An isolation tank or a "sensory deprivation tank", is literally a tank of water. The water is treated with so much salt that the natural buoyancy is such that you literally have to put in zero effort to float. The water is body temperature so your skin does not need to use it's senses. Once enclosed, it is entirely black so your eyes do not have to use any of their senses. Also, aided by a set of ear plugs, your tank is typically near soundproof so your ears also use near none of their senses. This allows your mind to truly decompress.
The concept seems pretty simple, turn off all your accessories and the entirety of your brain power can be dedicated to thought.
I was turned on to the idea by one of my favorite comedians, Joe Rogan. He enjoys the tank so much that he had one installed in his house. I'm not against that idea. My wife had heard me talk about it a hundred times so for my birthday she bought me a session at Urban Float in Fremont.
The shop was right on Fremont Ave by the bridge, so I found myself a marginally legal parking spot and walked down to the shop. Upon entering I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Light colored wood and dark tiles covered the room. A pretty lady looked up as I walked in and she was incredibly friendly. Honestly I was a little worried that I'd walk into a Hippy Hotel with lots of Converse and skinny jeans, but it just felt like a place to relax.
I checked in, she gave me a couple forms to fill out and told me to go upstairs and enjoy something to drink while my room was prepared. I walked upstairs in a pleasantly quiet building and came across what looked like the bachelor pad I would create if I was going for that "this furniture is not Ikea" vibe. The decor and lighting was soft and warm, colors that just invited you to stop giving a shit for a while. There was a water cooler and a beverage cooler. The beverage cooler had Pelligrino's and coconut water with a sign that said 'take what you want and pay up front'. In today's day and age, it's refreshing to see some trust in a business.
Right on time a guy greeted me upstairs and asked that I follow him to my room. When we got to the room I was instantly comfortable. There was a single shower with body wash, shampoo and conditioner all provided with instructions to shower before and after your float. He walked me through the routine. They play 10 minutes of music to lead you down the rabbit hole, then you get 45 minutes of silence, followed by 5 minutes of music to guide you out of the rabbit hole. He offered his opinions on preferences for the float, where to find various items like the light, call button and fresh water in case I got some salt water in my eyes. He looked me in the eye and genuinely directed me to enjoy myself.
Hopping into a swanky dark tiled shower with a huge rain shower head, I washed up and got in. I opted for the float pod vs the float room just because I thought they looked cooler, but the popular comment from friends I told about my pending adventure was that they'd be closterphobic. That's not typically one of my phobia's so I got in and closed that hatch immediately. There was a soft blue light in there so it doesn't feel like you just fell down a well. The water was body temperature as it should be, but as a guy who just got out of a hot shower, that was a little faulty at first. I lied back and began floating. It was as easy as advertised.
About 5 minutes in, I decided to get froggy and turn off the light. Fuck. It was dark in there! If I'm being honest, I did get a little anxious at that point. Your orientation really disappears when you're floating effortlessly. The pod wasn't big enough that I didn't occasionally float lightly into a wall, but somehow, with me jostling to itch my nose or put my arms back, I did not bump into the walls very much. Needless to say I had to manage that bit of anxiety if I actually wanted to relax.
Just as Joe Rogan had described so many times, it took me about 10-15 minutes before I was really comfortable in there. Trying to relax I had my eyes shut, but I realized that it was so dark that open or shut it was the exact same. It's an eerie feeling to have your eyes open and see absolutely nothing. Not even my hands when they were inches from my face.
As I stared at the ceiling I began seeing light waves as if the light bouncing off the ripples of water were reflecting off the ceiling of the pod. Only there was no light to reflect? Realizing this, it occurred to me that my brain was slightly hallucinating. No dragons or orange turtles swimming by, but with zero light I was still seeing something. The light waves soon turned to space. Faint clusters of stars, but that same beautiful blackness that is space. Yes, I'm a bit of a space nerd.
I floated there with an odd excitement that wasn't as physical as it was mental. My brain started racing, trying to capture ideas or revelations on topics that I'd always wondered about. For a moment I was treating this session like I was about to meet the Wizard of Oz and he was just aching to answer any cosmic questions I may have. But as I recognized the Daytona 500 of thoughts shooting through my synapses, I decided to take a deep breath and clear my head.
Admiring the view of what seemed like undiscovered constellations I found my brain starting to wander. It was almost like when you realize you're in a dream. All of the sudden something popped into my head so seamlessly that it felt less like an epiphany and more like I realized something I had known all along. Without getting too detailed, let's just say I've been writing a sci-fi book on and off for a handful of years and I've recently gotten it to a point where I'm ready to finish it but I feel like it needed a little more string to weave the story a little tighter and I'll be damned if there wasn't a big old ball of string unwinding for me.
Feeling like I was in a conference room with a group of writers trading ideas, I found myself saying "what if he did this?" , "what if he found out that?", "what if they went here?"... It was amazing. I'm generally really good at thinking of ideas, it's the whole aspect of retaining said ideas that has always escaped me if I'm without a pen and paper. So I just stuffed those ideas into my brain like a chipmunk would do with nuts. Just as I realized that I may have found that missing piece to my story, the 5 minute warning music slowly came on.
I sat there floating, reflecting on how it was possible that my brain just shit out so many golden ideas and I smiled. I was so eager to get out and make notes, that I was in and out of the shower before that 5 minute warning music finished. They had fresh towels and a nice bench to get dressed on, so although I was eager to start jotting down my notes, I made the decision to take my time and let it soak in.
They advise you to go upstairs after your float and have a cup of tea and chill for a few minutes. So that's what I did. I made myself a nice lemon chamomile tea and sat on that comfortable couch. I couldn't type the words into my phone fast enough. While writing I developed a couple more ideas to note. I was just grinning ear to ear.
I entered into this not really hoping for some physical cure, I was more looking for a mental treatment. And boy did I get it. I honestly think if I were a professional writer, actor or some big wig CEO, that regular access to a tank would be invaluable. My mind was in creativity mode, but I have no doubt that whatever things you want to exercise out of that cranium of yours, can be done with sessions in the tank. It was as if my brain was filled with knots of thoughts developed from day to day life and the tank allowed those knots to loosen so I could sort them out. This was only my first session, so there is much to explore still, but I'll be damned if that's my last session. The guy up front even said they would be opening a store about 5 minutes from my house this spring. That made me even happier.
Urban Float made the experience simple, easy and comfortable. I highly recommend it to everyone to try at least once. It may not be your cup of tea, but in today's fast paced world, I think you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. You may find life down the rabbit hole to be more fulfilling than you think.
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