So ever since I saw the film "Altered States" with William Hurt I was curious about these deprivation tanks and never thought I would get the chance to experience it. A few years ago I heard they had made their way to St. Louis. The price at this time $67.00 for a 90 minute "float".
The company is called Float STL and has two St. Louis locations and one was just 10 mins from my office. I put it on my bucket list but it was a bit much I felt to spend on myself after just getting a new car. My dilemma was solved when a group of co-workers handed me 90 minute session! I gotta say I was stoked and it was all I thought about for a week until I booked my session. I spent the prior time reading and watching youtube videos about what other folks have experienced.
Some people had visions, other folks solved problems while their body healed in the strange world of floating.
So I was fully prepped with what to expect so I walk into this nice open space room with incense and new age music. I meet Jake who looks like exactly the guy you would want to work at a place like this. Everyone has a whisper sort of gentle speak and warm smiles, as I was asked to remove my shoes and socks and enjoy a cup of herbal tea. I arrived a little early so I sipped on the tea and glanced a note book for guests to record their visits. One struck me was from a man who was over 6'2" and weighed 400lbs and felt he was free from his body for the very first time! Lots of folks saying that could remember old memories and they were crystal clear. I was really getting pumped for my session.
Jake walks me down a quiet dark hall that reminded me of a 19 century whorehouse with lots of closed doors and candle lights. I had a "room" for my visit but he wanted to show me a "Pod" a sorta white bean shaped coffin.
At last I went into my room, a small dark space with a chair against the wall ,a towel and a shower at the other end. I stripped down and had a shower and opened the door to my tank.
It was and all white room with a tub for a floor and was dimly lit by a blue light that made everything look very 2001 a Space Odyssey . I had been instructed to press a button on the wall after I layed down. Soon music filled the room and layed down into salt filled water. I was floating about 3 inches off the bottom and I could stretch out like the Da Vinci's Vitruvian man only shorter and fatter with no hair but naked none the less.
The feeling was so cool and the music along with my heart beating was very cool and I looked about the room knowing very soon it would be complete darkness..very soon...still not dark..what the hell? I started to think something must have gone wrong when I than was aware that the music had stopped. Now I was floating in the blue light and just sort of breathing.. now the first thing to hit me was not knowing how much time has passed. I knew my session would last 90 mins but did it start when I took a shower or when the lights go off? Which by the way the lights were still on and I really started to freak out a bit. So at long last I hit the button on the wall and darkness took over.
My neck hurt a little so I tried to move about and found with my arms over my head I floated better. The water is set at body temperature which I found to be sorta lukewarm. What does your mind do in the dark as it loses the sense of its body??? Well I thought about how I would describe it to you and the closest thing I can come up with is laying on a raft in a pool and not being afraid of someone coming up from behind and knocking you off.
So I drifted and relaxed my breathing and floated...I did manage to lose my sense of was I laying down or standing and that was very cool. The thing I could let go of was time, how much had passed. I never fell a sleep and found hard to hold onto a thought for some reason. Then lots of little ideas popped into my head like everyone has gone home and they forgot about me. How much time has passed?
I decided to sort of swim about and I noticed that some spots of the tank were warmer. Fresh air was fed in somewhere near where your head should be and that always felt great when I passed that. How much longer I started to wonder and now I felt I had laid down enough and felt the need to get up.
The air in the room seemed warm and swamping and suddenly I wanted fresh air. I will say right now there is no way I could handle a "Pod". My thoughts started to turn into a Poe novel and I was trapped in a watery cell in catacombs of a castle. How much time is left?
I don't want to open the door and find out I only had 29 seconds to go..I took a deep breath and relaxed my breathing and floated... The air seemed thicker now, I slowly sat up and rested against the wall and I could the loud sound of water dripping from my hands to the pool.
Just then the blue light turned on along with music and my session was over.
I made my way to the door and the instant cooler air felt so fresh. I showered the salt from my body slipped on clothes walked barefoot over to bench to retrieve my shoes. The room was now filled with other guests waiting to take their first dip in the dark. The man next to me had a suit on and looked out of place except for his barefeet. He was looking at my face to see if I had anything to share and I gave him a smile shook hands with the host and stepped out into the noise and smells air of the world.
So what did I find out, for me I like to move when I want to move. Perhaps the reason I never get bored is I keep looking over the next hill. I would never just sit on the beach all day or spend my day off on the couch. I loved the darkness and the stillness , my issue is the need to move. All in all it was an amazing experience and I learned some more about how my mind works. It is a very personal trip to take and I really want my wife to try. My son asked if I would try it again and I think its to early to say, right now I feel different and out of sorts . My body is rested now my mind just needs to catch up!
Peace and Love
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