levels. Harmful stress-related hormones
such as cortisol are removed from the bloodstream, enhancing emotional
well-being. The level of T-cells rises in the bloodstream, strengthening
the immune system. Large amounts of endorphins (the body's natural
opiate) are released by the brain as it relaxes deeply into the
theta state, relieving fatigue and chronic pain. These beneficial
changes happen automatically. The effects are immediate, and remain
measurable for days or weeks after a float. The Relaxation Response
of floatation REST stimulates the body's own powers of healing
and regeneration. The effects are cumulative - so that every time
you float, you strengthen your body's resistance to the effects
of stress, illness or injury.
We momentarily pass through
the theta state every night as we fall asleep...
Deeper
and more powerful than the alpha state which can be reached through
meditation, theta is associated with "deep" learning
ability and conscious control of normally unconscious functions
of mind and body. During floatation REST, you spend most of the
time in this powerful brainstate.
This is accompanied by a subtle shift in awareness - and brain
activity - from the dominant "left- brain" (logical,
analytical, detailed) towards the intuitive "right-brain"
(creative, synthetic, constructive). This unique "whole-brain"
theta state gives access to unparalleled powers of imagination
and concentration.
The
float tank originated from American government research into the
physical origins of consciousness; the link between the mind and
the body... In
1954, Dr John Lilly MD - a top government neuroscientist - built
an experimental device to "isolate" the brain from its
routine workload of processing information about the external
world. This, he discovered, gave people access to a range of "higher"
brain functions. His ideas became the basis of floatation REST:
Gravity:
You float weightlessly - as if in "zero-gravity"
- on the surface of a 10" deep pool of buoyant salt solution,
containing almost half a ton of Epsom Salts dissolved in water.
Gravity creates up to 90% of the brain's workload - calculating
where gravity lies and directing the body to perform complex physical
actions without falling over. Gravity's constant downward pull
is also the main cause of wear-and- tear to the back and joints.
Temperature:
The solution is kept at skin-temperature
and so feels neither hot nor cold. This removes another subtle
yet constant source of stimulation to the nervous system and brain.
Touch: The
only thing in contact with the millions of sensitive nerve-endings
which cover the skin (the body's largest organ) is silky, skin-temperature
fluid. During floatation there is no sense of separation between
the body and its surroundings ... body boundaries gently dissolve
and vanish. Sight & Sound:
Floating in complete darkness and silence
liberates large areas of the brain devoted to processing sensory
information, further increasing the depth of mental relaxation.
Dr
Lilly soon realised that his "Isolation Tank" opened up
some new and unexpected pathways of communication between mind and
body...
Since then, these pathways
have een explored by many individuals at the leading-edge of our
culture ... Nobel physicists; Richard Feynman, Robert Milliken ...
philosophers; Buckminster Fuller, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts ...
psychotherapy pioneers; R.D. Laing, Fritz Perls ... spiritual teachers;
Oscar Ichazo, Bab Ram Das, E.J. Gold ... creative artists; John
Lennon, Robin Williams, Michael Jackson ... athletes such as the
Dallas Cowboys and Carl Lewis ... and a host of other luminaries
and celebrities from all walks of life.
"It's
brilliant" -
Ruby Wax
The
FloatZone
A
Member Of The 'Float Tank Association'
UK
& Eire
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