Hello friends!
This month’s blog post is actually a vlog. 🙂 I took a mini “self care” staycation and decided to use it as an opportunity to try my hand at vlogging. The quality of the actual videos and video editing are below average at best, but I figured it was still worth just putting out there for fun. Hope you enjoy it!
One of my favorite things I did during my time off was actually go to a place called Float Boston. I talk about it in the video, but for those who prefer reading:
Float Boston is a place that allows you to “float,” and experience sensory deprivation. Sensory deprivation is exactly what it sounds like. It creates an environment conducive to stripping you of your sensory experiences. So the idea with floating is you become very aware of you; your body, mind, and breath… and that’s about it. So you don’t feel anything, see anything, smell anything, hear anything, or taste anything.
Practically speaking, what floating looks like is essentially walking into a walled in bathtub or “tank”, filled with salt water that makes you float when you lie down.
The water is perfectly calibrated to 98.6 degrees, the exact same temperature as your body, hence, why you don’t feel the water on your skin.
The tank you go in is sound proof, plus you wear earplugs, which is why you can’t hear anything (except for the sound of you breathing in and out, and any sounds you make while you’re in there with your voice or by splashing around in the water).
You don’t taste anything because what is there to taste except really salty water? Gross.
And there’s not really anything to smell either.
You can choose to stay in longer, but my session was 1 hour long, and I really loved it.
I was scared to try it at first, because it’s not totally uncommon for people to have hallucinations and/or hear voices that aren’t there during floating, BUT I didn’t experience anything scary like that. I DID however see a bunch of lights flying through the tank (along with these weird outer space-like contraptions), and felt like I was actually floating in outer space myself for a good portion of it, which I go into more detail about in the vlog. I walked out feeling VERY zen-y, relaxed, and super calm (chillest I’ve ever been, non-medicated). It was definitely trippy, but in a good kind of way.
I think floating is a concept not many people have heard of, but it’s something that, as weird as it may sound, is really really good for you! The idea of it is to get you into a state of meditation and deep relaxation (sort of in a similar way that yoga and normal meditation do, just much faster and without much effort on your part at all).
I’m pulling these from Float Boston’s site (thanks Float Boston!) but here are a few of the top benefits of floating:
- Reduces anxiety by triggering your physiological relaxation response
- Improves sleep (for days afterward)
- Reduces pain from injuries and helps along the process of healing injuries
- Improves mental focus
- Gives you access to a less logical, more creative way of thinking (inspiration galore)
- Can help you elevate your spiritual practice and give you access to an altered state of consciousness (think: savasana on steroids)
If any of you are thinking of trying floating, or are looking for a way to relax without having to TRY to relax, I highly recommend Float Boston! (Not sponsored). It’s a little bit pricy, but not nearly as bad as you might think. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about it, too. 🙂 Happy to go into more detail. See you all next month! For now, catch you on Insta and FB.
P.S. What do you guys think of the vlog thing? Yay? Nay? Would love to hear your opinion!
P.S. #2 Top Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash