Aqua Float experience, part 2

Continuing from the earlier post about floating in a sensory deprivation tank…

I was starting to notice that there might have been tension in my bones?  Was that possible?  Then I slowly became aware of a point in my neck that was developing discomfort.  Now before you judge the whole concept of floating based on this review (which you probably won’t do), you need a little bit of back ground about me.

I am not an entirely typical human being.  I have experienced at least 200 process-oriented bodywork sessions, I meditate on a quasi-regular basis, and I have been told that I am an Indigo Child (adult now of course).  I have done meditation retreats, somatic-process retreats and I have spent a decent amount of time outdoors – hiking and walking in nature.  So needless to say, I know my body more than most typical Americans do.  I practice process-oriented bodywork and offer it to others, along with Spiritual Astrology – so I have some uncanny insights into transpersonal reality.

Anyway – back to the float.

So my neck is becoming more and more uncomfortable as I lay there, more relaxed than I have ever been.  Knowing my system like I do, I realize that my neck is processing one of two things: either birth trauma (when I was born the cord was wrapped around my neck twice and forceps were used) or an injury from when I was five years old – where I dove into a pool that was three-feet deep and I nearly killed myself.  However, knowing trauma resolution like I do, I just lay there and allowed the pain and discomfort to increase to its strongest and then it slowly started to melt away in warmth and heat.  Seriously.  I felt warmth running down my spine after a time.

This experience above is not some minor thing.  I sometimes go for bodywork to work on this neck issue, specifically, and sometimes I do not feel like much gets worked through.  Therefore I would say that attaining these deep levels of relaxation are pretty special and unique (that is what I acquired in one float experience).  And that once these levels of relaxation are attained, then other deeper stuff can start to unwind and process through (if you are ready for it to).  I don’t know how much of this would have happened without the history I mention above.

At one point in my float, I felt like my whole body was being supported by something larger than me.  Something larger than the room the tank I was in, was in.  🙂   It was pretty incredible.

Then to be honest, maybe around the 60 minute mark, I had to go to the bathroom.  So getting up and slowly coming back into my skin was pretty wild.  I felt the cool air of the room as I opened the tank.  The light in the hall way was extremely bright after lying in the pitch black darkness for an hour.  And then, getting back in the tank, I could not get as deep as I had been previously.  I think this was because I was not sure how much time I had remaining.  (Each session is 90 minutes long and then the L.E.D. light comes on in your tank letting you know you have 5 minutes before the pump and filtration system will make your tank into a whirl pool.)

Further thoughts:

So that is one big quality in favor of floating.  Deep deep levels of awareness below and beyond the surface senses, relaxing below the skin.

However, here is what I have to say about the inference that floating in a sensory deprivation tank is a form of meditation.  Yes it is.  But I don’t think it should take the place of a regular meditation practice.  Maybe floating can be a great supplement to meditation – seeing your progress?

In conclusion, I would go back to Aqua Float several times per month if I could afford it (not that it is expensive, but I’m in school, etc etc).  It was an awesome experience.  I got to process something deep and complex and in the first session!

And actually, as I write this, several hours later, my neck feels much much better.  There are times that it is stiff and I rarely suffer from torticollis – stiffness which radiates up from behind my heart, making it nearly impossible to turn my neck.  So that feels better at present   🙂    Yay!!