The tank
The
Floatation tank is a fibreglass capsule containing water to a depth
of 25cm (10") treated with a very high concentration (700lb) of
Epsom salts. The resultant high density allows your body to float naturally
and spontaneously without effort. Even your head floats – the centre
of buoyancy and the centre of gravity of the head are in about the same
place so you can tilt your head back comfortably without fear of sinking.
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R.E.S.T.
The floatation tank experience ultimately
isolates an individual from external stimuli, enabling them to forget
their body and concentrate on their mind. It is based upon a scientific
approach to deep relaxation called Restricted Environmental Stimulation
Therapy, or R.E.S.T. A number of researchers and clinicians are working
with R.E.S.T. and how the floatation tank affects the mind and body.
In 1982 the International R.E.S.T. Investigators
Society (IRIS) was founded.This brought together clinicians, researchers,
floatation centre operators, tank manufacturers, and others involved
with floatation to form a body for research, lectures, and shared experience.
IRIS organises a R.E.S.T. conference tri-annually and makes information
available to all interested.
The tank creates a state of sensory relaxation as the mind and body
are shielded from all external stimulation. The brain’s normal
workload is reduced by up to 90%. In this situation the body conserves
energy and has a chance to heal and rejuvenate itself. back
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Gravity
Due to the high salt levels in the water, the floatation tank creates
a zero gravity environment. Unless you are an astronaut the floatation
tank is the only situation you will encounter where your body is free
from gravity. NASA employs floatation to simulate weightlessness. Zero
gravity allows you to relax every single muscle, your neck, arms, back
and even ears. The tank enables you to find those areas you are holding
tense so you can let go. Finding where gravity is and in which direction,
then computing how you can move and not fall over, takes about 90% of
your brain's activity on a daily basis. When you start to float you
are free from all the gravity computations and the physical world, which
leaves the brain free to attend to other matters. back
to the top
Temperature
and touch
One of the major sources of stimulation in humans is the temperature
gradient change on the surface of the body. Temperature inside the floatation
tank is isothermal over the surface of the body so that the nerve endings
covering the surface of the skin no longer perceive a separation between
the skin and the solution inside the tank. back to the
top
Sound
The floatation tank is soundproof. At FLOATARIA all our rooms are also
sound proof. During floating you wear earplugs and your ears are below
the surface of the solution, which cuts out external sounds. Many people
find that gentle music, from the underwater speakers in the tank, helps
them to relax. back to the top
Light
Floating in darkness allows areas of the brain which are always in use
when awake to be liberated from their work. Tests have shown that there
is a drop in electrical activity of the brain and you begin to generate
theta brain waves, which are associated with deep relaxation. The darkness
during floating also induces a balance between the left and right brain.
There is a shift from the normally dominant left side of the brain (logical,
analytical and rational) to the right side (intuition, mental clarity
and creativity). For the first time both sides of the brain are in harmony
and the balance creates allows you to use huge amounts of previously
unavailable brainpower.
FLOATARIA
St Nicholas’ Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1RE.
FLOATARIA
St James Boulevard, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4AX.
Tel. 0191 222 0600
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