Have you heard of flotation therapy? This increasingly popular wellness treatment is designed to create a soothing environment that minimizes sensory input to the brain and promotes deep relaxation and healing. It entails laying on your back in a special floating pool of warm mineral water that buoys your body and creates a sensation of weightlessness. Flotation therapy has been linked to a variety of therapeutic benefits, and anyone of any age can benefit from this gentle treatment.
As flotation therapy increases in popularity, so do the myths surrounding it. Today, our wellness experts at Radiance Day Spa will break down three common flotation therapy myths so that you can feel confident booking a service at our Sioux Falls float spa. It’s safe, comfortable, and can provide deeper relaxation than you’ve ever felt before. Read on to learn more, and feel free to contact us today if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment!
Myth #1: You have to be able to swim in order to float
If you’re not a strong swimmer, you can still benefit from flotation therapy — because you don’t have to swim at all! Typically, the water in float tanks is saturated with epsom salt and other essential minerals that create a uniquely buoyant environment. The water is so dense that even if you were to fall asleep mid-float, you would stay suspended on the surface.
Additionally, most float tanks are only filled with about 10 to12 inches of water, so you’d have to be trying very hard to drown in order to be successful at it.
Myth #2: Sensory deprivation is used for torture, so it must be bad
Flotation therapy involves the use of sensory deprivation to promote deep mental relaxation. During a float, you should feel only a sense of weightlessness, with very little awareness as to what you may be seeing, hearing, or smelling. Many float spas achieve this by placing the floater in a sensory deprivation chamber in total darkness.
At Radiance Day Spa, we are mindful of those who may be claustrophobic, so we provide the only “open” float pool in the Sioux Falls area. When you book a flotation therapy session with us, instead of being closed in a sensory deprivation tank, you will enjoy floating on your back in a warm pool in an aromatherapeutic, candlelit room.
However, claustrophobia aside, sensory deprivation is not always a bad thing. Although it would indeed be torturous to be locked in solitary confinement in a dark room for months on end, sensory deprivation during flotation therapy allows you to willfully enter a state of deep restfulness. By minimizing the flow of outward information to your brain, floating helps initiate the low-brain-wave patterns observed during meditation.
Myth #3: You can float in your bathtub for the same effect
Yes, technically you can float on your back wherever you have enough water and room. But simply floating will not recreate the unique environment that flotation therapy provides. To have a true therapeutic experience, you’ll need:
- densely saturated mineral water to provide buoyancy
- temperature regulation to keep the water at body temperature
- a light-free, sound-free, distraction-free environment
It’s hard to recreate these conditions outside of a float lounge, so if you’re truly interested in experiencing the benefits of flotation therapy, then you should book a service at a qualified wellness spa to have the best possible experience.
Book Your Flotation Therapy Session at Radiance Day Spa!
If you’re in the Sioux Falls area and would like to see how flotation therapy can benefit you, then book an appointment at Radiance Day Spa today! We’re ready to help you relax and rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit. Contact us now.