As scary as the term 'sensory deprivation' sounds, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more relaxing than floatation therapy. The process involves lying for one or two hours in a state-of-the-art tank filled with water filled with so much Epsom salt that your body simply floats in the water, without you having to put in any effort to stay afloat.
This feeling of complete weightlessness – in addition to the total absence of aural or visual stimulation – means that you're simply left to drift off into a state of dreamy relaxation. Ideally, floatation therapy makes it much easier to reach a deep meditative state of theta-brainwaves. Afterwards, many people report feelings of mental clarity and calmness.
Gravity Floatation Centre was one of the first to open in Melbourne, co-founded by Nitel Mimi, who left the corporate world after discovering the stress-relieving benefits of floating. Both the Northcote and Armadale locations are chilled-out, welcoming spaces, complete with tea on arrival, individual rooms for each tank and high-quality hair and body products for showering.
