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A question we often get from people is how long a float session is. The short, quick answer is 60 minutes. We also offer the option to extend your float to 90 minutes or even up to 3 hours; however, we do not offer shorter float sessions and we’d like to explain to you why.
Particularly if it’s your first float, it can often take 15-20 minutes to fully relax. Most regular floaters don’t consider their first float experience their most profound, but instead find that the more they float and become familiar with the environment and the process of letting go, the easier it is to settle into a calm state of body and mind. Even the most experienced floaters may have floats where it takes a bit more time to settle in to deep relaxation, depending on their state of mind and body when going into their float.
Also, the time spent inside a float tank can be quite deceiving. While 60 minutes is objectively 60 minutes, with nothing to ground you to a sense of space or time, it can be hard to actually tell how long you’ve been in the float tank. More often than not, floaters find that their hour flies by and before they know it, the session has ended and it’s time to make their way out.
If you struggle to let go of control and find it challenging to relax at the best of times, an hour can sometimes feel like it’s going by quite slowly. Your thoughts can try to convince you to get out and check the time, which may only leave you feeling more anxious. While this can be a normal experience for people in the float tank, all it highlights is that relaxing may take a bit of practice. There is nothing wrong with getting out of the tank early but we always recommend our floaters to do their best to stick around for the duration of their session and not get too caught up in the sometimes manipulative narrative of the mind. And honestly, when was the last time that you took an entire hour to do absolutely nothing by rest and relax? You certainly deserve to!
These are the main reasons why we don’t offer shorter float sessions – we’d be taking away the best part of your float experience! Michael Hutchison, author of The Book of Floating: Exploring the Private Sea, states that “[t]he floatation tank environment causes a person’s brainwaves to change from beta (wide awake and alert) to alpha to theta, which is associated with vivid imagery. The float tank provides a reliable means to achieve and sustain this beneficial state without the years of practice that is normally required by advanced meditators to achieve theta at will. This normally occurs in the 2nd half of an hour long float session so if it’s your first time, you shouldn’t expect instant results.” So basically, the more you float, the better it gets!
For those wanting to go even deeper and are comfortable with hour-long float sessions, we offer an additional 30 minutes in the tank for $20. Our Float Membership includes this add-on for free because once you start floating regularly, you’ll probably find that an hour is not enough. In fact, we’ve had a few fanatics float for upwards of 3 hours! Imagine the potential of what can happen with that amount of time in a float tank.
If you are the type of person who may take a bit more time to relax the body and mind, then we recommend booking in your float on a day and at a time when you can settle more easily. Maybe enjoy a relaxing activity such as journaling, yoga or listening to music before coming in and be sure you are not rushing from one place to the next. Give yourself plenty of time to get here, take a few deep and full breaths before getting into the float tank, and set an intention for your session. And be sure to give yourself enough time to stick around in our lounge for a cup of tea when you’re finished so you can bask in that post-float glow!
To book in, click here!