| When it comes to getting away from the sea of | | | | floatation tanks have a rubber lining which a client lies |
| troubles most of us face in modern life there is nothing | | | | on. This lining is folded over the body and the person is |
| quite like floatation therapy to make us feel buoyant | | | | then lowered down and a support is removed, leaving |
| again. Floating on water feels so simple, elemental, | | | | the client cocooned and floating on the heated water |
| supportive and comforting - something we can | | | | below, albeit in a restricted manner. It is often combined |
| probably link to our beginnings in the cosseting warmth | | | | with aromatic essential oils and particularly body wraps, |
| of the womb. | | | | which benefit from the heat generated below. Dry |
| Today we are spoilt for choice when it comes to | | | | floatation is also an effective pre-massage treatment. |
| floatation therapies, with many spas offering some | | | | Floatation tanks |
| sort of treatment, from small hydro baths right up to | | | | Floatation tanks still adhere to the same design |
| large pools. There are of course even floatation tanks | | | | principles laid down by Dr Lilly, but now make the most |
| for the home, not to mention the biggest tank of all - | | | | of modern production techniques. The tanks typically |
| the sea. All we have to do is lie back and think of | | | | resemble egg-shaped enclosed bath tubs - usually |
| …nothing. | | | | made from fibreglass - with a door on top to allow |
| Beginnings | | | | access, and are built to eliminate all outside distractions |
| The origins of floatation dates back to 1954 when Dr | | | | and stimuli, although interior lights are usually provided. A |
| John C Lilly, a medical practitioner and | | | | large amount of Epsom Salts is added to water to |
| neuro-psychiatrist, began research into the origin of | | | | create a 30cm deep pool of salt water in the tank, |
| consciousness and its relation to the brain. He tried | | | | which is heated to body temperature. All these |
| many experiments with different kinds of float tanks in | | | | elements create an atmosphere that enhances |
| a bid to create a device that would deprive or restrict | | | | relaxation and well-being. Tanks are not just limited to |
| the number of external stimuli so that the brain and the | | | | floatation centres and spas, with models finding a place |
| individual could be tested in an atmosphere of isolation. | | | | in homes, sports clubs, health centres and even |
| Initially these devices were called Sensory Deprivation | | | | corporate headquarters. |
| Chambers but in recent years this has been changed | | | | Floating in nature - The Dead Sea |
| to Restricted Environmental Stimuli Therapy | | | | To experience the ultimate in natural buoyancy the |
| The philosophy behind floatation therapy is to provide | | | | place to go is most definitely Mother Nature's very |
| people with a way of improving physical, emotional or | | | | own floatation pool - The Dead Sea. This remarkable |
| psychological health. Central to this is a need for deep | | | | stretch of water, described as a 'Sea of Peace' |
| relaxation, which has been validated by recent | | | | between Jordan and Israel (although it is actually a |
| research showing that up to 80 - 90 per cent of | | | | large lake), is the saltiest and most buoyant sea in the |
| people visiting a GP do so because of a | | | | world, and at 400m below sea level is also the lowest |
| psychosomatic or stress-related disorder. | | | | point on earth. The jade green water (10 times saltier |
| How it works | | | | than the Mediterranean) contains 150 different minerals |
| The advantage of floatation therapy is that it enables | | | | and salts, which imbues it with incredible curative |
| most individuals to experience very deep levels of | | | | powers. The high concentrations of magnesium make |
| relaxation without needing to learn any special | | | | it particularly efficacious for sufferers of skin conditions |
| technique. The deep relaxation that occurs in floatation | | | | such as psoriasis, while the presence of bromine has a |
| slows down bodily functions, heart rate and brain | | | | powerful relaxing effect on the nervous system. |
| activity, allowing the conscious and analytical part of | | | | The sea's high salinity contributes to the highly viscous |
| the mind to enter a state of deep rest and to be | | | | and oily water, which is so dense and supportive it |
| bypassed. It does this through the absence of stimuli | | | | makes your body literally 'sit' out of the water like a |
| such as light, visual images, noise, gravity and touch. | | | | cork. The haze given off by the evaporating sea and |
| Floatation also stimulates levels of the natural painkiller | | | | high atmospheric pressure also filters out harmful UVB |
| and endorphin, encephalon, which encourages a sense | | | | rays that cause sunburn, so you can enjoy your float |
| of well-being and euphoria. According to Dr Lilly 40 | | | | without burning your belly! |
| minutes of floatation is equivalent to an incredible eight | | | | Taking a dip in normal sea can also have powerful |
| hours of sleep. | | | | physical and emotional benefits, when we float in the |
| It is also worth bearing in mind that short of becoming | | | | ocean our bodies are busy absorbing health-giving |
| an astronaut and blasting into space, floatation is the | | | | minerals from the marine environment while being |
| only time our body weight becomes free from the | | | | supported. |
| effects of gravity - literally taking a load of our mind! | | | | Places to float in the UK & Ireland |
| Forty minutes of floatation is the equivalent of eight | | | | Nirvana Spa, Berkshire |
| hours of sleep | | | | This award-winning day spa in leafy Berkshire was the |
| Benefits | | | | first in the UK to introduce large-scale floatation pools. |
| With such a powerful form of relaxation it is no | | | | Dead Sea salts with 21 minerals are combined with |
| surprise that floatation provides the following | | | | Nirvana's own pure natural source water to provide |
| therapeutic benefits: | | | | the water used in the spa's two floatation areas. The |
| Mind | | | | Celestial Room features a large circular pool that can |
| Floatation is an excellent way of relieving stress (plus | | | | hold up to six people at a time, who can relax and |
| associated digestive tract conditions such as Irritable | | | | gaze at the star-domed ceiling and wall murals. A |
| Bowel Syndrome and ulcers), depression and anxiety, | | | | gentle current, dimmed lighting and ambient lighting |
| as well as promoting healthy sleep. It is also believed | | | | enhance the sensory experience. The Ocean Room |
| that floatation stimulates and synchronises the left and | | | | offers a more social environment in which to relax and |
| right hemispheres of the brain, enhancing concentration, | | | | take in the Dead Sea salts. Nirvana offers float |
| mental clarity, memory retention, self-hypnosis and | | | | sessions and an induction course. |
| facilitating freedom from phobias and addictions. | | | | The Floatworks, London |
| Body | | | | The Floatworks in Thrale Street, near London's South |
| The decrease in heart rate means it is ideally suited to | | | | Bank, is billed as "the leading floatation centre in the |
| people with cardiac conditions and high blood pressure. | | | | world". The centre has nine individual floatation tanks, |
| The fact that the body is completely supported and | | | | each situated in a lockable private room and equipped |
| free from gravity encourages blood flow to the joints | | | | with a shower. The tanks are fitted with internal lights |
| and releases muscle tension, making it effective for | | | | for beginners and those who feel uncomfortable in the |
| sufferers of musculoskeletal and rheumatic conditions | | | | dark. The centre has supplied 60,000 float sessions to |
| including rheumatoid arthritis and chronic back pain. This | | | | 30,000 customers during its 13 years of operation. |
| pain relief is enhanced by the production of endorphins. | | | | Eden Spa at Hoar Cross Hall, Staffordshire |
| Floatation has also been used to aid recovery for | | | | It may be in the heart of landlocked Staffordshire but |
| those with sporting injuries right through to patients with | | | | guests at Eden Spa can immerse themselves in its |
| cancer. Skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis | | | | large 25m salt water pool, while massage jets |
| also react well to floatation, particularly in Dead Sea | | | | stimulate and invigorate different parts of the body. |
| salt water | | | | The pool also has a unique water volcano where the |
| Floatation pools | | | | pressure of the water enables swimmers to float. |
| The range of floatation pools in spas has never been | | | | The Forum Spa at The Celtic Manor, Wales |
| greater, from single person tubs to full size floatation | | | | The Mineral Scalp Treatment involves a scalp |
| pools. The latter can be found at destinations such as | | | | massage with a conditioning mineral mud combined |
| Nirvana Spa in Berkshire. These pools contain solutions | | | | with the dry floatation. The treatment assists |
| of salts (often from The Dead Sea) which are heated | | | | realignment of body and relaxation of mind. |
| to body temperature of 35 C, providing deep | | | | Mount Juliet, Ireland |
| relaxation without the restriction of an enclosed | | | | The Spa at Mount Juliet has a Dead Sea Discovery |
| environment, making them ideal for those who find | | | | Flotation room where guests can experience a deeply |
| tanks too claustrophobic. | | | | relaxing 60 minute Dead Sea floatation treatment in |
| Smaller single person floatation baths by companies | | | | Finders' Hydrofloat. |
| such as Finders provide a more intimate method of | | | | Experience the Dead Sea |
| relaxation. These baths sometimes combine | | | | Jordan |
| hydrotherapy jets to tackle cellulite and improve | | | | The best spa destinations are based on the shores of |
| circulation. Hydrofloat by Finders provides the essential | | | | The Dead Sea at Sweimeh. The Zara Spa at |
| qualities and benefits of traditional spa and | | | | Moevenpick's Dead Sea resort combines traditional |
| hydrotherapy, together with the therapeutic benefits of | | | | Arabic detailing with a range of floatation experiences. |
| Dead Sea salts. This neat facility, where a person | | | | This includes an outdoor heated Hydro-Pool and two |
| floats in pure Dead Sea water, provides a | | | | interior Dead Sea floatation pools. The neighbouring |
| custom-made environment with the additional control | | | | Jordan Valley Marriott Dead Sea Resort & Spa |
| of sound, light and air. | | | | also has an excellent spa with a Dead Sea Salt Pool. |
| Dry floatation | | | | Both resorts have a stretch of beach, and will soon be |
| Dry floatation offers the feeling of weightlessness and | | | | joined by the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, which |
| benefits of floatation without getting wet. The dry | | | | is due to open in May. |