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Thinking of coming in to float with us? Here are some useful tips on how best to prepare for your best float experience:
1. Plan ahead
You’re busy – we all are. We rush around from point A to point B like we’re mad, often running late and never feeling like there are enough hours in the day.
At Float Well, we encourage you to give yourself enough time to get to your appointment, so you’re not huffing and puffing as you walk through the door. Arrive 15 minute early, choose your music and take your shoes off. There’s nothing worse than rushing into your float – you’ll likely spend most of your session just trying to calm your central nervous system down and may find it difficult to relax.
Before you float, take a moment to pause and reflect on your intention for your float session. Take three deep belly breaths and move mindfully as your shower and get ready to enter the tank.
2. Avoid caffeine and stimulants
Caffeine is synonymous with Wellington- we are renown for our coffee culture! But consuming caffeine or other stimulants (including smoking cigarettes) prior to floating will be sure to disrupt your flow.
Caffeine is a stimulant – it increases your sense of alertness and your central nervous system functioning. This physiological state is not conducive to floating, as in the tank we are trying to kick-start your parasympathetic nervous system and induce a state of relaxation.
If you’re the type of person who desperately needs their coffee in the morning, we feel you! Maybe consider booking in your float for the afternoon or evening. This will give your body time to metabolise the caffeine and get it out of your system before hopping into the float tank.
3. Dry your face before floating & avoid touching your face in the tank
After your first shower, we recommend drying your face prior to entering the float tank. This can help minimise any itchiness as the water dries.
When you get in, try your darndest not to touch your face as your hands will be coated in the silky saltwater. If you can, also try to ignore any itching sensations as oftentimes they will go away on their own if you don’t respond them.
If you accidentally get saltwater in your eyes, you’ll know right away! Use the water bottle on the side of the tank to wash it out and the washcloth on the handle if you need to touch your face for any reason. The best way to avoid all of this is just to not touch your face at all.
4. Get comfy
We all hold stress differently in the body and it can take some time to get use to the buoyancy of the water, especially during your first float. Once you’ve closed the lid and lie back, have a play with different body positions to see what will work for you.
Try putting your arms by your sides (palms can be facing up or down) or overhead in a cactus-like shape. The latter tends to be what most people prefer but you can position your arms wherever feels best for you.
If your neck is holding tension and won’t relax, you can use the blue Halo which you’ll find propped on the side of the float tank. This is a headrest, giving you a bit of extra support for a more comfortable float.
5. Lie still
Once you figure out how your body wants to be positioned, do your best to remain still during your float. The more you move around, the more water will move you from wall to wall (Pong anyone?). Also, you’ll maintain a more comfortable body temperature by lying still – eventually you won’t even feel where the water and the air meet, it feels like you’re floating in space!
6. Be curious
Floating is an extremely intimate experience. Your intention prior to entering will be personal, each encounter unique – the possibilities are endless. Most people tell us their primary reason for trying floatation therapy is to welcome more rest and relaxation into their lives. And while the float tank certainly offers this, there is so much to explore!
Your first float will likely be interesting: do you like lights on or off, do you prefer music or silence, where does your body like to be positioned? There is a lot of newness to take in and you can spend most of the hour just figuring out your environment. But once you get the hang of it, you can start to examine all the contributing variables that influence your float experience. For example, how does time of day affect your float? What about floating after eating or on an empty stomach? Does floating during a full moon make a difference? The questions never end.
Be inquisitive and open-minded, but don’t let your analytical-self take too strong a hold. Become absorbed in what positive psychologists call flow or the zone, allowing yourself to be immersed in the feeling of energised focus, full involvement and enjoyment of the process of floating.
To book in, click here!