DEEP DIVE INTO FLOATING BENEFITS
Why You Should Incorporate Floating: All You Need to Know to Start Your Practice Today
You may have heard the term floating, float therapy, or even sensory deprivation tanks. Floating occurs in either float tanks or float rooms, simply speaking, think of an Epsom salt infused warm bath. At Pure Sweat + Float Studio, we warm the water to 95 degrees mixed with nearly 1,000 pounds of therapeutic Epsom salt, creating a gravity-free healing environment for deep physical recovery and mental relaxation.
Whether you use floating to de-stress, reduce pain, or problem solve, the benefits are abundant - making floating one of the most progressive and effective healing forces today for mind, body, spirit health.
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Floating = REST
Flotation therapy is based on a scientific approach to deep relaxation called Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique (REST), developed in 1954 at the National Institute for Mental Health in Washington. The theory behind it is that floating triggers a deep relaxation response - even deeper than normal sleep - that allows us to drift into the Theta state, which is normally hard to achieve.
With the elimination of external stimuli, the central nervous system's workload is reduced by as much as 90%. This reduction draws a person's energy inward and promotes relaxation--also known as the parasympathetic response. The parasympathetic response is the mechanism by which the body naturally regenerates itself and maintains chemical and metabolic balance.
Because many of float therapy’s benefits can occur immediately, it’s no wonder the most elite athletes, teams, and wellness practitioners use floating as a regular part of their routines!
PURE TIP: Combine your float with a sauna beforehand for the ultimate cleansing experience.
Pain Relief + Healing
During the parasympathetic state while floating, old wounds and injuries are able to heal at a rapid rate and increased T-cell production strengthens the immune system. Due to the elimination of gravity on the body, our muscles and joints are finally given the space to release tension and heal more quickly. For this reason, people suffering from injuries, chronic pain, and musculoskeletal and rheumatic conditions greatly benefit from Floatation REST.
This deep level of relaxation also benefits the cardiovascular system. Known as the vasodilatory effect, the body's circulation is increased while the blood pressure and heart rate are reduced. Good blood flow further aids your body’s healing function.
One study (surveyed 32 subjects suffering from muscular-related pain and burnout depression) found that floating consistently for a minimum of six weeks resulted in lowered blood pressure and reduced pain, anxiety, depression, and negativity. Additionally, they concluded it yielded increased levels of optimism and energy. Floating also lowers the amount of lactic acid buildup within the muscles, enabling you to cut recovery time drastically and rebound from injuries or workouts.
PURE TIP: There is no “wrong” way to float. While on your back, move your arms and legs around to find what feels most comfortable for your body.
Magnesium
Studies have shown that magnesium deficiency is linked with an increase of chronic inflammation. Magnesium is known for reducing the inflammatory marker, CRP, in the body and providing a multitude of benefits including fighting depression, preventing migraines, and lowering blood pressure. In the same way that magnesium-rich foods (e.g. spinach, bananas, almonds) combat inflammation, so does floating! Magnesium allows for:
lowered stress
reduced pain
decreased anxiety and depression
increased creativity
When you float, the body’s largest organ - your skin - absorbs all the benefits of magnesium and dramatically affects the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and muscular systems.
PURE TIP: Rub your skin during your float. Epsom salt is a great exfoliant, making skin super soft.
Reduced Stress
In these unprecedented times, joining the health and wellness movement to strengthen your mental health and relieve your stressors is more important than ever before.
Studies show that chronic stress raises inflammation. Floating promotes relaxation and gives you a chance to zen out + recharge. Floating can restore balance to the (HPA) axis, which - when out of whack - is responsible for adrenal fatigue, as well as raise BDNF levels to improve depression and anxiety.
As a person floats, the brain waves slow down into theta frequencies, a state of tranquility, creativity and very deep relaxation. Theta waves, measured at 4-7 Hz, represent the brain in a state of REM sleep (dreams), hypnosis, or lucid dreaming. Theta is the twilight state just before sleeping and just after waking. Some refer to this as the border between the conscious and the subconscious world. By learning to consciously use a conscious, waking Theta brain wave, we can access and influence the powerful subconscious part of ourselves that is normally inaccessible to our waking minds.
While in the Theta state, the mind is capable of deep and profound learning, healing, and personal growth. For many, floating is an introduction to meditation or an extension to a meditation practice. Our many clients share that floating helps them to make decisions, foster leadership, and connect to their intuition, where our greatest wisdom resides.
For those who have trouble relaxing, you are not alone! Discomfort with stillness is a common issue facing most of our population. Floating provides a supportive structure for stillness and often best serves those whose minds race. You cannot reach for a phone, an email, or be contacted. You must surrender to the experience.
We recommend a series of 3 floats to build this “relaxation muscle.” With practice - just like anything - you will observe how the incredibly enriching benefits of quieting our minds and connecting within.
PURE TIP: Explore our sound bath and music options to support a calm mindset during your float.
Pregnancy + Postpartum
Moms or those who have experienced pregnancy: swollen feet, back pain, aching joints, restless or lack or sleep, hormonal ups and downs…
Floating is a mom + pregnant woman’s best friend for many reasons! Floating:
alleviates pain and discomfort
doses the body full of magnesium, a powerhouse mineral during pregnancy
creates an intimate bonding experience for mom and baby
lowers anxiety and cortisol levels
improves quality of sleep
Many moms in their last trimester tell us floating gives them an opportunity to stretch out, allowing their baby more room to move around and bond with them. Your body is already working hard at growing a human; give it a little break and some TLC!
PURE TIP: When you float, you essentially are recreating the experience of being in the womb, which is why we refer to turning off the lights and music as going “Baby in the Womb.”
YOUR WELLNESS PRACTICE
As a wellness resource to our clients and community, we believe in creating a practice around living a healthier, more pain and stress-free life to boost immunity and create the building blocks of health when it matters most. We are grateful to serve our many clients to establish a refined, meaningful wellness routine for themselves. You deserve to find whole body health.
We have 40 and 60-minute float options, as well as a 25-minute float boost (perfect right after an infrared sauna session). We recommend getting in a float at least once a month, and if you suffer from chronic pain, stress, or anxiety, we encourage you to string several float appointments together to maximize the benefits. We believe you will love it so much it, will become a regular practice in your wellness routine!
Begin your journey to better health with a visit to one of our studios for some float therapy or a detox + de-stress combo (infrared sauna + float).