Category: Floatation Tank - Best Floatation Tanks In Melbourne

VIDEO: Groundbreaking New Research on Floating for PTSD, Anxiety and Panic Disorders

8/4/2018

Dr Justin Feinstein, a researcher at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has released results from his groundbreaking clinical trial of floating in sensory deprivation tanks to relieve symptoms of acute anxiety. In his study of 50 research participants with severe anxiety, he found that in every single participant, very strong reductions in stress and anxiety occurred after just one floatation session! Amazing results.

Floaters were connected to blood pressure, heart and brain monitors while floating, and within minutes of beginning to float they experienced blood pressure drops of 10-15 points. Floaters also reported feelings of peace and serenity which lasted for days after their float. Dr Feinstein explains that what is so amazing about the floatation treatment is that the participants don't have to do anything to experience the benefits of floating - the environment alone is enough to significantly change their mental, physical and emotional states.

Our very own Lena Yammine was lucky enough to hear Dr Feinstein's presentation in person at the 2015 Annual Float Conference. Dr Feinstein has done ongoing research in the floatation field and plans to commence an extended clinical trial examining the effects of regular, ongoing floatation sessions for people suffering from anxiety and panic disorders as well as PTSD.

Want to try floating your anxiety away? Book now and find out what floatation can do for you!

Buzzfeed video: These People Tried A Sensory Deprivation Tank For The First Time And Found Inner Peace

15/2/2018

Are you contemplating giving floatation tank therapy a go, but unsure what to expect?

We just found this funny and interesting video of three people trying floatation tank therapy for the first time. It might give you a little bit more of a sense of what floatation therapy can offer you!

All three bring different fears and expectations to their experience, and it’s interesting to hear their impressions after emerging from a two-hour float session. They all seem to find some really positive benefits!

Watch below:

Check out the whole article here, and then book in and give floating a try for yourself!

Vogue

1/10/2015

Did you know that Floatation Therapy has been featured world famous Vogue magazine, which is exciting as it's expanding audience awareness about floating.

Recently Nathan Heller, Vogue.com's contributing editor, film and TV critic, floated in a sensory deprivation tank in New York City. To read more, click here.

Carsten Höller’s installation Psychotank, 1999 Photo: © Carsten Höller / Courtesy the artist / Attilio Maranzano (4.7.-17.10.2004)

Magnesium

27/8/2015

Do you suffer from any of the following symptoms?

Irregular heartbeat or heart pains;
Weakness and cramping;
Fatigue and drowsiness;
Stress and anxiety;
Sleep disorders;
Migraine headaches;
Depression and mood swings;
Weak bones;
Indigestion and nausea.

You may be suffering from magnesium deficiency.
No, this doesn't mean you should load up your meals with extra salt - Find out below how you can increase your magnesium levels.

Have you tried all remedies but nothing seems to work?

1 hour in our Floatation Tank can leave you feeling like brand new

Did you know that floating for an hour in one of our float tanks can greatly increase your magnesium levels. More so than any supplement on the shelves - while giving you some relaxation.

First off— what do we use in our water that has magnesium and makes you float?
Epsom Salts are used to make the water as buoyant as it. But it isn't exactly a “salt” at all. Rather, it is a compound of the minerals magnesium and sulphate.
Sulphates, such as those found in Epsom Salt can resolve headaches and even help the body to absorb more nutrients—while flushing toxins.

What is magnesium?
Magnesium is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. Magnesium is important for many processes in the body. It regulates muscle growth and functioning, nerve function, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, protein levels, and can even affect our DNA.

How does magnesium affect me?
Sleep - It can help you to get a better night sleep. When magnesium levels drop, the sleep regulating hormone melatonin is disturbed, causing your sleeping patterns to become irregular.
Stress and tension are often reasons why people suffer from insomnia and lack of sleep. Magnesium can help to bring balance and control stress hormones which can create a calming affect. It also increases serotonin levels in the brain, which relaxes the nervous system and creates a better mood.

Muscle Density - Magnesium is a major player in gaining bigger, stronger muscles. It allows the body to produce more insulin-like growth factor. It also plays an important role in loosening of tight muscles and flexibility (this is why salt baths are suggested for muscle aches). Low Magnesium results in the build up of lactic acid (which is partly responsible for post-exercise pain) causing pain and tightness and when muscles do not relax properly, cramps can occur.

Bone Health - There are about eighteen essential nutrients that contribute to bone health; Magnesium is definitely one of the most important, because it suppresses the hormone that breaks down bone, while stimulating a particular hormone called calcitonin which strengthens bones and encourages growth.

Overall General Health - Magnesium helps restore the body’s pH balance. It is also a necessary electrolyte essential for proper hydration and can be used to cleanse the bowels of toxins.

There are many other benefits of magnesium: It helps prevent stroke, diabetes, heart disease, period pain, and more.

Symptoms of poor magnesium intake can include muscle cramps, facial tics, poor sleep, and chronic pain. It pays to ensure that you get adequate magnesium before signs of deficiency occur.

Magnesium has an affect on all systems of the body. Deficiency can be the cause of many ailments

But how can you know whether you’re getting enough?
One method of assessing your magnesium status is to simply contact your doctor and request magnesium testing. A magnesium test is generally done by testing blood serum, however these tests can be misleading. Only 1% of magnesium in the body is actually found in blood, making this test unreliable.

Here are a few tips to ensure you are not stripping your body from magnesium:

Keep Soft Drinks and Caffeine to a minimum
A lot dark coloured soft drinks contain substances that absorb magnesium inside the digestive tract, meaning that its full potential cannot be used by the body. So even if you are eating a balanced diet, by drinking soft drinks with your meals you are flushing magnesium out of your system. If you drink caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and soda regularly, your risk for magnesium deficiency is increased.

Eat less sugary foods
Refined sugar is not only a zero magnesium product but it also causes the body to excrete magnesium through the kidneys. The process of producing refined sugar from sugar cane removes molasses, stripping the magnesium content entirely.

Physical and Emotional Stress
Because stressful conditions require more magnesium use by the body, all such conditions may lead to deficiency (ever wonder why your tears taste salty?). Both psychological and physical forms of stress to the body such as surgeries, burns, and chronic disease can impact magnesium levels

Certain Medications can cause Magnesium deficiency
The effects of some medications have been shown to reduce magnesium levels in the body by encouraging kidney function, ridding the body of magnesium.

Floatation Therapy is the quickest, safest and most relaxing way to increase magnesium levels

How does floatation tank therapy help with magnesium deficiency?
When you're laying in the float tank, the magnesium and sulphate that is in the water will pass through the skin, raising the levels detected in the blood. This is the quickest possible way to increase your levels of magnesium. Unlike taking a supplement or eating foods high in magnesium the body does not have to digest or breakdown anything, it is absorbed straight away.

Both magnesium and sulphates are best, and most easily absorbed through the skin—rather than the digestive tract—making a float the ideal place to receive them.

Bathing in magnesium sulphate (our float tanks) is an easy, safe and efficient way to correct deficiency. If you are worried about overcompensating for your deficiency by floating regularly, your body is more than capable of getting rid of any excess magnesium that you don't need.

Call us now on 9440 9453 to book in for your Floatation Therapy session or book online.

All information sourced from:
http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-deficiency/need-more/
http://www.floataway.com/index.php/floating/epsom-salt-magnesium-sulphate
http://www.hopefloatsusa.com/en/flotation-therapy/about

Extra, Extra read all about it!

3/7/2015

STOP THE PRESSES!!!

Our very own Lena Yammine has featured on the cover of a health and wellbeing magazine, An Alternative Voice along with a brilliant write-up on page 3 or see below!

For those of you who would prefer a hard copy of this magazine, we will have some at our center for you to take home and enjoy.

Front Cover Feature

Feature Article

To view the article in it's entirety click on the icon next to the negative sign on the bottom right.

Music While Floating

30/4/2015

Listening to music can help you relax

Have you ever wondered why there is music at the beginning of your float session?

You will notice that at the beginning of your floatation session, once you hop in the tank, that there is light switched on and music playing simultaneously. While it might be a great method in creating a relaxing atmosphere, it does serve a purpose.

The music allows your mind to slowly settle into a state of complete relaxation. Some people find that having complete silence at the beginning of the session can be unsettling or uncomfortable. The thought of coming from such a loud outside world, where your mind is processing every little noise and movement, followed by floating in complete silence can be quite alarming to some.

Once in the float tank, for some, your minds can take some time to switch off or slow down enough for you to feel relaxed. This is how music can help you. The music can act as a distraction. Having the music playing lightly in the background for the first part of your float can allow you to slowly turn down the volume of your inner mind and stop paying it as much attention, letting you settle into a state of silence.

As stated by Michael Hutchison in The Book of Floating, "the harder they try to achieve the desired state, the more it escapes them, until finally they learn -almost by accident- to let go, and the state just happens." You can feel obligated to completely turn off once inside the tank, making it a conscious effort to not think. This makes your brain work harder. The music can often act as a relaxer in itself, calming the mind and helping to eliminate any extra force making the brain try and switch off.

For those who prefer to have music playing the entire time during your float, this is possible. Be sure to let your floatation therapist know before you go in for your session. Call us on (03) 9440 9453 to book your float or click here to book online

Music can act as a distraction during your float sessions

Floatation and Creativity

23/3/2015

Ever wondered where musicians, poets and artists get their creativity? Do you often wish you had a source of some sort to get your creative juices flowing?

Look no further! The Floatation Tank, also known as a Sensory Deprivation Tank, is known to help inspire creativity and innovation in a range of individuals.

No wonder why floatation tank therapy is so popular with many creative minds, including those of designers, architects, artists, musicians, and many more.

Floatation Encourages Creativity

In fact, studies have shown that floating in a sensory deprivation tank has enhanced perceptual-motor skills in sports, and creativity in the sciences. Further studies have demonstrated an improvement in music students' technical abilities after floating once a week, for only four weeks (Vartanian & Suedfeld, 2011). Enhanced musical ability has also been noted in research, specifically with the jazz genre, in musicians who have floated. Others have found inner benefits of floating after improvements were discovered in 'creative cognition' in a range of individuals.

You may be curious as to how floating helps in this way. Increased creativity is achieved through a number of techniques explained below, which can all be experienced in as little as one hour of floating.

Sensory Deprivation
We've all heard stories of artists who claim that their sudden insight, revelation, or creative designs occurred in situations where their sensory input has been reduced. This includes circumstances where their attention has been turned inward during long walks along the beach, or while starting off in space. What you may not have realised is, that one of the fundamental elements of creative or imaginative thought, is concentration gained through some sort of sensory restriction or deprivation. What better way to eliminate the overload of sensory input of our busy lives, than floating in a floatation tank?

Brain Waves

Theta State
One of the explanations as to how many gain unexpected inspiration, physical relaxation, creativity and vivid imagery, particularly while their mind wanders off while gazing into the distance or just before entering their sleep stage, is the influence of the theta state.

Theta state is the brain wave experienced when we are in a very deep state of relaxation. This is the state that is used in hypnosis and during REM sleep. Normally we experience this theta state for a few minutes, but enclosed in a floatation tank, this state can last for longer.
Unfortunately, this does not mean reaching theta state in a floatation tank will leave us all geniuses. Rather, the floatation tank has the ability to let us easily fall into this state, which can be an essential tool in promoting innovation and creativity. The more you float, the more benefits you may discover, as the theta state becomes longer, the more often the floatation tank is used.

Visualisation and Imagery
Another vital component of creativity is visualisation or imagery. Visualisation can be a very powerful tool which helps us invent and create, which has been proven throughout history. Many geniuses over the years, well-known and not so well-known pioneers, encountered visions or mental images of their 'reality-changing ideas' or concepts before pursuing them.

The floatation tank is the perfect environment created for experiencing vivid and intense mental imagery and visualisations, and the best space to manipulate these also.

What makes the float tank so optimal for inspiration, is the profound relaxing environment. In these surroundings, your brain is so relaxed that it generates an exceptional amount of very slow, strong, rhythmical theta waves. You already know a little about theta waves (mentioned above), but the extended theta states gained from floating are associated with vivid, lifelike hypnagogic images. Deep relaxation and strong mental imagery are derived spontaneously and effortlessly while floating in the float tank for most individuals.

Visualisation can Improve Creativity

An Invigorating Float can help with Musical Ability

As described, there are a number of techniques associated with floatation tank therapy that can inspire and encourage creativity and innovation. Relaxing in a peaceful and comfortable environment for an hour or so, doesn't appear to be too hard of a job to gain some extra insight to assist with your creative activities.

Be mindful, that the longer it's been since your last float, the less prominent the effects will be - they will begin to diminish as time passes. To preserve ongoing imagination and vision, consider floating on a regular basis, or on an as-need-basis when you need to rejuvenate your creative self.

Floating for Relaxation

Comment below and tell us about your experiences: whether that be what you've seen while floating, the success of your musical band, or how your creativity has thrived.

What is Floating?

24/1/2015

Ever wondered what floating is? How it works? What is supposed to happen?

The video below is an introduction to the world of floating. Learn all about floating and some of its benefits by watching this video now.

We're convinced you will want to float after discovering how floatation tanks can restore your health and wellbeing. We are always interested in hearing about your experiences so please comment below and let us know your thoughts.

Richard Meadows Interview

16/12/2014

Recently, the creator of our Apollo Float Tanks, Richard Meadows, was interviewed on the radio.
In the interview he is asked about what floating is like, how it all works and what exactly floating is.

Below is the audio of the interview, as well as a transcript.

Sonia: “Richard Meadows is managing director of Apollo Float Tanks and a pioneer and designer of float tanks here in Australia. Richard Good afternoon.”

Richard: “Good Afternoon Sonia, Thanks for having us in.”

Sonia: “Now Richard, is it true that you were the first person to bring Floatation Tanks to Australia?”

Richard: “Not Quite, The first float centre was in 1983, and I came on the scene about 1988. But they imported tanks from America then.”

Sonia: “Okay so are these the first built in Australia, or just among those built?”

Richard: “The new ones. Well I was the first to do a new design in 20 years.”

Sonia: “Why were floatation tanks developed in the first place?”

Experience Pure Relaxation and Stillness while Floating

Richard: “In the 1950’s they were doing psychological research in America, in the medical area. And they were looking in the area of consciousness and wanting to design something that would remove stimulation from the brain. The original hypothesis was that if you remove stimulation from the brain through the environment, the brain would go blank. In fact, they were quite surprised when the opposite occurred”

Sonia: “So was it thought that the mind would go blank and that was a vulnerable state, and therefore could be filled with other things?”

Richard: “It was thought to be a state of stillness and nothing would happen. But since then, they’ve discovered that the brain is constantly searching and monitoring the environment. And so what developed from there was instead of getting into a negative state, they got to positive, generally full hemispherical states. Like balanced hemispheres of the brain.”

Sonia: “So that’s like a meditative state is it?”

Richard: “Well there are different brain rhythms, so when you go into a meditative state, you tend to utilise more of the your brain. What happened is, if you deprive the brain of the body and a lot of the functions it normally has to deal with, in particular temperature control and dealing with gravity. It actually frees itself to search itself really. And so what happens is you tend to utilise more of the brain and have a more balanced left and right hemisphere. Tends to be with most people, right hemisphere activity which has more to do with creativity and whole brain thinking.”

Sonia: “Okay, we’ll go down that path in a little bit. But for people like myself who have never seen a floatation tank. Practically and logistically, what does it look like? What does it do? Is it like a little swimming pool? What is it?”

Richard: "Well it's like a big bath. The reason you have top on it is to control the environment. Because it’s important you get that sensory deprivation result. So it's basically a big bath. There’s a few different designs. We designed on with a sliding door that’s easier to get in and out of. You have total control. So it's not claustrophobic, because claustrophobia is about not being able to get out or have control. But you can even watch TV or listen to music in the tank. You have a light, all sorts of things.”

Sonia: “But doesn’t that go against the actual purpose of it?”

Richard: “Well the issue with floating is, you need to actually wean people off of their fears to get them to that state. More and more that’s been the case. The western world has got a problem with over stimulation and sleep deprivation. And so you have to get used to not looking for stimulation and so we have to get them to lie still.”

Sonia: “That’s interesting, because I think it was only last week on the program we were talking about how most people find it impossible to be bored these days. We always want to be so stimulated, that we don’t know how to do nothing. A lot of us cant just sit and do nothing anymore.”

Richard: “Yeah well, the thing about it, is the beauty of the sensory isolation is they’ve found that you actually automatically go into that state. And then you’re not the normal person that you think you are. You actually enter in a so called ‘altered state’. SO you actually think differently while you’re in that state. So the perfect meditative state is called fearless presences mindness. It's perfectly in the present. So when you’re in the present, you have no fear and you don’t think that same way. So basically it alters the way you think. So you don’t have any of that fear or negativity that you might bring with you.”

Sonia: “And so you cant get the same response when you’re lying quietly in bed?”

Richard: “You can. But floatation, it's call R.E.S.T which is Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy. But instead of a 24 hour REST chamber stopping someone smoking, the found that floating is quicker. The thing about floating is that it’s a very quick way to get to similar state to maybe a Buddhist Monk. Maybe not in your first float, but it may take a few. So it's an induction technique. There are a lot of techniques out there; people may have tried yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, self-hypnosis, all these things help. Some people go into those states maybe while they’re watching TV or they’re knitting or even when you’re driving. Have you ever gotten to a place, but you don’t actually remember the drive? In a way you have gone into that present mind and hypnotic state. So hypnosis is really where you start to change your brain rhythms – well your consciousness is.”

Sonia: “Richard, I was surprised to learn that some countries ban floatation tanks and the CIA have looked into it. So, they must do something that at least causes concern”

Richard: “Well I’m sure some if the listeners out there have floated, or maybe at one of my centres. But when you go into a deep state, a deep relaxation response, it's very, very powerful. And your own neuro chemistry and hormonal levels do have a big influence on you. So quite a lot can happen. But yeah, I was told that a French psychiatrist banned it in the 80’s. And I know the Singapore government banned it because they didn’t want people thinking for themselves too much. I think it’s a little bit misunderstood, but really, people go into similar states, like I said, when they’re doing other things. It's just that this is a threshold experience, it’s not just a straight line experience. You can go into very deep states, which is what I found when I did my initial research.”

Sonia: “What was the CIA’s interest in the floatation tanks? Was it that you blank out people’s mind so much that they tell you everything they know?”

Richard: “Well they’re always interested in anything that makes people more suggestible. I knew a guy that used to be friends with Timothy Leary, when they used to take LSD and go in the tank. This was back in the 60’s. The famous Timothy Leary the director of psychology. This was back in the days when they could do any kind of experiment without any sort of ethics committees. This chap had a witch’s coven sort of technique, which sort of confused your mind about whether you were up or down and they actually stole that idea from him. I’m sure there’s drug now that are quicker. But they certainly would have looked into it.”

Sonia: “But the way you’re describing that, does the floatation tank experience compare with an altered state drug experience then?”

Richard: “Well drugs only elicit responses in the body, and what the body can do. All you have to do is look at the research of Buddhist monks. Your own endorphins can be 4 times more powerful than heroin. So really they just interact with receptor sites and all that.”

Sonia: “So it’s allowing your body to do that for yourself?”

Richard: “That’s right. You have control over it, rather than having an external way of doing it. Which of course, any drug you take is the external source.

                                                     - Caller rings through about bipolar and how tanks helped him.

Sonia: “Now the experience that the caller had. How typical is that?”

Richard: “People do vary a lot. Generally if you are younger you’ve already practiced techniques so you’ll go there quicker. Some people take a while as you get older or have more stress. Eventually everyone can get there. It actually automatically creates a response. The beauty of it, is that if you only do, say, 5 or 10 floats – this applies to other techniques- then you actually attain this skill. Psychological skills like that are easy to obtain physically but they don’t necessarily stay that long. So the beauty of the float tanks is that you don’t actually have to try. So what we’re trying to get people to get to is to be a human being, not a human doing. So what people generally do wrong that they try to do and not be. And that can be hard because they actually try to get there”

Sonia: “What is there to do in there? Like they’re trying to be relaxed aren’t they?”

Richard: “Well it’s like trying to get to sleep. When you try to go to sleep you just lay there”

Sonia: “Because you’re thinking about it”

Richard: “Well what used to happen was we would get people to play a video game, at least they would lie still. That wouldn’t be quite as de-stimulating, but at least they would be still and they would automatically close their eyes.”

Sonia: “We’ve been talking about the movie Altered States, that movie had a big impact on the industry here in Australia didn’t it?”

Richard: “Well particularly in America, it doubled the floating in America nearly straight away”

Sonia: “Is that right? People were so interested?”

Richard: “I sort of came on the scene in ’83 and I think the film was ’80 or ’81. But yeah, it did have quite an impact.”

                                                        - Caller says they’ve floated and never been so relaxed and peaceful.

Sonia: “But Richard, I’m yet to be convinced, because I don’t understand what actually happens. Can you explain how you’re in there? I mean, I’m not a bad floater in a swimming pool, but it does require a bit of an effort doesn’t it, to float? So how do you do it in the tank, if you’re not having to think about it?”

Richard: “The whole idea is no effort. SO basically what happens is, you have a shower, you go in. The water is kept at skin temperature, which is less than core temperature, which is 34.5 degrees. And basically you enter the tank, go over all the controls, you don’t have to shut the door, it’s completely under your control, you can leave the light on. It doesn’t really matter too much. Basically you just get used to the controls and environment. You’ve got neck pillow if you want it. Then you just settle back. The interesting thing is that because it has 25% salt – magnesium sulphate- in there, you can completely let go. So if you don’t let go, you’ll feel very stiff and have a lot more awareness that of you do let go. Particularly for athletes, they have pretty symptomatic hamstring tightness or that sort of thing. It’s actually a layered effect. SO you actually become more and more aware of your body as you go into it. And when you come out, you feel different again”

Sonia: “So you’re not working hard to stay floating?”

Richard: “No. No, you completely let go. And that’s hard for people.”

Sonia: “So you don’t just sink?”

Richard: “No, since there is 25% salt, that means there is an upwards force that negates gravity. So the brain doesn’t have to deal with gravity. And also because it’s at skin temperature, if you lie still, virtually all the nerve fibres in your skin aren’t stimulated and your body generally disappears from your feet up. SO eventually you can just be a mind floating and no body. So it’s a very interesting experience. To get to the loss of your body is automatic and you’ll go into a very deep relaxed state.”

Sonia: “So at no point are you trying to hold your body up to float? The water is doing that for you?”

Richard: “Well people do. And they tend to get a bit of neck tension when the do, because they’re so used to trying”

Sonia: “Okay, but you don’t have to do that?”

Richard: “No, the idea of it, is that you completely let go”

Sonia: “How does it compare to the Dead Sea . I’ve floated in the Dead Sea before and that’s a weird experience because you actually turn around because it keeps pushing you up”

Richard: “And that’s the thing, you can’t sink in the float tank – if it’s the right density. The Dead Sea is interesting, I’ve heard of people reading the paper while being pushed around. The reason there is so much salt in there is because of the temperature and what’s called a super saturated solution which should be denser than the Dead Sea”

Sonia: “Now, people are asking some of these basic questions that I’m very interested in too. One is: Can you risk drowning if you turned or fell asleep during relaxation?”

Richard: “you cant turn over. Just the way you are and your centre of balance makes it hard. You’d have to sit up in order to turn over”

Sonia: “If its anything like the Dead Sea I understand, it was virtually impossible to roll on to your tummy”

Richard: “Yeah, look, I’ve had over 500 people float with me, and millions in the world, there’s never been a problem since the ‘60’s or ‘70’s.”

Sonia: “So you can’t drown?”

Richard: “Its designed to make you feel the best you have in your whole life. SO all these negative, or potentially negative comments are fair enough. But it’s actually there to male you feel great. It’s not designed to create any problem.”

                                                                                                                  - Caller says they felt great.

Richard: “Well what we want to see is more peace in the world and that starts with inner peace. That’s what meditation is about. They claim that if 1% of the population meditate, then the crime rate would go down 10%. And if you talk about war on the outside, if you have peace on the inside, you don’t really want to go to war do you?”

Sonia: “We know so many illnesses that stress cause, just to get rid of that for a short period of time would help.”

                                                        - Caller asked about mind absorption and being able to learn quicker.

Richard: “I’m glad you asked that question. That is certainly the case. Initially floating can be about relaxing, but it’s application can be even more powerful because of the suggestive state we’re in. Whereas some people may play a tape or something when they are sleeping which is a Delta state but the Alpha and the Theta state that you’re in in the tank sends it to your subliminal straight away. So just say that super learning techniques use music at 60 beats a minute to put you in a deeper state for learning, the float tank or meditative experience pushes you straight there”

Sonia: “But couldn’t that also mean it can have bad applications? Which is why I can understand that the CIA is interested. Because if you can be suggestible like that, you can be suggestible for negative things as well”

Richard: “Well that’s right. It just depends where you float I suppose.”

We hope that you found this interesting as we did and had some of your float questions answered.

Brain Waves at Different States

Floatation Tank Infographic

11/11/2014

Infographic sourced from Renew Float Lounge.

Float On visits Inner Outer Health!

31/8/2014

You are not going to believe this but today at 12pm Ashkan Jahromi (owner of FloatOn in USA) and Fredrik P Fostvedt two of the pioneers in the float industry decided to pop into Inner Outer Health for a surprise visit.

Float On is Americas largest float tank centre, located in Portland, Oregon. Boasting 6 floatation tanks, rooms and pools. They are also the same people who run the annual float conference in Portland each year!

After the excitement of their arrival, they were given a tour of our centre and our float rooms. From there, it was all about floating! Swapping stories of different experiences taking photos and having a laugh.

Frederck P Fostvedt and Ashkahn Jahromi

Fredrik P Fostvedt, Ashkahn Jahromi and our receptionist Nicole Matthews

Fredrik P Fostvedt and Ashkahn Jahromi

How to improve your Float experience

29/6/2014

This is a great post for existing as well as new float clients. We have listened to all the feedback you have given us and we have come up with some solution for any problems that may arise while you're in the tank.

This is well worth giving a read even if you haven't encountered any problems as you may learn some tricks to help make your next float an even better experience.

You can read all about potential problems and solutions here.

Homer and Lisa's Float Experience

21/5/2014

Everyone is familiar the Simpson’s and their central characters of Homer and Lisa. In this snippet from an episode Homer and Lisa experience their first float. It gives a lighthearted insight into what floating can be like. Enjoy!

Homer and Lisa try floating for the first time. (Sensory Deprivation Tank) from Kenneth Ried on Vimeo.

10 Ways to Enjoy your Post-Float state

15/2/2014

So you’ve just finished your Floatation Therapy session, and you feel super relaxed, very calm and in a happy place… so what do you do now? How can you prolong that beautiful post-float feeling? Of course, the answer to this will be different for everyone. And, depending on the day and how you're feeling post-float, your needs may be different each time!

We have 10 recommendations that we feel can help you to get the most out of your float.

Keep calm don't rush

1. Free up some time after your float so you don’t need to rush

At least if you feel the need to just spend some time chilling out, the option is there. You may feel quite alert and ready to get back into your daily life. However, having to rush somewhere after a Floatation Tank session will certainly break you out of your relaxed state! Give yourself plenty of time to get wherever you need to be after your float, so you don’t have to deal with the stress of rushing, or being stuck in traffic. Being so relaxed, you probably won't even care about the unimportant little things that may have stressed you pre-float!

Stay for a cuppa after your float

2. Have a cup of tea/sit and relax at reception

Even though you have just spent an hour or more relaxing, sometimes it is really nice to be able to gently come back to reality, which may take longer for some than others. It's really nice to give yourself permission to just sit and BE! No reading, just close your eyes and rest. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to. We are always happy to make you a cuppa, so you can gently bring yourself back from your dream-like state.

Avoid using your phone

3. Put off using your phone / computer / electronics

Put off texting, talking on your phone or using a computer after your float.
Unless you absolutely HAVE to, avoid using your phone or any other electronic devices for as long as possible if you want to prolong the deeper state you are in. After a blissful hour (or more) in the float tank, with no external stimulation, when you come out of the float room and sit in reception, you are in a deep state. As soon as you use your phone, you will break this state, bringing you back into a more alert frame of mind.

Avoid coffee and cigarettes post-float

4. Minimise stimulants

Put off consuming caffeine and cigarettes as long as you can. The endorphin release you have just experienced can really help break free of addictions, if you want to. Enjoy feeling relaxed, and if you are too relaxed to drive, allow yourself the time to gently come back into your body. Have something to eat if you need to ground yourself and re-energise. Make sure you drink plenty of water after you float too!

Chill out post-float

5. Minimise exposure to stress/stimulation

If you can, avoid stressful situations immediately after your float. Also, avoid high levels of stimulation, as this can create stress after a float. You may feel fine, or you may feel sensitive to stimulation as noise may appear louder, lights brighter etc. You may wish to have no music as you drive home, or gentle music that is not overly stimulating. How you respond to stress/stimulation is very subjective, so check in with how you are feeling and listen to your body’s responses.

Naked Treaties - Rawganics - Chocolate Snowball

6. Enjoy a healthy meal/snack

After a Floatation Therapy session, you may notice that you are quite hungry! This is a normal response to your body being in a relaxed state, or “Rest and Digest” mode. If you are starving, we have healthy and delicious raw vegan naked treaties at reception, which are all organic and super satisfying as a snack. We are also quite close to Ivanhoe, which has numerous café’s around.

Darebin Creek - Darebin Parklands

7. Be in nature/go for a walk

We are located right near Darebin Creek, bike paths and parks, so you can easily enjoy a stroll amongst nature, or sit and meditate in nature. This is a wonderful way to ground and "earth" yourself and gently re-connect with your environment.

Remember your floatation experience by writing

8. Write or draw in your journal

Sometimes during your float, you may come up with ideas, solve problems, have visions or have other thoughts/experiences that you don't want to forget! It's a great idea to write these things down or even draw them... whatever works for you! Keeping a journal of your float sessions is a great way to not only remember your experiences, but also helps you on you when you come in for your float so you can enjoy some time afterwards expressing yourself on paper.

Be happy!

9. Surround yourself with positive people

When you feel ready to re-connect with others, make sure that you connect with friends who are positive and supportive. Try not to share too much of your personal experience if they have not floated before, so that if they wish to try Floatation Therapy, their experience will be free of expectations.

Continue your relaxation after floating!

10. Do whatever YOU find relaxing!

Continue the post-float relaxation in whatever way you enjoy! Whether you feel like having a nap, putting on some beautiful smelling oils, relaxing music... whatever feels good, and whatever works for you.

We would be interested in hearing how you enjoy YOUR post float state, as someone else may find your suggestions helpful. We want to create an in-depth list for our clients to refer to, so we are open to hearing your feedback and suggestions about ways to enjoy the post-float state. Feel free to share them as a comment below!

5 Things to Avoid Before Your Floatation Tank Session

16/1/2014

Floatation Therapy is such a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable experience… however there are a few things which are best avoided prior to floating to ensure that you CAN relax and enjoy all that the Floatation Tank has to offer you.

1. Avoid Stimulants such as Caffeine or Nicotine

Whilst it may be difficult to skip the morning coffee, or to avoid smoking cigarettes, if you can it is best to avoid any stimulants before you float, as this will interfere with your ability to go into a deep relaxation. People who have stimulants such as caffeine before they have a session in the float tank, struggle to mentally relax and experience the deeper states of relaxation that Floatation Therapy offers. Caffeine has a half-life of 2.5-4.5 hours, but depending on how much you have, caffeine metabolism can vary so could be longer in some people.

Caffeine content of Foods and Drinks

2. Avoid Shaving before your Floatation Therapy session

If you must, make sure you allow plenty of time between when you shave and when you float, otherwise you will have to deal with the sting of the super-salty water which can be irritating and distracting to any open skin for up to around 20 minutes of your float! When shaving your face – wait 6 hours or longer, and when shaving any other part of your body – wait 12 hours or longer.

3. Avoid Colouring your Hair

We love coloured hair – it looks great! Just not so great when it’s in the water inside our Floatation Tanks… In fact, you MUST NOT FLOAT with hair colour that is still washing out when you have a shower. It is a very expensive exercise to clean up the tank and the water inside it if hair colour leaches into the Floatation Tank! If you choose to float with coloured hair, you are responsible for any extra costs associated with cleaning or repairing damage, so it is best avoided! When you have NO colour washing out of your hair, it is safe for you to float.

4. Avoid Eating Large/Heavy Meals or Skipping Meals

If you eat a heavy/large meal, or if you don’t eat at all, you will be spending a good part of your float listening to the sounds of your digestive system… which can be kind of funny and interesting… but can also be annoying if that’s all you can focus on. It is suggested that you eat a light, easily digestible meal 1.5-2 hours before your float session to satiate your hunger and allow time for digestion.

5. Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

Whilst you may have come across information about other people deciding to get high before floating, we do NOT condone the use of alcohol or drugs at inner outer health (Floatation Tank Melbourne) – before or during your session! This is for both your and our safety. When you come in for your first float, you will sign a statement that includes your agreement to adhere to this for every session at inner outer health (Floatation Tank Melbourne). If we suspect that you are under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, you may be asked to leave, which would be disappointing for us both. On a lighter note, there is really NO NEED to consume any consciousness-altering substances, because one of the benefits of floating is an all-natural high from those wonderful brain chemicals called ENDORPHINS! These wonderful pain-relieving and feel-good neurotransmitters can leave you with a feeling of increased wellbeing both physically and mentally.

Following the above "5 things to avoid before you float" will help you to have an enjoyable and trouble-free float! If you have floated, and feel that we have missed something from this list, please comment below to share your suggestions!