Do you want to spend a truly relaxing time in the float tank? Stupid question, I know. In fact, it is a rhetorical one. Of course, that you do. The point of the sensory deprivation is to provide a mindfulness state of being free of stress and anxiety. Right?
Usually, that comes with practice. It is rare that you achieve that dreamed zen condition during your very first float session. The mind is not easily mastered, especially at the beginning. It takes some time before it adapts to our commands and completely decomposes. The same matters for the body as well because when we train our mind, the body always follows.
In this article, I will present some tips that will help you have an ultimate floatation experience. Knowing what to avoid doing while in the tank will certainly help you not to compromise your precious relaxation time. Actually, these are mistakes that many newbies tend to do in the beginning. Avoiding them will make you a more accomplished floater, thus assuring that you will make the most of your sensory deprivation session.
Don’t Touch Your Face
Why? Because the water in the tank is saturated with huge quantities of Epsom Salt. Imagine what will happen if even a tiny part of it gets into your eyes or in your nose. Not only the sensation is unpleasant but it will certainly disturb your relaxation.
So keep in mind that you have to be very careful when touching your face and avoid at any cost to touch your eyes when lying in the float tank. The salt is not dangerous for the eyes but as you probably know it surely stings like hell which can make you to even interrupt your float.
Avoid Moving Too Much
For a lot of new time floaters, one of the most difficult things to do is to calm their bodies while in the sensory deprivation tank. It is understandable. Especially in the beginning, it can be tough to feel at ease. There can be various reasons for that – some feel nervous just thinking about being in a closed dark space, others simply cannot relax completely because they had a stressful day and their bodies are full of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
That is why it is normal to feel that you cannot find your place in the tank and to constantly move. However, you don’t have to forget that the purpose of floating is to get rid of the tension. This starts by avoiding to move in order to fully relax your muscles.
To do that, take several deep breaths and start thinking that every single part of your body is senseless. In a short time, you will notice that it is a lot easier for you to stop moving.
Stop Concentrating On Your Thoughts
This is crucial for achieving a blissfully relaxed state. A busy mind is enemy number one for an efficient floatation session. With that being said, calming the mind doesn’t happen instantaneously. It takes time and practice. With so much going on in our lives every day, to stop thinking about our tasks and duties, to let go of all of the worries may seem as difficult as climbing Everest.
But let me give you a hint that works like a charm for me. I noticed that it is easier to slow down my speeding mind when I stopped concentrating on the many thoughts that emerge on the surface. I simply try to observe them and to accept them without trying to push them away.
In fact, trying to forcefully get rid of them creates more tension. The key is to accept the thoughts and to impartially ‘watch’ them pass through the mind. With the time passing by, everything starts to arrange to a certain point when you stop thinking about anything but your present state, here and now.
Don’t ‘Pause’ Your Floating Session
Interrupting your float in the middle is not a good idea simply because it puts you back on the starting point. You have to start relaxing all over again and that takes time, not to mention that it is annoying.
Here’s what to do in order to avoid this:
- Put your phone away or turn it off.
- Don’t drink too much water shortly before going into the tank.
- Don’t overeat, especially heavy foods that are difficult to digest.
If you feel uncomfortable with the water entering your ears, it’s better to put a swimming cap or earplugs immediately after entering the tank.
Make sure to clear out your schedule for the time that you float. Suddenly remembering that you have some important thing to do will make you pause your relaxation experience.
Don’t Listen to Music
Now, I know that many floaters will probably disagree with this advice. I do realize that it is common to meditate and float while listening to some chill out music on the background. While that may work when it comes to meditating, yet I believe that the term sensory deprivation is pretty self-explanatory.
The purpose of the whole experience is to deprive your senses of any external stimuli, the entire point being to be able to achieve an unparalleled relaxation state. The music no matter how tender it might be is a noise. The noise stimulates the brain making it work in order to register the origin of that noise and to process it.
Therefore, when you listen to music you are burdening your brain with the task of processing information. That brings us to the very first sentence of this article – do you want to spend a truly relaxing time in the float tank?
Conclusion
These five tips or better to say ‘don’ts’ will have a huge impact on your floatation experience. Moreover, following those elementary rules will make you a better floater who knows how to make the best use of the sensory deprivation. Keep on floating!
What is your best way of relaxation? Leave a comment below!
Great advice for floaters! I’ve been floating for a few months and sometimes I have to remember to go back to basics: not moving, not touching my face, trying to relax my thoughts and focus on my breathing. It can be hard at first and I think that’s what most people don’t understand. Just like any form of meditation, it takes practice, but its so worth it! I’ve had some of the most profound meditations while in the float tank!
Hello Christina,
Thanks a lot for your feedback! It is great to learn that you are already experiencing the powerful benefits of the sensory deprivation.
Hi, Asen. Wow, a very scientific article. To make a floating action, you must have the brain can’t think, can’t have the influence of sound, the body can’t have too many movements and so on. When I saw that I wanted to make these experiments, I couldn’t believe the possibility of these actions, it really made me open my eyes! If I can experience the experiment of floating, it will give me a lot of fun. Can’t wait to try, thanks for sharing.
Hello Teng,
It is a pleasure to welcome a sensory deprivation newbie here.Can’t wait for you to try the whole thing and to share with us your experience.
Great advice here, my Fiancee got me a float session for one of my birthdays and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One thing I didn’t like about my session was that it was too short haha. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys meditation. Follow the list of these don’ts and you will have a great time
Hello Marvin,
What a nice present from your fiancee! I hope that the floatation therapy will become a regular practice for you!
Hi Asen,
This is a very interesting read for me.
I have never tried floating myself, although it is something I’ve heard about.
Now after reading you 5 things not to do while floating I definitely want to give it a try.
I feel now that if I do try then I will know these 5 things I shouldn’t do.
I can quite understand that a lot of people would like to listen to music while doing it, but me personally, I wouldn’t. I love the idea of just laying there floating and trying to clear my mind and be totally relaxed, and listening to music in the background would just be an unwelcome distraction.
Thanks for this great post. I’ll definitely be back to visit your website again.
Best wishes,
Michael.
Hello Michael,
Thank you for reading. I encourage you to try sensory deprivation. To this day, I am not aware of anyone who tried it and didn’t like the experience.