I recently closed myself in a tank full of Epsom salt and floated in complete darkness for an hour. I loved every minute of it.
It’s called R.E.S.T. Therapy, and it aims to deprive your body of stimulation such as light, gravity, and sound. The goal of this therapy is to relax the mind and ease tension in the body.
When you lay down the clamshell tank, your body begins to settle in. It gently bumps the sides of the container a few times until it eventually rests still in the center of the tank. You close your eyes, begin to meditate and finally awake to the sound of a soft jet precisely one hour later feeling relaxed and refreshed.
This type of floating is enjoyable and leaves most awakened, but floating isn’t always a positive experience. Careers and projects that are in a state of float often become very stressful leaving many with a sense of doubt and helplessness.
Unless you have something propelling you forward, you’re essentially floating in one place entirely still. However, even when you’re being thrust forward, you may feel like you've lost control and are left to ride the current until something interrupts that current and stops you abruptly.
The trick is to find the medium between the two. The place where you feel like you’re cruising along smoothly with the right amount of momentum. You’re not floating to fast, or too slow, you know where you need to be at all times.
How do you do it? Well, you need to set clear parameters and expectations for yourself and your projects. Just like that float tank I was in, you need enough room to stretch your legs, get comfortable and bump softly along the sides until you settle into a state of relaxation while you work.
