SELF CARE
Float Therapy by Karen Danchalski
Therapy for the senses
Seeking respite from a highly stressful period of my life, I would often lie my head down at night close my eyes and dream of space. Dark, cool, silent, all my problems were 25,000 light-years away. I was safe from worry, safe from distress. I just had to breathe and float in space; the tiny bright stars my only guiding lights. While I have never gone up into space, I have had a strikingly similar experience in a float tank. Three times, I have floated, and each time resulted in a powerful sense of calm and relaxation mixed with a deep inner connection to my biology via an out of body experience. Make sense? Let me try to explain. The Dead Sea, which lies at the lowest level of the earth, is filled with salts and minerals and has a rich history. Looking back to biblical times through the modern era, the Dead Sea has been a place of refuge, exploration, and therapy. The concept of floating in saltwater for relaxation and healing has been around for hundreds of years. Floating as a means of sensory deprivation therapy was pioneered by the neuroscientist Dr. John Lilly during the 1950s through the 1970s. The first vertical floatation tank was built in 1954 at a veterans hospital in Oklahoma City. There, Dr. Lilly studied how the brain was affected by sensory deprivation. Subjects floated vertically, wore a helmet with breathing tubes, and wrote personal accounts of their experiences. Dr. Lilly’s research branched into how humans could intelligently communicate with dolphins and how LSD could affect the float experience. He authored several books and scientific papers on these topics. Dr. John Lilly is the father of float therapy.
20 www.truelifestylemagazine.com
