What is Floatation?

You float effortlessly on the surface of warm water saturated with Epsom salt. Bliss!

What is floatation?

Weightlessness

What is floatation?  Imagine relaxing in a giant bathtub that you can sleep in with peace of mind.  Firstly, the water is only approximately 25cm deep.  Secondly, it is saturated with Epsom salt, and heated to skin temperature.  This is where the magic begins.

Your body floats like a cork, a bit like in the Dead Sea.  You are so buoyant that you can totally relax all your muscles, and let go of tensions.  You will float naturally and effortlessly, and the support of the water around your body gives a sense of weightlessness.

All the work the mind and body usually has to do just to resist gravity becomes unnecessary, and you are able to let go and relax into a blissful state.

Comfort while floating

Comfort

The float environment is the ultimate in comfort.  The temperature of the water is kept close to skin temperature, as is the air.  In this way tactile sensations are greatly reduced, and after a while you may even find that you no longer notice where your body ends and the water begins.

The Epsom salt makes the body buoyant, removing the effects of gravity.  Many people find that floating helps with pain relief because the complete buoyancy takes pressure off the body.  As a result the circulation improves, and the muscles and joints can relax and stretch out.

You are in control

There is no right way to float.  You are in complete control of the situation.

Some people prefer to float with the light on and the door open, others prefer to remove all the distractions of light and sound.

Floatation can also be adapted to be comfortable during pregnancy.

Sensory enhancement through floating

Sensory enhancement

The term sensory deprivation has been used to describe the floatation experience, but we feel this can be misleading.  Sensory enhancement seems more appropriate.

While floating in the quiet darkness your senses can become heightened, and awareness of your body increased, allowing you to let go and relax even more deeply.

After you emerge from your float you may find your senses reawakened, colours more vivid and details enhanced.

The feelings after a float are as much a part of the experience as the floatation itself.  If you haven’t floated before, the feeling after a massage may point you in the right direction.

Pain relief through floating

Floating has a wide range of benefits

There is a wide range of beneficial effects of floatation.

Some people float because it gives them relief from the chronic pain of conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, back pain and sciatica.

Many sportspeople use floating to help with sports rehabilitation and an aid to their training.

Others use it to help improve their sleep.

Floatation can also help to calm the mind ready for meditation.

Floating means different things to different people, and you can find even more reasons why people float here.

A state of the art floatation pod gleaming clean and white in a bright luxurious room

Backed up by history and research

Floatation has been around for many years. Here you can discover more about the history of floating, and its birth from scientific research in the 1950s.

Research into the beneficial effects of floatation has also continued over the decades.  There are some exciting studies under way today at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR).

 

“A place you can truly rest, a time which is yours alone.”

Awesome technology

There are many excellent but different types of float pods, tanks and cabins out there.

We have chosen some pretty special floatation pods at Float in the Forest, and we’d love to show you why.

That post-float feeling

The blissful mood which many feel post-float can carry onwards and outwards into your life.

At Float in the Forest we take great care in facilitating this.  There is a comfortable lounge to relax in after your float, with comfy chairs, a choice of teas, and art on the walls.

 

Explore the forest

When you’re ready to go you could make the most of our beautiful setting in the Forest of Dean. 

You could go for a walk among nature, or one of the other many activities available in the area.

 

Check out this film

Maybe you’d like to find out more right now.  If you have some time, check out this wonderful film “Float Nation” for some insights into floatation and the wide range of benefits it can give you.

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