Like a lot of people, I wondered about floating for a long time before I finally decided to give it a try. Every time I found myself thinking about trying it, my brain would reliably interrupt with a gem of wisdom along the lines of “it’s probably just like laying around quietly for an hour and you can do that at home right?” (spoiler alert: I would not and have never done that). Eventually my curiosity was finally able to overpower that annoying voice and its sage advice of “maybe don’t ever try anything” and my transition from float-curious to float-obsessed was almost instant. 

A lot of people talk about the mental health and relaxation benefits of floating which I can confirm are 100% true but the most surprising thing for me was how amazing it felt from a strictly physical perspective. I’ve been working as a bookseller for 20 years and the thing about books is.. they’re heavy, so after decades of moving thousands of books from one place to another, my back and arms have seen better days. Coming out of the float tank for the first time, I was shocked by how much better I felt after being weightless for an hour. Taking the pressures of gravity away for that time is an incredible gift to the aching body and I can always tell when I’m due for another float based on how badly my body is hurting. 

Following how much better physically I felt, I was impressed at just how relaxed I was and how my senses all seemed heightened after being starved of input inside the darkness of the float tank. I left the tank feeling like I just had a massage and everything looked brighter than when I went in, with my attention feeling sharpened somehow. Rumour has it that food even tastes better after a float, particularly next door at the CHKN CHOP, but I have yet to confirm this hypothesis!

While I personally love the darkness of a float, anyone concerned about any claustrophobic feelings in the closed tank can leave the door open as much as they’d like in order to cater their float to their own comfort. I personally thought I might find the tank somewhat confining and uncomfortable but in the complete darkness the tank surprisingly feels much larger. Since you can’t actually see where the tank ends, it creates a sort of endless feeling like the freedom of floating in the open ocean. 

I could go on and on about floating (and I often do) but I’ll show restraint and stop here. This blog is the kind of thing that would have helped me personally to silence the discouraging voice in my head and convince me to try floating earlier than I did, and I hope it helps convince you to experience the benefits of floating too. As a bookseller I’m often popping up at events all over town and will happily talk any time about floating (and books!)