Wow: Floating?

A few months ago, I was picked up at the airport and whisked off to an undisclosed location. As we entered what formerly was a warehouse but had been transformed into an art gallery, we were welcomed by a woman with a warm smile. Little did I know at the time, the woman with the warm smile was responsible for the consumption of thousands of pounds of salt...thus was my introduction to floating.

So what is floating? Well it's has nothing to do with the old song by the Floaters...remember that one, "Cancer and my name is Larry. And I like a woman that loves everything and everybody." Anyway, it's difficult to explain but essentially floating is sensory deprivation. You enter a float pod, pictured above, which contains about 10 inches of a solution of water and 1000lbs of epson salt. Because of all the salt in the water when you lay down you float effortlessly...including your head.

The pod door is closed and you are now in pitch black darkness. No sights, sounds, smells...zip, nada, nothing...but this is when it gets interesting. Because of the total sensory deprivation, you feel as though you are literally floating in time and space not in a 4 foot wide pod. You lose complete track of time and your mind wanders off into a very surreal, pleasant, and totally relaxed space.

I'm sure the experience is different for everyone but if you enjoy a good massage every now and then substitute a floating session one day and try it out. We loved it.

Click here for the float center we went to in Oakland and here for a list of float centers across the U.S.