In a world where work is rarely restricted to 9 to 5, where your phone could go off at any moment and where uncertainty reigns, finding a space to completely let go isn’t easy. That’s where floatation therapy comes in.
Over the last couple of years, floatation tanks have popped up all over the city – warm, enclosed sanctuaries that offer busy Melburnians a chance to escape from the world and enter a dream-like state of weightlessness. There are all sorts of benefits of floating, from complete muscle relaxation to the ease by which it’s possible to ascend into a restorative meditative state.
But let’s start with the basics. The concept itself is fairly simple: it involves stepping into a space-age white pod and slipping into water that is heated to average skin temperature (around 35 degrees). The epsom salt water (which is loaded with magnesium) means that no effort at all is required to float, much like being suspended in the Dead Sea. With no light, sound or use of your body to stay afloat, the feeling is unlike anything else: complete weightlessness, where it’s possible to forget about your own physical being.
Sounds far-fetched? I was unsure, too, until I tried it for myself. At Rest House Float Centre – located in Melbourne’s south, about half an hour’s drive from the CBD – the feeling of calm permeates the entire experience, from the moment you step into the lounge-like waiting room and become ensconced in soothing ocean noises and the sweet smell of herbal tea brewing. No expense is spared here; in the pod room, my friendly host tells me that I’m equipped with skincare products, fluffy towels and even the option to use a powder room, complete with hairdryers, once my float is complete.
Left alone in the room, I step into the pod, close the lid, and for a few moments, I’m out of my comfort zone while trying to adjust to the feeling that no matter how hard I try to sink my arms and legs down into the water, I can’t. But soon enough, I close my eyes, lie back, and start to enjoy the feeling of floating. With nothing to distract me, I quickly sink into a dream-like state – not quite awake, not quite asleep – enjoying the feeling of suspension. It’s bliss.
Later, I’m told that this feeling is known as the theta state; the brainwave state which occurs during deep meditation. By entering this level of relaxation, I’m restoring my body and mind to a level that I would never have done with a good night’s rest. As I walk back into the Melbourne winter, reluctantly returning to the real world, I think to myself that this is possibly the easiest way to chill out I've ever encountered.
