First Float Tank Experience

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For over 30 years (could actually be closer to 50 years!), I’ve had a tremendous interest in trying a floatation tank. In the old days, it was called a sensory deprivation tank, but everything is more sophisticated nowadays and deserves an upgraded moniker.

Way back then, it was (probably) harder to find a consumer (retail) version to partake in, but I admit that despite my great desire, I never really looked into it.

When we moved to VA in 2015, I did actually do a quick search, and found a place in Charlottesville that had float tanks, but for reasons I can’t explain, I never followed up (it wasn’t the 75 minute drive that deterred me).

We spend every Christmas season with a family from Leesburg, VA that we’re extremely close to. This year, they gave me a gift of three float sessions in a local place right here in Richmond, VA. I have no idea how they knew to pick out the absolutely perfect gift for me, as I don’t recall ever mentioning it to them, or anyone else for that matter (including Lois!).

Even though we’ve been home for the past 2.5 months, I hadn’t gotten around to making an appointment for my first float until last week, when I booked a session for this morning, at 10am.

The place is called The Float Zone. You are asked to show up 20 minutes early for your first float, so that they can orient you (and get you to sign the appropriate waiver). This includes an introductory video which covers every aspect of the preparation and flotation device (very well done).

After that, I was ushered into the room (they have four flotation rooms, three of which were booked at 10am this morning). This time a real human (extremely nice and helpful!) pointed out everything again and asked if I had any questions.

Once he left, the full experience began. While all videos of float tanks show the floater wearing swim trunks (or a full wet suit), for obvious reasons, you actually float fully naked. You shower before and after, using soap. Before, to remove any oils or deodorants you might have on your skin from interacting with the water in the tank, and after, to remove as much of the Epsom Salts as possible from your skin.

I then climbed in the tank and waited for the session to begin. The tank is a very high-tech pod (looks like a shuttle craft from Star Trek). You can choose to leave the pod completely open, partially open (to any degree you like, including just a crack), or fully closed.

You can have the light inside the pod on or off (defaults to on, you can easily toggle it as many times as you wish). By default, music starts when the session starts, and you can turn it off or toggle through low-medium-high volumes (you float with earplugs, so even high volume isn’t too loud).

Since I had been dreaming about doing this for so long, I knew that I wanted the original experience I expected, which was total sensory deprivation. I had the pod closed the entire time, with the light off, and the music off.

Whether my eyes were open or closed, the experience was identical, and that alone was a trip. I couldn’t even swear whether they were open or closed at one point, which was cool, but for the vast majority of the time, I had them closed.

All of that is background. On to the experience. It was nothing like I had imagined. I’m also quite sure that each individual can have a wildly different experience than I did, and I expect that my own future floats might be very different than this one.

My early readings of sensory deprivation tanks conjured images of mind and body being completely detached from each other (and theoretically, reality as well). Hallucinations were common (according to the literature) and having no sense of your body or surroundings was expected.

None of that was true for me (at least not this time). While the pod appeared to be much larger from the outside than the photos led me to believe, when you’re inside, any reasonable movement will cause some body part to make contact with some surface of the tank (more on that in a bit). Meaning, I most certainly had a sense of where I was and of my body. I didn’t have any hallucination or any mystical experience.

So, what did I experience? A few extremely cool things. First, complete relaxation. The video encourages you to try a variety of positions (almost exclusively arm movements) to see what feels best for you. They point out that most people start with their arms at their sides.

I too started with my arms at my sides, but out at a reasonable angle, with palms facing down (the video showed the palms facing up, which I tried later on, but found palms down much more comfortable).

I also tried arms overhead (which the video said helps with stiff necks), and I really liked the feeling, but ironically, it was nearly impossibly to not feel the tank wall on a regular basis with my arms overhead, so I spent the overwhelming amount of time in the original position.

The tank is big enough to be able to avoid touching anything (other than the water). But, any material movement (repositioning a leg, a major arm movement, etc.) will create just enough waves to move your entire body such that you will eventually touch something (one of the sides, or near your head or feet). It’s not hard and doesn’t take long to have the water settle down and to gently move off of the wall to get back into a pure water experience, but still, I never got away from the sense that I was in this very specific pod.

The video explains that many people lose their sense of time. That was somewhat true for me, but in the opposite direction than I expected. The one hour session felt significantly shorter for me than I expected. I wasn’t bored, even though I wasn’t doing anything (other than hanging around so to speak).

On to what I actually felt and was thinking about. The floating is extremely natural. When you get the water to remain very still (which I didn’t find hard to do), it actually doesn’t feel like you’re floating on water at all. It feels like you’re on the most body molded mattress you’ve ever been on, where the support just shows up exactly where your body needs it, without putting pressure on any specific spot!

If the water moves gently, you realize you’re floating, but you don’t move at all. It’s a nice sensation, but distracts from the (theoretical) sensory deprivation concept. As mentioned earlier, if the water moves a bit more, you move too, and then you feel the tank as well. It’s not bad in any way, just slightly distracting, and caused me to concentrate on moving away from the wall (gently) and settling down to make the water completely still.

Since the room itself is soundproof, and the pod was completely closed, and the water disappears from consciousness when it’s perfectly still, why didn’t sensory deprivation kick in for me?

First, probably slightly (or perhaps much more than I think) exacerbated by having earplugs in, I could hear (and to an extent even feel) every single beat of my heart. I didn’t mind it (at all), but it’s hard to disassociate your body from your mind when every single beat of your heart brings you back to your body.

Second, I could hear every single breath. Breathing itself was very interesting. I could take incredibly long breaths in and out (since everything else was so relaxed), or I could breathe rather shallowly (also comfortably), but at no point could I become unaware of my breathing (again, no separation between mind and body, at least not for me).

Finally, the weirdest one of the physical things. For the most part, I didn’t need to swallow. But, roughly five times, I felt the desire to swallow, and that wasn’t as easy (for me) as you might imagine. I was lying perfectly flat, so I had to actually exercise throat/esophageal muscles to get it down, and believe it or not, that caused enough waves (each time) for me to have to maneuver away from a wall and settle the water back down (only to wait for the next need to swallow).

I’m not a back sleeper, so even breathing for long periods while laying flat on my back is not that natural for me. I suspect that back sleepers would have an easier time disassociating, or even falling asleep in the tank (apparently that happens often enough).

I left the tank feeling great. It was super relaxing, super interesting and I look forward to my next two floats. I also believe that our expectations dictate a lot of our experiences, and now that I know what to expect, I might very well have a very different experience. I welcome that as well, though a 100% repeat of this one will be just fine!

As for what I was thinking about, with the exception of a few distractions, this was mostly a mindful meditation. I was completely aware of the entire experience, including the breathing and the heart beats, which is the point (as I understand it) of being present. So, I wasn’t detached, but I wasn’t thinking about the past or the future either, just experiencing the very relaxing present.