Hey Steemy Friends,
Today I wanted to talk about my whole floatation tank experience from what to expect, what the process is and my first experience. Going to one of these float centres was my boyfriend's idea, he had read a lot on it and was dying to experience it for himself so when the opportunity presented itself while we were in Bangkok we booked for a 1 hour session (2100 Baht per person) and was on our way. I had no expectation because I didn't do any prior research into it but thought it would be interesting to try out. I didn't take any photos while I was there only clips of video because I was vlogging at the time so everything will be in gifs sorry about that😅.
What is a Float Tank
It is a sensory deprivation tank, the tank itself is filled with water and A LOT A LOT of epson salt which is the magic that make you float like nothing else. Once you're laying in the tank it is pitch black so you can't see anything or hear anything. Since you're also floating in the water all you sensors turned off therefore your brain must come up with something to stimulate itself that is when a lot of people will experience cool visual/hallucinations. But of course everyone will have a different first experience, some people might not get any visual at all because they simply can't switch their brain off and not think of anything. So seeing visual might be something they have to work towards.
There is a number of reason why someone might go to a float tank. It could be as a form of meditate like to help silence the mind or could be for beauty because the epson salt does wonders for the skin and hair (the owner of the center we went to told us some people just float for an hour while on their phone because they just want the beauty effects)
The Bangkok Float Center
We went to the Bangkok Float Center and I could not of been happier with the service and the upkeep of this center. The owner, Donovan was half thai/american so his english was flawless and gave the most comprehensive guide before we got into the tank so I felt at ease. Not to mention he was so friendly and accommodating the whole time.
Once you're in your private room with the float tank and bathroom. First thing First, you want to shower and really wash everything off so when you get into the tank you're squeaky clean. I thought that you would wear a bikini into the pod like the pictures on the website but you actually do it fully naked. So after you've rinsed off you get into the pod pull the lid close and then you have the option of turning off the light inside the pod if you want the full float tank experience.
My Experience: What I Felt and Saw
First thing I noticed when I was floating was my neck hurt A LOT I later learnt it came from work as at the time I was working full time as an assistant graphic designer so my neck would be stained a lot from sitting in front of the laptop for 8 hours at a time. It was really nice that Donovan came in after our float session to check in on us and talk about our experience. He shared that normally we might have a pain in our body like my strained neck but we wouldn't notice it day to day because of everything going on but in the float tank because there is no distractions you can really feel whatever it is at full capacity.
Another not so fun thing I was experiencing which Donovan warned me about was feeling motion sickness. I get really bad travel sickness from rocky boats and stuffy buses as is so when I would switch off the light into the pod and float the small movement of floating in the water would feel like I was floating on massive crashing waves. So the motion sickness feeling teamed up with my sore neck, I did not know how I was going to make it through the hour. I ended up deciding to sit on the floor of the tank with my legs/feet and arms still floating because that was the only way I could be in the tank with the lights off without feeling nauseous.
So when you're in the tank the main objective if you do want to experience visuals is to clear your mind and essentially not think about anything. So tried my best to I cleared my mind and sat/float of the remaining time I was in there. After 10 mins or so I could start to see green orb of light that pulsated and like a silhouette pattern it was pretty cool but the more I tried to focus on what I was seeing the more it faded away, that was the only visual I had. I did find tho after decided to sit rather than float on my back I zoned out (which is when the visual started) and the hour seemed to zip by super quickly.
The center itself was amazing they have a chill out room for after your float session that has a massage chair, snacks, water, hair dryer and creams. I would highly recommend this place for first time floaters!! I loved the atmosphere and like I said before the owner was just so nice and informative the whole time. It would be something I would love to try again as I know what to expect this time around.
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I hope you found this post interesting or learnt something new and I'll chat with you guys next time,
