Are you currently battling out depression and anxiety, and need an all-natural alternative to treat them?

 

Have you heard of Float Therapy?

 

Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) decreases sensory input to the nervous system through the act of floating horizontally in a pool of water saturated with Epsom salt. The float experience is calibrated so that sensory signals from visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, thermal, tactile, vestibular, gravitational and proprioceptive channels are reduced, as is most movement and speech.

Many of us manage to live with depression and anxiety and deal with them in different ways. Float therapy is a holistic remedy that will ensure both physical and emotional well-being to people dealing with depression and anxiety.

Imagine staying suspended in a comforting bath inside a top of line sensory deprivation float pod with 1000 Lb of Epson Salts (Magnesium sulfate), with soothing fragrances, and relaxing music. The ambiance is pitch-dark, noise-free, and the temperature of the water is in full sync with your body’s temperature. It is so comforting that you almost feel like you are floating amid the dark, blue skies. Sounds soothing right? With Float Centers across the country, Indigo Float is proud to bring flotation therapy to the great communities of Denver, Jacksonville, and Orlando and provide comfort to everyone looking for stress relief.

The effects of sensory deprivation provide endless benefits. The calming effects of float therapy will soothe your mind and help you deal with depression better by allowing you to connect with your inner self while reaching a level of relaxation never experienced before.

 

How was Floating Therapy Invented?

 

The inception of float therapy dates back to the mid-nineties when neuroscientist John C. Lilly first came up with the concept of floating. In the 1950s, he came up with the idea of a big water-filled room where he and some selected colleagues would experiment with sensory deprivation. He carried on conducting multiple group experiments on isolation and meditation during the 1960s and 70s.

Most of the individuals participating in these experiences reported a higher degree of pain relief and sedation. Sadly, these flotation tanks grew out of fashion during the 80s. Over the next few years, Float tanks came back in fashion, primarily due to the significant benefits in treating anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental and emotional issues.

The Impact of Sensory Deprivation therapies is conducted in sensory deprivation pods or float tanks. These tanks are large containers that are filled with a water solution richer in salts and minerals. The water in sensory deprivation tanks is heated to your skin temperature. The water is saturated with Epsom salt to offer you the buoyancy of floating effortlessly. As part of this process and a recommendation, you need to remove all your clothes and enter the tank. Once you manage to relax and focus only on your breathing, you will be cut off from all external stimulation, including light, gravity, and even sound. At this point, your brain is likely to descend to a highly relaxed state.

Floating doesn’t just help you to relax; Flotation Therapy allows your muscles to recover from exercise and day to day use by entering a gravity-free environment, taking the strain off the body and spine. It is proven that flotation can reduce inflammation & relieve pain and muscle cramps.

 

Is Float Therapy Better than Meditation? 

 

              

 

The profound mental relaxation initiated by floating enables the brain to produce a larger volume of theta waves way faster than when practicing meditation. These theta waves are characterized by an improvement in mental clarity, creativity, imagery, and memory. In addition, the release of endorphins causes the feeling of elevated mood states, which are effective assisting in alleviating anxiety, depression, and negative mental habits. It is like an alternative medicine that soothes your mind.

The intent with both meditation and flotation is to reach the theta state. This is a powerful state where you can consciously listen to your subconscious mind, regularly through a series of what appears to be auditory or optical hallucinations. Monks practice years to do this through meditation while staying conscious. Your body does this naturally at night, but you switch off, fall asleep. Recall those auditory or optical flashes you perceive before you off switch kicks in, and you fall asleep. That is a glimpse into the theta state. In an isolation tank, you are conscious, observing your subconscious mind.

When you are battling depression, your mind is overactive, and you’re impatient. Meditation wants you to gain control over this overactive mind. While the process seems simple, it might take you several years to master it successfully. And this is precisely why floating could provide a better alternative. Since this process of floating involves you laying in a fully zero-sensory float tank, the experience itself will involuntarily trigger your overall physiological response. You don’t have to do anything on your part. The process itself is incredibly relaxing.

 

Will I Experience Claustrophobia inside the Float Tank?

 

These float sessions are conducted on large, spacious pods; also, you have the option of keeping the lid utterly open during your whole float spa session; you can adjust the door at any angle. You have complete control over your entire floating experience. Most individuals have reportedly experienced a sense of infinite peace upon floating.

 

Float therapy has been extremely effective in treating anxiety.

 

According to a 2018 study conducted by Dr. Justin Feinstein, Director of The Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR), entitled “Examining the short-term anxiolytic and antidepressant effect of Floatation-REST.” Flotation-REST substantially reduced state anxiety. Moreover, participants reported significant reductions in stress, muscle tension, pain, depression, and negative affect, accompanied by a substantial improvement in mood characterized by increases in serenity, relaxation, happiness, and overall well-being.

A similar study was conducted two years back in 2016. According to this report, 46 people experiencing depression, sleep issues, tiredness, and irritation were effectively treated with flotation sessions. In addition to treating anxiety, floating also treated the long-standing impact of pain on several individuals. Even if you aren’t experiencing fibromyalgia, you will undoubtedly experience pain relief after practicing these float therapy.

 

 

Owing to our stressful and tedious lifestyles, many of us experience stiffness along the lower back and neck. While there are several short-term methods of treating thee issues, float therapy tops the charts in the sheer extent of its impact. According to most individuals that have experienced floating for the first time, the stress relief and anxiety-free feeling are noticeable from one single trip to the float tank. Float therapy stands as one of the primary ways to treat anxiety. With nearly one in five Americans experiencing anxiety, it’s no wonder float therapy is catching on.

 

Flotation therapy or R.E.S.T. (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) evokes a sense of total relaxation. 

 

Flotation therapy has been around a lot longer than modern trends make it seem. While people are lastly beginning to realize the fantastic benefits of flotation therapy; philosophers, and artists have been using float pods/tanks for decades now. Sensory deprivation itself has been used for millennia by humans as a tool to sharpen the mind, prepare for a rite of passage, conduct rigorous meditation, and to reach Nirvana. Shamans, witch doctors, Monks, mystics, and even Buddha and Jesus were known for taking long retreats on the deserted mountain tops or remote caves to endure extended periods of isolation in an effort to reach enlightenment.

 

Float therapy is also known for improving recovery times and easing tense muscles and joints.

 

For some people, blood pressure levels were reduced as well after floating. Energy levels were boosted, and there was less anxiety throughout the day. Float Therapy is often deemed to be an antidote for stress. Since it provides a more profound sense of relaxation and drives inner peace, it goes a long way in helping us stay calm and stress-free. According to numerous “floaters,” they even witnessed greater vibrancy in the colors and their overall surroundings after floating. This is like wearing the right prescription glasses after years of suffering from a hazy vision.

Since our brain is responsible for our decision-making, problem-solving, and cognitive abilities, it needs to be consistently stable. Better sleep makes you emotionally stable, boosts your focus, and assists you in a variety of other ways. In some instances, it also reduces the risks of experiencing illnesses and a range of dangerous ailments like high blood pressure, strokes, and cardiovascular diseases.

 

      

 

Floating for only two hours every week for 14 days can bring significant benefits to your insomnia issues. 

 

Floating in one of our sensory deprivation pods, at any Indigo Float location in Denver, Jacksonville or Orlando will restore and revitalize your senses, allowing your body and mind to relax. You will enjoy more prolonged and more uninterrupted sleeping sessions. More restful sleeping patterns will assist in improving the mood and overall well-being.

 

In Summary

Floating helps in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression.

• Improves creativity.

• Improves concentration and problem – solving.

• Decreases learning difficulties.

• Relieves sleeping problems, reduces or even cures chronic fatigue.

• It creates a chemical and metabolic balance.

• Harmonizes the functioning of the brain’s right and left hemispheres.

• Decreases addiction to harmful substances.

• It improves behavioral problems.

• Decreases migraines.

If you know, someone dealing with depression or high anxiety, reach out and inform him/her about the benefits float therapy can bring to their lives. Indigo Float in all three float centers (Denver, Jacksonville, and Orlando) is committed to delivering mental health awareness to the community as well as providing a most needed quiet time to everyone dealing with depression, anxiety, or insomnia.

Also, for more information on Float Therapy, check out our Facebook pages, and our blogs, where we continuously load useful and educational information on floating and mental wellness in general. 

• https://www.facebook.com/indigofloat
• https://www.facebook.com/indigofloatjax/
• https://www.facebook.com/Indigofloatorlando/
• https://indigofloat.com/mental-health/how-float-therapy-helps-ptsd-sufferers/
• https://indigofloat.com/float-therapy-for-mom/how-float-therapy-benefits-the-everyday-mom/
• https://indigofloat.com/floating-and-fibromyalgia/float-tanks-for-fibromyalgia/
• https://indigofloat.com/float-therapy-in-sports/how-float-tanks-help-athletes-recover-faster/

 

Written by: elleright
Edited by: LegionRank