Twenty-three: Sensory Deprivation

The idea to try a sensory deprivation tank came to me when Groupon offered a deal on it. I wish I’d snapped it up then, but at the time I just kind of laughed about it. But later I really thought about it, and did some research. There are all kinds of benefits to sensory deprivation, or floating. You can read about them at www.floathq.com, the site of the flotation center I visited. It was an interesting place, with just a whiff of hippie in the air. 

The owner introduced himself as soon as I walked in. He showed me how to work the tank. I’d chosen one of their larger ones for my first experience. I’ve never been claustrophobic, but didn’t want to take any chances. The tank was about six and a half feet tall, eight feet long and four feet wide.

I sat down in the tank, hit the button for the light and laid back to start floating. Instead of drifting into peaceful meditation, I started giggling uncontrollably. Being in the tank seemed hilarious — what was I thinking? 

It took a few minutes to calm down. I started doing some yoga breathing and eventually realized how quiet it was. I could hear the water sloshing around me, but when I laid still I could hear my heartbeat. I focused on that and tried to get comfortable. The water and air in the tank were both heated to 94 degrees, which is supposed to make it hard to tell where the water ends and air begins. 

As I floated, all the sore muscles in my back and neck started to relax. The water had 800 pounds of magnesium salt dissolved in it, to help increase buoyancy. The owner had warned me not to get any in my eyes, and I managed not to. I wish he’d mentioned it would be a bad idea to get any on my lips (which I figured out for myself when they felt like they were burning off my face.Next time, chapstick). 

I got more relaxed, and my mind started to drift. I realized I had my eyes closed and tried to keep them open, even though it didn’t make a bit of difference (just like being at work). Eventually, I lost track of whether or not I was actually awake (which was also just like being at work). 

I had read that a lot of people see things in the tank. I was hoping to see some lights or colors or that I’d have some deep revelation while I was in there, but the closest I came was having an interesting sense of movement in the darkness. Looking up, I felt like the blackness was swirling around me and that I was perfectly still. Every time I would drift up against the side of the tank was like a jolt reminding me where my body ended and the water began. 

Toward the end I started to get disoriented and had no idea how much time had passed. I started stretching and felt my joints pop from head to toe. I was pressing my hands to the sides of the tank to orient myself and was just starting to feel like I was ready to get out when classical music started playing in the tank, signaling the end of my time.  I found the light switch and turned it on. Even the single blue bulb seems incredibly bright. I was moving pretty slowly on my way back to reality. 

I will definitely be giving this another try. Now that I know what to expect, I should be able to relax into it a little more and maybe have a more intense experience. For the rest of the day, I felt completely relaxed and at peace. It was a great feeling.