Have you ever wondered or wished you could remember what it felt like to be in the dark comfort of your mother’s womb? I might be alone on this, but now that I mention it you probably are thinking about how that would feel. I imagine it would be peaceful, warm, and calming. A place where you felt weightless and safe suspended in darkness without the heaviness of the world weighing down on you. A quiet place free of distractions where your mind is free to explore its own workings. When I tried floating for the first time I thought this must be as close as you can get to being back in the womb, how radical! The best part about floating however is when you are ready to get out you don’t need to be pushed through a vagina in some excruciating painful way, you just step out of the pod! Maybe in a metaphorical way you are being pushed back into an excruciating hard and painful life, but hopefully the time in the pod has made it so that your world seems more manageable. There really is no downside to at least trying this experience, I urge all of you to do it once. Maybe it’s your thing and you will thank me, or maybe you will say, “Why the fuck did I waste an hour of my life floating in a pod, should have known not to listen to that whacky granola lady” and in that case you obviously are not ready to be enlightened and are just too simple….NOT (remember when saying NOT was a cool thing, I am bringing that back). Honestly, we are all so different, finding out our way to peace is unique and this might not be your way, but one hour is not really that big of an investment, so why not just give it a go.
Now I am going to drop some hard core knowledge on your brains about floating, so buckle your fucking seat belts people this ride is wild and it starts with magnesium…it is time you recognize its greatness.
A float tank is filled with Epson Salt (a high source of magnesium) and holds legitimate health benefits beyond the meditative stress relieving ones that are achieved through the sensory deprivation aspect of floating. I purchased the book,
Magnesium Miracle, to learn more about how magnesium affects our bodies and am now aware that most of us (80% ) are deficient. The ratio between calcium to magnesium should be around 1:1 and most of us sit somewhere around 5:1.
Why the deficiency? Two main reasons. One, the dairy industry has made us focus on calcium for bone health, and two, the food that contain magnesium like leafy greens, seeds, beans, and nuts are not being grown in soil that has magnesium in it anymore.
We have had it engrained in our minds that we need more calcium especially women who are told to make sure they have enough to prevent osteoporosis. While calcium is good for you it can not stand alone. Interestingly since we have increased our calcium intake the rate of osteoporosis has gone up. So it seems we are over doing calcium. (click here for related article).
Now, for the second reason, the fact our soil is no longer rich in nutrients really blew my mind. I always thought, why do I need a supplement, the earth provides exactly what I need? Sadly this is just not so anymore. Before the Agriculture Revolution our soil probably carried all we needed, but we have ruined our dirt by stripping it of its nutrients through toxins and monoculture crops. Plants do not have minerals like magnesium inside them inherently, they get them from the soil, so if the soil is deficient so is the plant and thus so are we. So while it is great to eat rich magnesium foods, and you will do better to eat organic sources, unfortunately it just doesn’t do the job anymore. Again I am only telling you the basics but there is a lot more to learn about magnesium and this book is an easy quick read with a lot of good info. (Click here for related article)
Beyond magnesium there are other mind body benefits to floating. When you step into a pod and turn off the lights you are in complete silence with a complete sense of weightlessness. Your body is free to explore the silence and find a path to quiet reflection easier. What I like about floating more than outside meditation is that it makes meditation easier. For me I easily get distracted by a discomfort in my body, or by a phone ringing, but in a float tank you have nothing to feel, see, or touch so distraction is reduced a ton. You are floating effortlessly in a dark body of silence, and it feels like your body knows this feeling and missed it. Research suggests that such sensory depletion is very therapeutic by activating the parasympathetic system and dropping stress producing cortisol levels. (click here for related article)
Bottom line is we all wear so many hats these days and live in a noisy, busy, stressful world that is moving away from nature at warp speeds. To focus on being alone in silence with yourself is a benefit I think we could all use and float tanks take you there.
