Float Your Way To Calm

Floatation tanks are dark, soundproof pods in which people float in warm water to relax.

21:01 10 February 2016

Floatation tanks have been a niche interest of various new-age and hippy communities for decades. These are dark, soundproof pods that people use to achieve a drowsy or trance-like state.

 

Gary Mossman, a 26-year-old tattoo artist from Basingstoke who uses these tanks said: "The sensation is one of no sensation - your mind becomes untethered from your body. There's nowhere like it on the planet."

 

"It's about making a blank canvas in your mind so you can then picture something completely original. It's a little like the stage just before falling asleep, where you have a really vivid imagination and things just appear in your head."

 

Developed in 1950s, floatation tanks are designed to allow people to float in warm water for hours at a time so they can explore and experiment with consciousness.

 

Adam Adshead, a jiu jitsu martial artist from Manchester and who has been “floating” every week for the past 18 months, said: "I do it to help visualise ahead of my next competition,"

 

"Having no distractions at all makes it much easier to focus. There are lots of sports psychologists coming round to the idea of using float tanks as a way to help sportspeople visualise performances."