Quiet in today’s world is incredibly underrated. I know I get exhausted searching for a minute of silence in this noisy world.
Sirens and horns are shrieking. Neighborhood kids are screaming. Facebook notifications, new messages, 10045 unread emails, ads for everything. More ads. Ads for a very specific book I thought about yesterday from my childhood that I lost. Ads for things they somehow always know I’ll click; like buy one get one free pizza delivery.
Then I start wondering if those mind reading phone tapping CIA agents wonder what the frick I’m doing with my life or if I ever cook? Maybe they could make some suggestions.
Then there is the collective hum of the city sounds and the television and the cat meowing and the phone beeping and the dishwasher beeping and the dryer beeping and the dog is staring at me and it’s all loud okay?
Mostly I don’t particularity notice all of this mundane white noise of life around me while I’m consumed in my own thoughts. Constantly staring at a screen is quite ordinary. We’ve adapted to technology very quickly and don’t consider the impact on our minds, functioning and cognition. We adapt to an increasingly demanding, fast paced society. We have to.
The wheel keeps spinning faster and we can’t physically or emotionally keep up anymore. Our culture of instant gratification has no time to slow down, enjoy the present and embrace peace. If you stop running to rest, you get trampled. I often notice that I find it near impossible to find peace and solace. The interruptions are incessant. Especially within my own mind.
So, I have also searched far and wide for something new to share with you guys that I haven’t seen on every single monotonous half-assed self care article. This is what I found!
Visit SoulFloat.ca and learn more about sensory deprivation.
Here’s what happened:
★★★★★ 5.0 100% recommend
Effortlessly suspended in 11 inches of high density water- (something like 1200 pounds of Epsom salts) In a “float pod” or float room, for a whole hour- it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Feeling a little awkward getting naked and stepping into this intergalactic glowing space pod that talks to me; I was quickly fascinated with the zero-gravity affect. I instantly recognized the immediate physical benefit of becoming completely buoyant in a body temperature bath- which after a while felt like I was truly melting into the water. The specifics of a body temperature pool combined with the weightless sensation of complete buoyancy caused my awareness to shift from my usual physical distractions- freeing my mind of the pressure and tangible dead weight of my whiplash injuries. It is almost difficult to describe because I have nothing else to possibly compare it to.
the precise design of the float spas created a sensation where it was hard to tell where the water ended and my body began. A few times I sat up suddenly, heart beating, to check and make sure I hadn’t, in fact, become water. Weird but cool. It was strange to feel like a floaty feather. The soundproof room was a little bit alarming at first. It’s beautiful now that I am accustomed to the unusual absence of frenzy and commotion. I thought about the other term for this therapy: “sensory deprivation tank” and I realized how foreign complete silence was to me in this busy life. It took me almost the full hour to completely relax. My mind didn’t know what to do with itself without a screen to distract me from my thoughts. Literally, I think I was experiencing some form of withdrawal. I felt like my brain was panicking to grasp onto something that wasn’t there. It opened my eyes to the impact of hyper stimulation from constant over exposure to light and sound on my cognition.
Despite that; the last ten minutes my mind finally l began to quiet. I was able to close my eyes and dive deeply into the moment and the stillness of something completely new to me- complete relaxation. I felt suddenly clear. Like I could hear everything that truly mattered in clear confidence instead of the usual incessant, erratic, useless buzzing thoughts. It was a very unfamiliar thing for me to feel at complete peace.
I was completely enthralled in the tranquility I could for once fully focus on without the constant distraction of sensory overload. It was intriguing how lightweight and infinite you feel in such a high concentration of saltwater. I wasn’t thinking about pain because my body felt no pressure. I continued to feel the physical benefits of Epsom Salt on my whiplash injuries and muscles for long after. It was how I would always imagine a person should feel after a spa day. Calm. So zen right now. Ready to eat a kale and burn aromatherapy candles and bake keto balls and shit. (If someone wants to tell me what a keto ball is- now is a good time)
There is freedom in experiencing a genuine hour of solace. Each time after the first appointment, it became easier to chill out faster and relax longer, which is proving to be a transformative step in my wholistic health. The concept is brilliant and I personally believe it will become a crucial component in integrated healthcare in the near future. The few people I’ve questioned have also described a profound improvement in sense of relaxation during and following a float, as well as in areas where treatments such as massage/acupuncture/meditation are generally recommended, but just not cutting it. It’s simple, but it is without a doubt effective. I’m excited to share this experience for those like me who aren’t cool or hip with the trends and haven’t yet caught whispers on this treasure.
Soul Float is my personal favourite #calgary studio- visit their site for bookings and information on their fantastic services. They are the only studio in #yyc that offer couples floats which is a super cute and chill date idea! 📷
I absolutely adore this and you probably will too if you are in search of serenity, in achy pains, enjoy new adventures or generally may bask in feeling like the most serene, laid-back coolest cat ever.
-bb