Today as well as my supplements, my healthy eating, my mind detoxing I thought I’d throw in a little something extra just to give the old detox a mega boost……so I went for a Float.
A what??? I hear you say….I’ll explain.
What is Floatation
Floatation or sensory deprivation as you may recognise it by that term is floating(and you do actually float) in a tank filled with water and nearly a ton of Epson Salts. The Epson salts increases the density of the water to a point where you will actually float on top of it, just like the famous ‘Dead Sea’. This gives you a feeling of weightlessness as it basically akin to zero gravity. There are multiple benefits of this therapy which I’ll list but for my 30 day Cleanse and Detox I’m after two specific benefits one of the detoxing effect of the epson salts on the body and the other is the detoxing effect of the sensory deprivation on the mind. I list some of the many benefits then hone in on the two that are my drivers for my ‘day two’ float.
Just a few of the Benefits of Floatation
- Relives stress and aids relaxation
- Assists with pain management
- Improves sleep patterns
- Ease muscle and joint pain and tension
- Increases body’s absorption of magnesium and sulphates
- Promotes natural healing
- Boosts immune system
- improves circulation
- Reduces blood pressure
- Assists the body to detox
The big two reasons for my float on day 2 have been body detox and mind detox.
Body Detox-Due to the well known effects of Epson Salts on the body especially its ability to greatly improve the body’s natural detoxification process. The concentration of the Epson Salts not only creates buoyancy it also literally draws impurities and toxins out of the body via its largest organ ‘the skin’. One of the amazing things that happens when you float is that all of the energy that your body expends just to support your body weight against the forces of gravity is no longer required, as you are weightless, you body then redirects this energy. The energy is then utilised internally to promote improved digestion, boost the immune system, and all other body functions are increased thus promoting improved detoxification overall. So the epson salt is drawing out the impurities and the effect of being weightless directs more energy internally thus boosting the body natural detox process. So its a Win Win. As I’ve mentioned previously there is so much more to be gained from floating and how it effects the body and mind I’m just focusing on the detox angle.
Mind Detox– We all know that every minute of every day all of our senses are constantly being bombarded with data. Whether its people talking, your phone buzzing, the changing environment, the changes in temperature, the changes in the visual images you see as you move through your day, various smells, and even tastes. All day every day your brain is being continually fed new information in the form of sounds, smells, tastes, everything you see, everything you physically feel against or in your body. This all makes our minds very very busy places that have a tremendous amount of traffic wizzing around. However, when you float a very high percentage of this stops. There are no sounds, no radio, no people talking, no cars, no phones ringing, just beautiful delicious silence. There are no new smells, there is an odour from the water itself but that’s very very subtle and after a few seconds it not even detectable. There’s nothing to see, when you turn the lights out, all the optical input stops, your eyes are open gazing at the warmth and comfort of the darkness. The water is extremely close to the temperature of the surface of your skin so you do not feel the water, you are suspended as if somehow hovering in the darkness with no sense of anything touching you at all. And unless you lick the water which I would not recommend as its really salty there are no tastes. So every method of getting input into your body from the outside world has been put on pause. After a few minutes when your brain adjusts to this novel sensation you can think, the cool thing is that you can think what you want or not think at all and ‘just be’ in the warmth of the darkness. Its wonderful as you can either choose exactly what you want to think about with no outside interruptions or you can just allow yourself to not think. Either way its a holiday for the mind and soul.
I’m a regular floater and I usually float once a week but during these 30 days I’m going to try and get in two floats a week to really really boost my detoxification of both mind and body.
If you fancy trying a float then you are mega lucky as the whole phenomena of floating is getting so much more popular and most big cities now have floatation centres. We have a great centre in Belfast called Hydro-ease Click Here for more info.