There has been a recent surge in people trying floatation therapy, says James Zammit, owner of True North Float in Melbourne. He’s not surprised by that, saying people are flocking to both the mental and physical health benefits of the practice.
After participating in floatation therapy for the first time, Kate Engler had the “most refreshing and deep sleep.” Credit: Stocksy
Associate Professor Vicki Kotsirilos, a Melbourne-based GP and co-author of the textbook A Guide to Evidence-based Integrative and Complementary Medicine, agrees that the practice is full of benefits.
He says that floatation therapy can lead to intense feelings of relaxation for both mind and body and that this in turn can help people feel calmer, sleep better and experience fewer muscle aches and pains .
So what exactly is the practice? According to Float Therapy Australia (a not-for-profit industry association), floatation therapy was developed by neurophysiologist Dr John C. Lilly in the 1950s.
Zammit explains that it involves lying in a tank containing about 550 kilograms of premium magnesium sulfate (known as Epsom salts) dissolved in filtered water that is heated to body temperature. The effect, he says, is that you lose track of where your body ends and the water begins, making it feel like you’re “floating in space.”
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Kate Engler understands why floatation therapy is so popular. When the 54-year-old first stepped inside a flotation tank about 10 years ago, he was more than a little hesitant. Worried that she would sink, Kate was relieved to see that she floated like a cork, but then worried about being alone for an hour with nothing but her thoughts.
Kate chose to play music for the first 10 minutes of her float. After that, he remained silent. Then she closed the tank, meaning she was bathed in complete darkness. So the flotation tanks double as sensory deprivation tanks, which Kate loves.
But you don’t have to be in the dark and silent when you float, Kate says, adding that all the tanks she’s been to let people choose whether they want their tank to be open or closed, or have music (or other sounds sedatives). .