Float therapy

Float therapy can be an unforgettable experience.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 06.10.2020, 14:00

Today we’ll be looking at some of the best ways to relax. In these times, when everybody seems to be in a hurry and is running out of time, we would like to make you an unequalled suggestion for relaxation: float therapy. Float therapy can be an unforgettable experience. It involves floating in lukewarm water in which magnesium sulfate also known as Epsom salt was mixed. The idea behind is that it helps you free your mind and body, it helps your body enter a deep state of relaxation, so your brain can enter a place of rest and mediation.

The magnesium sulfate is useful for joint repair and is anti-inflammatory, and floating in it allows the minerals to enter the body through the skin, which thus becomes cleansed and invigorated, and it helps your muscles relax.

Flavia Cioceanu is the representative of such a float therapy center from Bucharest and will tell us more about how the business was set up: “The founder of the float therapy center was looking for ways to relax, found articles online about these float pods that offer a relaxation experience, letting one dive into oneself, which is good for the body. After a quick Internet search, the business founder saw there are more such centers around the world, in America and Japan. So, he wanted to have a first float therapy experience and realized he would like to set up a business in the field, as he had some experience in the technical domain.”

The business started in 2016 with two float pods bought from America, and it is more challenging than a simple business story. Because floating makes people succumb to themselves, while letting themselves float in the pod.

Flavia Cioceanu explains how this way of relaxation was discovered: “It all started from an older experience from the 1970s, when researchers were studying neuronal behaviors stimulated or not by outside stimuli. At the time, these basins were called ‘isolation tanks’ which allowed for sensory deprivation, cutting off the sense of hearing, of touch, through floating on water, and of sight, as it was dark in the tanks. Why did people wanted to make this test? Simply to see what happens with the human being, with the mind, the thoughts and the emotions when no stimuli from the senses are received. This experience, of total sensory deprivation, was transformed to suit the modern times and adapted to also benefit people who are not necessarily looking for unusual, intense experiences.”

Float therapy is relaxing, amusing and innovative. Body temperature water and one hour with no gravity is a magic combination for relaxation. Flavia Cioceanu has more details: “You practically float in a tank or pod with a top, filled with water with tons of Epsom salt mixed in it. The mixture contains 50% salt and 50% water, which makes the water very dense. One simply gets in the pod, an egg-shaped tank, closes the top using a handle inside and tries to loosen up with or without stimuli, with or without light or music. They let themselves float. In the absence of any contact forces upon the human body, one gets a sense of weightlessness, and the relaxation experience is much more pleasant. Let alone that Epsom salt is good for the bones and body.”

Epsom salt also acts as a scrub on the body, being good for the skin, nails and hair. It easies joint pain and stress, prevents muscle and joint inflammation, helps treat sprains and relieves muscle fever.

We asked Flavia Cioceanu who comes to the float therapy center: “First of all, those who are curious and want to experience something new, to see what it feels like to float in the dark. And these people really enjoy the experience. Also, there are people who come for relaxation, and they come frequently, because they have realized that only through float therapy they can reach a deep relaxation state, which is different from sleeping. Other people come for meditation, they want to dive into themselves and find answers which they cannot find during the turmoil of daily routine.” (tr. L. Simion)