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Can Float Therapy Be Used as Preventative Medicine for Improved Quality of Life?

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Does spending time in a float spa help overall wellness? Here’s what the science says.

Is floating the preventative healthcare solution we’ve been overlooking for too long? Researchers have known for quite some time that floating in a sensory deprivation tank offers benefits for inducing deep relaxation. The positive health effects for patients suffering from muscle tension, pains, and similar symptoms are also documented. Plenty of studies also link floating to clearer thinking, relief for general anxiety disorder (GAD), and improved cardiovascular health. However, a lack of concrete studies on floating’s benefits for “total” mind and body support has caused many practitioners to stop just short of recommending it to patients seeking relief from various conditions. A trial published in 2014 is helping to change all of that.

In this study, 65 participants were randomized to either a control group or the float group. The participants selected for the float group participated in a seven-week flotation program consisting of 12 float sessions. Participants were then given questionnaires measuring psychological and physiological variables, including stress levels, energy levels, depression, anxiety, optimism, pain, sleep quality, mindfulness, and degrees of altered consciousness.

The results are pretty incredible. Participants in the float group reported significant decreases in stress, anxiety, depression, and pain. However, they didn’t just experience relief from symptoms. Floating participants also reported significant improvements in optimism and sleep quality. Both of these factors can contribute significantly to improved quality of life. However, the study uncovered that the benefits of floating go even deeper.

Researchers in this study found what they described as a significant correlation between mindfulness in daily life and the degree of altered states of consciousness achieved during a float session. Participants who reported that they obtained higher degrees of altered states of consciousness while in the tank also reported that they experienced increased mindfulness in daily life. This link between floating and mindfulness supports previously published work stating that floating in a sensory deprivation tank helps to increase originality, imagination, and intuition to help enhance personal creativity. Why is increasing mindfulness through floating so important for quality of life? According to the American Psychological Association, mindfulness can provide a variety of benefits for health and wellness that can include the following:

  • Stress reduction.
  • Reduced rumination.
  • Improved working memory.
  • Improved focus.
  • Less emotional reactivity.
  • Increased cognitive flexibility.
  • Relationship satisfaction.

Is Float Therapy A Life Hack for Wellness?

It can be easy to assume that floating is a “life hack” for living a more vibrant life. After all, these improvements can lead to a more productive life that allows you to tap into your creativity and potential using your fully activated mind and body. The truth is that floating is a life hack for many people. Doctors and researchers see a floating water tank as a potentially fantastic tool for preventative healthcare because it helps take the body from the stressed, reactive, and fight-or-flight state to a calm, balanced state.

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Looking for Natural, Short-Term Relief of Depression Symptoms?

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Here’s how floating can help.

Can floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) provide insulation against depression? There’s a reason why so many people turn to the tank for a mental reset. In fact, some researchers are confident that floating tamps down anxiety in the brain in a way that rivals some prescription drugs and meditation. The likely explanation for why floating does what other forms of “relaxation” can’t is that floating with sensory deprivation turns off the part of the brain called the amygdala that houses our fight-or-flight stress response.

According to a 2018 study, just one hour of flotation-REST was able to reduce depression levels substantially. In addition, a one-hour session also helped to decrease anxiety levels, muscle tension, pain, and negative affect. Participants also saw improvements in happiness, serenity, relaxation, and overall well-being. This research has caused many mental health practitioners to consider floatation-REST a viable option for short-term relief of depression.

As many people suffering from depression know, anxiety and stress often accompany depression symptoms. That’s why this 2018 study involving 50 participants with a cross-spectrum of anxiety and stress-related disorders is so interesting. Researchers conducting this study discovered that floatation REST appears to be a “promising technique for transiently reducing the suffering of those with anxiety and depression.” While this particular study focused on the short-term mental health benefits of floating, other studies show that it can help over the long term, as well.

A study from 2014 found that floatation therapy was powerful enough to help restore the quality of life for people suffering from pain, anxiety, stress, and depression. What’s more, many patients involved in the study were not new to alternative therapies for depression. In fact, participants who had tried yoga, massage, and physiotherapy reported never being “so successfully relieved” from pain, tension, and stress using any other treatment.

Final Thoughts

There’s still so much to be revealed about depression and floating. It’s too soon to say that floating alone can be used to fully treat depression in all people. However, the people who have already experienced the results feel that they have discovered a way to reduce depression by working with the brain instead of fighting against it.

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The Effect of Floating on Cortisol Levels

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Lower levels of cortisol equal lower stress levels. Here’s the Science Behind Why.

Cortisol is a killer. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands. It is a “stress hormone” that works with the brain to control mood, motivation, and fear. While the purpose of cortisol is to drive us into a state of alertness when there’s a threat of danger, the body’s biological “alarm system” can quickly sabotage our health.

Cortisol isn’t the villain when it’s operating normally in our bodies. In fact, proper cortisol levels help us to properly use carbohydrates, stifle inflammation, regulate blood pressure, control the sleep-wake cycle, and provide boosts of energy when we need to handle stressful situations. However, a person with normal cortisol function will always “come down” to a balanced state after the source of stress is gone. This isn’t the case for someone with elevated cortisol levels.

When we are under extreme stress, our cortisol levels can stay elevated. This puts us at risk for:

  • Anxiety.
  • Depression.
  • Headaches.
  • Heart disease.
  • Memory issues.
  • Concentration/focus issues.
  • Digestive issues.
  • Sleep issues.
  • Weight gain.
  • Increased blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure.

“Elevated cortisol levels following acute stress may facilitate the consolidation of fear-based emotional memories and condition a sensitized physiologic stress response,” according to a study on chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain.

When cortisol levels are exhausted, widespread pain and inflammation often manifest due to adrenal fatigue. What’s more, high cortisol levels that are triggered from a stressful event can trap a person in a cycle of constant stress and exhaustion.

Floating and Cortisol Levels: How Time in the Tank Can Dilute the Cortisol Response

Many studies have confirmed the link between flotation-REST (restricted environmental stimulation technique) and mood improvements. However, it appears that there’s also a direct link between flotation-REST therapy and cortisol regulation. The most comprehensive study conducted on flotation-REST and cortisol levels to date found that repeated brief REST-assisted relaxation produces a relaxation state associated with specific decreases in pituitary-adrenal axis activity. In addition, researchers have also found that repeated REST-assisted relaxation is associated with a significant decrease in plasma cortisol.

What does the data mean for people seeking holistic therapies for anxiety, depression, exhaustion, mood issues, and suspected adrenal fatigue? Flotation-REST therapy may be valuable for helping to regulate cortisol levels when they are elevated following stressful events. In addition to improving mood in the short term, flotation-REST therapy may also insulate people from the long-term adverse health effects associated with sustained elevated cortisol levels.

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Destiny

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Enjoy a day of gratitude

Mahalo

…

Thank you for this day

Thank you for this life

Thank you for these lessons I am learning

Thank you for bringing light to the dark

Thank you for evolving me

Thank you for carrying me to the life of my dreams

Thank you for where I am going, where I have been, and where I am in this moment

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the fruits, the opportunities, the highs, the lows . . .

Thank you for it all

Because this is destiny

…

www.tranquilityfloat.ca

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A Letter To You

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A Letter To You


Thank you for this beautiful day

I love you

You are amazing

Don’t be afraid of your energy

It is your power

The power to transform

To bring light into the most rigid darkness

To pierce the veil

You are waking up at an extraordinary rate

Be gentle and kind to you

You are amazing

You AreWonderful

You are infinite

Feel that quiet peace within

That is you

That fullest expression of you is pure gold

Let yourself shine

In all your nature

www.tranquilityfloat.ca

Web Blog (7)

Creating Magic

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Creating Magic Through Intentional Living


To be intentional is to consciously bring energy into something. Intentionality brings depth, meaning, and richness to life. There is the surface level which most of us live on: it is the tasks we do from sunrise to sunset. But in living this way we are missing something. There is desire for more.


Beneath the surface, lies the inner universe. This is where all creation happens. Beneath the surface is energy and inconceivable realities. You can imagine everything beneath the surface as the energetic blueprint for all things physical. Living intentionally is connecting to what is below the surface. And that is essentially you. You are the unseen. You are the life force. You are existence itself.


So . . . let’s dive in: how to create magic from this sacred space beneath all things. Together we will go through how to make an elixir. This is one practise as an example, but this transitions to all areas in your life. You can implement any energy into anything: a relationship, your clothes, food, a forest . . . In doing this, you are creating an energetic intention for manifestation to follow.


#1 Clear Mind
Let your mind go clear. This is the basic principle for any realization or creation: we must first clear the cobwebs of thought. Allow your body to settle. Become aware of your senses. Become aware of your surroundings. Be clear and open to receive.


#2 Clear Energy
Creating with intention is all energetic. So get really clear on what your current energy is. We do this by connecting to our bodies. The body is the conduit between the non-physical (energy, you, the universe . . .) and the physical (life on Earth as a human). The way we connect the two worlds is through feeling, feeling into the body.


In your still, clear, comfy space, bring awareness to the core of your body: from the tail of your spine to the top of your head. Notice the dominant sensation – not physical in nature but a feeling of energy. This is where you need to clear the space. In order to create intention we must first be clear. Actively breathe into your heart space, allowing all sensations to rise a little higher in their feeling – a little higher in their frequency. With each breath, allow any energies you feel inside become lighter, lighter, and lighter . . . until they have dissolved into the space of your being – the space of peace that rests within you.


#3 Creating The Magic
Grab a glass, fill it with warm/hot water, squeeze in fresh lemon juice, honey, and add turmeric and cayenne pepper powder (this is a health drink from Sadhguru for immunity – with cayenne pepper for a metabolic boost!)


Hold the glass in your hands. Choose 3 words (or as many or little you like) that you wish to bring into your body. Let us go with STRENGTH, HEALTH, & VITALITY. Each of these words carries their own vibrational resonance. You must bring their vibration into your body. This may take some time and visualization to understand these energies, however the more you do it, the more instantaneous you will feel it.


So let us begin with STRENGTH. Stirring your elixir, speak “May this drink bring my body absolute strength.” As you say this, as you intend this, bring the feeling of ultimate strength into your body. What does this vibration feel like? What does ultimate strength mean to you? Focus, and then let it go.


Now bring in the feeling, the vibration of health. “May this drink bring my body absolute health.” Focus, and then let it go.


And lastly, “May this drink bring my body absolute vitality.” Focus, and then let it go.


Your creation is complete. Drink in this glass of gold, feeling it flow down your body and assimilate into all of your cells. Know the power of this drink as you bring it in. Consciously drink.
. . .

Living with intention; doing the simplest tasks with absolute awareness of the moment itself and your presence within it. Intend what you wish to create and bring forth the energy of the manifested result through your body. When you walk, you can walk with love for the Earth. When you fold clothes, you can give the material comfort, gratitude, and beauty. When you clean your home, you can purify the energetic space. When you drive, you can be protected. When you touch, you can heal.What will you create with your power?

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Float Nature

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Have you ever wondered why the feeling of floating feels so familiar?

Some say it’s because it mimics all the beautiful moment of being in your mothers womb. Feeling safe, secure and having a true connection to something more, are all regular occurrences in a float tank. This can be, I imagine at least, a similar experience to that of the womb.

Floating also provides a very rare (for most of us) but strikingly familiar feeling of freedom, flow, and moment awareness. I say rare because in “everyday life” most of us feel, to a certain degree, tension, stress, anxiety, and a sense of future awareness.

Our true nature… is to be free, flowing, and in this moment. Something that has long been forgotten.

The true power of the float lies in remembering our true nature. Remembering these feelings of freedom, connection, and so much more! Returning again and again to these feelings is what heals us and what awakens us and ultimately frees us.

Have a wonderful day!

Mahalo & Aloha

Web Blog (4)

Cultivate The Now

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In this moment of time and space, be here now.

Feel where you are.

Feel the warm, cool, or hot air around you.

Feel the ground beneath you.

This space and place is yours.

All yours.

This space and place, just like a garden or plant, needs you.

This space and place, just like a small child, requires you.


The moment is your choosing.

A choosing to come home to an unshakable real.

Grow is this moment today.

Nurture this moment today.

Be there for this moment today.

Cultivate the now.

www.tranquilityfloat.ca

Blog Sick 3_1.1.3

5 Ways To Be Sick For Your Own Good

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Being sick and confined to your couch can actually be something to be grateful for and explored. Crazy right? Usually by the time we’re bedridden sick, we know it’s time to take a break and heal our body. Aside from perhaps not getting sufficient quality sleep, nutrients, water, and exercise, there are also non-physical reasons we may be getting sick. Neglecting care and attention to our mental and emotional states can amount to a great deal of stress on the body. Diving inward to the root causes of any illness will open up a gateway to your own personal transformation.

Along with recognizing the causes, you are enduring a rather unpleasant journey of your own. Take this as your own ‘how to be sick’ guide for maximum enjoyment and transformation.

  1. Reflect

Think of the week prior to feeling ill. What was your emotional state most of the time? What was the primary focus of your mind that leans to feeling negative? Were you nourishing your body with fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, proteins, complex carbohydrates, and plenty of water? Were you well rested? 

Bring awareness to the negative inner workings of your mind and the way you treat yourself. You may find that you have been mentally operating with haste for too long, worry, self-loathing, etc. This is something you can be more aware of now. When a pattern surfaces into your awareness, you can choose to act and think differently. This pattern will dissolve, saving you from more costly repercussions in later years.

  1. Notice Your Sick Mind

This is an exercise for your whole journey on the couch (and life). It is actually quite funny how the mind can downward spiral into “I’m sick, my body hurts, I’m sick, this sucks, I want to get up but I don’t want to move, my body hurts, I should be doing work, I should go anyway, no I shouldn’t, I’m sick, I haven’t done anything useful, this sucks, etc.” On and on and on. Sure it’s not too bad when you’re dosed up on Nyquil and feeling alright. But when you hit the thick of not feeling well it can be pretty challenging to change or get out of your crappy mind. 

You will feel better and heal faster with a positive-focused mind. This is where #3, 4, & 5 help make the shift.

  1. Spruce Up The Energy

If you are able to peel yourself up to stand and move about, take care of the energy in your home. The energy of illness and self-destruction can ripple out to your home and loves ones. Cleanse the energy in your home and create your own space of healing. There are plenty of ways you can do this. Go with what feels most refreshing and gratifying.

  1. Smudge yourself and home. Light up your sage stick and whisp it however and wherever you feel called to. Focus on clearing out the old and bringing in new, fresh life.
  2. Diffuse Essential Oils. Essential oils have proven benefits to ease your mind and physical symptoms. Try eucalyptus (eliminates airborne bacteria, relieves nasal congestion, boosts mental clarity) and ylang ylang (soothes negative emotion and sleeplessness).
  3. Play music that eases or uplifts you. Our home is usually buzzing with healing frequencies playing from the TV. Search ‘healing frequencies’ on Youtube and you’ll find an abundance of videos. Keep the vibe of your home fresh and engaging. If the music is starting to make you feel dull or overstimulated, change it up.

4. Breathe in Some Nature

Go outside. Breathe. Look at the sky. Smile with a little gratitude. Taking yourself out of the little hole you’ve been slumping in can brighten and broaden your perspective. Helping you take advantage of the next point.

5. Dream Ahead

This is a great time to take advantage of the fact that nothing is expected of you. Use this downtime as a turning point, an opportunity to slow your role, re-evaluate, and create your next path. Grab a journal and pen. Without restriction allow yourself to think of the most perfect life for yourself. Begin writing anything you see, think, or hear that uplifts your heart and truly excites you. Let your dreams of experiences, people, places, and things fill the page. Let your inner creativity shine. Even if it seems far-fetched, you will feel so satisfied with the beautiful story you’ve painted.

Your energy ripples and changes everything ~ be mindful ~ be dreamy ~ get well soon.

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Flow State

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It is known by psychologists, athletes, spiritual pursuers, artists, and any that truly enjoy what they do. It is Flow State, defined as an optimal state of awareness where one is fully immersed in an activity. Yet, this definition merely scratches the surface of the potential depth one can experience Flow. Flow State not only pertains to pure presence in an activity, but also to how all of life can be experienced.

This awareness we speak of, is a way of living. A way in which more and more people are waking up to. Awareness stretches beyond thinking and the human perspective. 

Who were you when you were born – before you began to learn and adapt?  Pure awareness. Consciousness. Without consciousness, there would be no life. Consciousness is not the brain. It is a state of being.

To know awareness, be very still. Right now, wherever you are reading this, take a deep breath in . . . and let the air fall out of your lungs . . . Be completely unmoving . . . Notice the sensations of your body . . . Bring your eyes to focus on your hands . . . Gently observe . . . You are in this body . . . Bring your awareness to the sounds . . . Listen, allowing all sounds to simply dance with your ears . . . Listen for the white noise in the room, or the complete and utter silence.

Be aware.

This is a state of awareness, a state of presence. And yet, you may find you come out of this state of awareness compulsively, back into mental processes. And this is okay. We are learning to become more aware – the next stage of human evolution you could say. Because in awareness, there is a complete revamping in how we operate as human beings. It is a truly peaceful, creative, and wholesome state of being.

Runner’s High is known as entering Flow. The mind goes silent and all you feel is the power of your body striving forward effortlessly – a truly exhilarating experience. Artists experience this heightened state when they are allowing art to happen through them, through feeling, not thinking about what to do next. It is like something else is coming through you – something of Spirit.

You can slip into Flow at any time: folding laundry, playing a game, creating art, driving, relaxing,  . . . simply focus on all that is happening in the present moment. 

This beautiful state can be experienced with the natural flow of life itself. There is no doubting there is natural intelligence beyond our own minds: the growth of cells, the harmonious cycles of Earth, the perfection of our solar system. It is all a happening. 

Recognize this. Let go of trying to control your life – struggling to control the happening. While we play one side of the coin by creating – the other side is allowing. Notice how people, places, and events flow in and out of your experience. Just observe. Let go of control and step into the natural flow of life. 

You may be realizing there is a paradox here. On the one hand we are creating our own experience through our perception and thoughts. On the other hand life is happening for us. Recognize the inseparability between you and all of life. Notice how people, places, and events flow in and out of your experience. Notice your thoughts, judgements, and how you feel. Notice how your inner world (thoughts, perspective, emotions, presence) determines what happens in your outer world (people, places, events). 

Set up the grid for your life. Get really clear how you want to feel, how you want to experience, what you want to create, the people you want to collaborate with. 

Allow life to flow through your own creation, experiencing life in all its beauty and richness.

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