In 1954, a young medical doctor and neuroscientist, John C. Lilly, donned a breathing mask and took the first descending steps into a large, fresh-water tank designed to cut out as much light, noise, and general sensation as possible. From that first iteration, it would be 19 years before floatation therapy was offered generally to the public, thanks to the work of Dr. Lilly, along with Glenn and Lee Perry.
Read MoreAs someone who is a chronic overthinker and craves control, this last year has been, simply put, exhausting. I often find myself paralyzed by fearful thoughts of what the future will hold and when I will be able to regain power over my life. These questions run on a constant loop. Worry lives in my bones.
But I started realizing that those issues are out of my hands. What happens, happens.
Recognizing that pandemics and the future are out of my control, I decided to turn to things that were within my power. I started going to therapy, and I attempted different forms of exercise to try and tame my overthinking tendencies.
And I tried them all — meditation, yoga, pilates, barre. But none of them gave me the peace that I was looking for. I found solace in running and the ability it offered to distract myself from my own thoughts (mostly because I was more concerned with when I would be able to stop running), but still, I craved the ability to quiet my thoughts in a less physically taxing way.
So I turned to something that always felt out of touch. It seemed too extreme, too luxurious, and, frankly, ineffective:
I floated in a tub of salty water in complete darkness.
Read MoreThe beginner’s guide to meditation usually goes as such: “Breathe deep and just empty your mind.” Just. Just. Really, to be able to tune out all the engines and agendas and electrical static that surround us in the city takes some zen-master-level-140-type-shit. And for those of us who aren’t quite there yet, there’s still a way to completely eliminate distraction and lay in a pool of pure embodied mind: Float.
Read More“Lay for an hour in 1000 lbs of Epsom salted water”, they said. “Close yourself in a tank, in pitch black, for an hour”, they said. “This sounds like a recipe for a panic attack!” I said. And I did it anyway, because apparently I just listen to people and trust them when they look like legitimate decent human beings. But guess what? Turns out floating is the real deal-bees knees and I’m HOOKED. Here is why….
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