Stressed Out? Try a Flotation Tank

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Ms Kotz:
I appreciate your willingness to explore floatation therapy and floatation tanks, but if you arrived at my previously operated floatation center, and were stressing out, pre-float, to the point of generating a migraine headache, I would either have you back another day, or, hopefully, give you time to calm down, and then see if you were 'ready' to go float.....
Watching the video provided makes it clear that your pre-float state was highly-anxious, the exact opposite of that desired...
I am not surprised you had an unpleasant experience....
I think had you had the time, I would have first had you take a massage, to release a lot of stress, and be more relaxed and calmer, and more suitably 'prepared' for your float...
You would have had a completely different and better experience...
Massage first....float...then, perhaps, do your video commentary/set-up....?
I would suggest, perhaps, giving yourself another opportunity to experience the benefits of floating...!
But be as deeply relaxed via massage first, and then even floating in a darkened room, with the hatch of particular floatspa open, so you do not feel so compelled to have any particular experience, good or 'bad'...
Just letting yourself relax more deeply, and effortlessly....
It seems clear that you carry a LOT of stress and floating can help you release it, over time, but I do not feel you have experienced the benefit and healing of floating at all, based on your experiences reported....
It is really important that first time floaters are given very personal attention prior to their first float, and that all issues are handled before they go into the experience...
I would have preferred in your article if you had said something to the effect,
" well, even tho I did not get the results I wished for, I encourage my readers to check it out for themselves. The benefits reported are many and important."
I do thank you for reporting on your experiences so honestly, and choosing to write about floatation in your column...

David Wasserman of CA 11:02PM March 13, 2008

I have been floating since 2004 when read about it as a relaxation therapy during a stay at Canyon Ranch. It took a couple of float sessions to get used to the feeling of this zero gravity environment, but by the third session I was in the deepest state of meditation that I had ever attained. I now float at least twice a week in Boston without fail.
Floatation has been shown to: improve symptoms of hypertension; provide pain relief, reduce the discomfort of pre-menstrual syndrome, alleviate migraines, boost the immune system, and reverse jet lag. Athletes use floatation to improve performance and to speed the body’s recovery process. Many people find the joy of just simply relaxing. As Catherine Elcik of The Boston Globe put it, “Science has proven that floating stimulates blood flow and improves hypertension, but for me, it felt a lot like waking up on the fourth day of vacation: unconnected, unfettered, and unplugged.”

Jeff Laughlin of MA 1:04PM March 13, 2008

Regarding """Has everyone forgotten about the benefits of taking a bath? Walking? A good meal with loved ones?"""
it is not whether we have forgotten about it, it's the measurement of stress handling such as endorophin release, heart rate, freedom from addiction, athletic performance, superlearning and more.
There is a copious body of research supporting the power of floatation. The same cannot currently be said of your approaches to stress elimination. But there is always room for more research data. When you methods for pain and stress removal eclipse the Doctor and Patient testimonials shown here - http://floatforhealth.net/
then we will be all ears.
Until then, only modalities with proven and consistent medical results need draw the eye of the public

Terrence Brannon of OH 12:06PM March 13, 2008

My first float was in 1978. Coming out, I was late for a meeting; but was too relaxed and felt too euphoric to care. I then started floating three times a week. I was so impressed that within two years I set up six tanks in Los Angeles for the public.
Happy Floating

Jeff Labno of CA 12:03PM March 13, 2008

It sounds like flotation therapy is another of the countless stress cure-alls created by entrepreneurs eager to make a buck out of hapless women who lack the creativity or inner resources to find a stress-relief method that doesn't cost a fortune. Has everyone forgotten about the benefits of taking a bath? Walking? A good meal with loved ones?

Oswald of VT 9:44PM March 12, 2008

I've floated 100s of times since 2001 when I discovered that floatation therapy could eliminate my debilitating sciatic pain.
For 6 years, I experienced intermittent paralysis due to a pinched nerve in my lower back, and it was getting worse each time. I tried chiropractic care, massage therapy, I tried sitting in a heated pool for several hours a day - none of it worked. I thought back surgery was inevitable in the spring of 2001 when I was out of work for a whole week. I couldn't drive, I could barely walk and I hadn't slept for most of that week because there was no comfortable position I could get myself into.
With much effort, I got myself to the floatation center in Chicago. I came in walking like a zombie, every step causing excruciating pain. But within 45 minutes in the floatation tank, I was pain-free and my mobility had returned. I now have sciatic pain under control and no longer worry about needing back surgery.
I still float for the deep relaxation that happens as a result of the floatation tank experience causing your brainwaves to transition from beta (wide awake and alert) through alpha all the way down to theta. It doesn't always happen for a person's first float session (due to the novelty of the weightless environment), but getting to the theta state happens often for most people, and it usually takes 35-45 minutes to get to this point, so Ms. Kotz didn't stay in long enough to experience this very pleasurable state of mind.
Another byproduct of floating for a full hour is that your brain releases endorphins to such a degree that many people feel euphoric afterwards. Ms Kotz, if you're reading this, be sure to stay in a full hour next time!
To learn more about the health benefits of floatation therapy, floatforhealth.net is an educational site dedicated to educating people about this underutilized therapy.

Frank Rodriguez of IL 7:20PM March 12, 2008