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.