You may resonate with the idea that many of us go searching for answers external to ourselves, when really everything thing we need lies within. This was the mantra I took with me to my very first Float Nashville experience!
Having entered the holistic portion of my Holistic Nurse Practitioner degree, I have been able to try many new things I may have otherwise been too nervous to book on my own, and let's just say...the expansion is happening nicely. Float Nashville is first on my list to review.
If anyone knows me, they know that I enjoy submerging in my own at-home hot baths filled with cups of epsom salt, as a way to retreat from life's chaos and external noises. This practice of stillness has been a beautiful healing modality I have been using for years to relax and heal my mental, physical, and energetic bodies. Float Nashville is just that, except with a spa-like atmosphere, a floatation tank filled with more salt than I could ever pour into my own bathtub, and a perfect opportunity to fully devote time to connecting with myself.
Within healthcare literature, this experience is referred to as a Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique, or floatation-REST therapy, and has been found to decrease pain, inflammation, and stress, as well as provide mystical experiences with the self (Kjellghren, Lindahl, & Norlander, 2009).
Mystical is a wonderful word to describe my experience, for the floating in a dark tank resembles a loss of sensation with the physical self, while inducing what is similar to Kjellghren et al.’s, (2009) description of a “mild altered state of consciousness (ACS)." Due to the high level of salt in the water, your body is simply able to float in a relaxed comfortable position. The temperature of the water is heated to the body's temperature, and the physical world slowly begins to dissolve as a deeper connection with the higher intuitive self is reached.
What’s even better is that each float is 1 hour and 30 minutes long! For myself, even though I love the idea of practicing self care and devoting time to connect with my inner self, actually forcing myself to sit still with no distractions can be difficult. Floating creates the ultimate barrier to any distractions, and it truly provides yourself with the time to let go and allow your soul to float to wherever it may be best served for that day.
For all my claustrophobic people, they also offer an open tank that resembles the same loss of sensation when the lights fully diminish.
Put yourself first and go get your float on!
Kelsey
In text citations:
Kjellgren, A., Lindahl, A., & Norlander, T. (2009). Altered states of consciousness and mystical experiences during sensory isolation in flotation tank: Is the highly sensitive personality variable of importance? Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 29(2), 135-146. doi:10.2190/ic.29.2.d