Basically you spend an hour floating in a pod which contains about 10 inches of very warm and very salty water. The idea is that because your brain does not have to concentrate on a lot of things it usually does (like operating the muscles that keep you upright, for example) you can reach a very deep state of relaxation. The salt used in the water is Epsom Salt which is high in magnesium and the body can absorb this magnesium through the skin. Apparently most of us are deficient in magnesium and the body does not absorb more than it needs, so at worst it's not dangerous and at best it is therapeutic.
Hubby and I tried Thalassotherapy on a cruise ship once,and loved it. If you want to know more you can Google it, but basically it is a spa bath filled with very warm sea water. Not really like flotation at all, except for the salty water, but that link was good enough for us!
As it happens, my friend contacted me a couple of days later to say she had a voucher for a flotation session at a spa in Chelmsford that she could not use before expiry, and I was welcome to have it.
I rang the spa to make enquiries. They said that the flotation pod would fit both of us in, so we could have a session together. That sounded nice. We booked up.
When we arrived we sat in reception watching some ladies have a fish pedicure. I am deeply suspicious of fish pedicures and you would not catch me putting my feet anywhere near them. Not because I am scared of fish, but because I can't believe the tanks can be adequately sanitised. Having kept fish, I know how delicate they are, so if the tanks are adequately sanitised I can't believe the water is good for the fish. Either the water is bad for me or it is bad for the fish. Lose, lose as far as I'm concerned. But I digress...
We filled in the usual health questionnaire and then went through to the floatation room. It was a big room with a shower cubicle in the corner, places to leave your clothing and THE POD!
The pod looks like this:
The procedure is as follows: you undress and take a shower. They provide earplugs for you (didn't use them) and it is up to you whether or not you wear a swimming costume. You turn the light off in the main room (obviously you don't have to if you really don't want to) and get into the pod. They play 10 minutes of relaxing music and then the music is turned off. After 40 minutes or so of silence they play 5 minutes of music to indicate that it is the end of the session. The pod has a light switch in it so you can choose what colour lights you want in there, or can switch them off altogether. There are neck cushions in case you find it more comfortable to float with a cushion, and there is a panic button. You can leave the pod lid open if you wish, pull it half down or have it fully shut. You are warned not to shave for 24 hours before a session because the salt in the water is likely to sting. I forgot about this but luckily my armpits were none the worse for it. They also warn you against getting any of the water in your eyes as it will sting like hell.
So - what was it like?
I showered first and got in. The water felt quite hot at first; I suspect it was heated to body temperature. It also felt weird; Hubby described it as "slimy" which makes it sound unpleasant, but it wasn't. The buoyancy was amazing. I had been worried about falling asleep, turning face down and never waking up again. However you have to make a considerable effort to turn over, so I reckoned the chances of drowning were slim.
Then Hubby got in. There is not enough room for two in the pod. Now, admittedly Hubby is a large man. A very large man. A very, very large man. However, unless both people were stick thin and less than 5 feet tall the pod would not allow both of you to float without touching one another at all.
What's wrong with touching? Well, ordinarily, nothing. But it is worth bearing in mind that the original name for these pods is "Sensory Deprivation Tank". Now, "Sensory Deprivation Tank" does not sound all nice and therapeutic and spa-ish, so I can see why they call them flotation pods. The whole point about the pods is that you feel nothing and preferably that you see and hear nothing as well. (Unless you are wanting to lose weight or stop smoking or something, in which case apparently those motivational CDs you can buy are extra effective when played whilst you are floating.)
So, I lay back and enjoyed the warmth and quiet. For about 5 seconds. Hubby decided he wanted to have his head nearer the open lid of the pod, where he would be cooler. Heave, heave, splash, splash. We rearranged ourselves in the pod. I lay back and closed my eyes again.
Splash, splash. Hubby had an itch. I tried to ignore the splashing. It subsided. I relaxed again.
Splash, splash. Hubby was trying to reach the light switch to change the colour. "Stop it!" I barked.
Silence. Blissful silence.
Splash, splash, splashity splosh! Hubby was sitting up so he could experiment with levering the pod lid up and down.
"You just cannot stay still for than one minute, can you?" I observed, somewhat testily. He looked chastened and stopped fiddling with the lid.
BANG! BANG! Someone was at the door. "Are you alright in there?" they asked. "Yes, we're fine" we replied, a little bemused. "Only you pressed the panic button." they continued. Yes, in his general heaving around Hubby had managed to press the button. I was now beginning to regret the slim chances of drowning, although it would have been Hubby that went under, and not me.
Silence. Blissful...
Splash. "DAMN! BLAST! B*****!" yelled Hubby.
"What is it?" I demanded.
"I've got water in my eye. It stings like hell, just like they said it would. I'm going to get out now."
I confess, I have never been more grateful for stinging, salty water. He got out, I yanked the lid down behind him and put the light off.
Bliss. All too soon, the music started and I had to get out.
My quibble with the spa we went to is that the facilities weren't all that luxurious. The shower cubicle was not huge and it was difficult to control the water temperature. The hairdrying area was a glorified broom cupboard with no shelf or anything to rest make up or hairbrushes on. After an hour of floating you really do feel relaxed (well, you must do; I felt relaxed after my float and I only got about 15 minutes of proper peace and quiet) and all you want to do is waft around and get dressed in surroundings a bit more like my gym and a bit less like the school washroom.
We will definitely float again, but we need to find somewhere with separate pods. I can't guarantee Hubby's safety if we ever go in a pod together in the future.
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