It\u2019s been a tough day. Under pressure from your deadline, your boss, and\/or your client, you\u2019re struggling to work your usual creative magic. Every time you think you\u2019ve cracked it, another problem appears. And tomorrow\u2019s looking even more challenging\u2014you\u2019ll have to be on top form, and right now you feel anything but. Your body is tense, and your mind is racing\u2026 This is not how you do your best work.<\/p>\n
f you\u2019re to have any chance of success tomorrow, you need to de-stress and recharge your creative batteries fast. Ideally, you\u2019d like the creative benefits of several days of meditation compressed into a single evening: a kind of<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A floatation tank is a fiber-glass pod (above), big enough to get inside and stretch your arms and legs out without touching the sides. The tank is filled with a few inches of a super-saturated, epsom-salt solution. Before you get inside, you put in earplugs, so that when you close the door you are cocooned from the outside world. Then you turn off the light and lie back in the darkness.<\/p>\n
The salt makes the water dense, so that when you lie down, you float. The water lifts and supports you, like the most comfortable bed in the world. And because it\u2019s at body temperature, after a few minutes you don\u2019t sense it any more. Not only that, gravity has disappeared. It\u2019s like floating in space.<\/p>\n
With no external stimuli, you become very aware of your breathing. All the instructions from meditation and yoga classes about \u201cmindfulness of your breath\u201d start to make sense\u2014with no distractions, it becomes super-easy to focus on your breathing and feel it lulling you into a deeply relaxed state.<\/p>\n
It takes a little while to settle into the float: to begin, you may notice your mind-chatter, with thought after thought flitting through your awareness. Occasionally your toes or fingers bump gently against the side of the tank. But gradually you find yourself easing deeper into the experience.<\/p>\n
You become aware of tension in different parts of your body, then the delightful feeling as the muscles relax. A few minutes later, you are surprised to discover tension in muscles you didn\u2019t realize you had\u2014and new levels of relaxation as these muscles let go in turn.<\/p>\n
As you float, you may experience moments of clarity, of insight into a current problem you are facing. Or this may be one of those days when you find yourself switching off completely, letting go of all thoughts.<\/p>\n
At some point you drift off, to be nudged awake by soft music playing, as if from very far away. It\u2019s the signal that your float will end in a few minutes, so it\u2019s time to rouse yourself, before you leave the tank, shower, and head for to the \u201cchillout room\u201d that acts as a buffer between the serenity of the tank and the rush of the outside world.<\/p>\n
The effects of floating<\/b><\/h3>\n
Everyone has their own experience of the floatation tank. Some people fall asleep, others find themselves experiencing flashes of insight, or thinking through problems in a lucid creative state. Others have profound experiences that have a big impact on their personal development.<\/p>\n