My FLOAT Experience

I have to be honest, I wasn't sure I would like Floating. But, the old saying is true that you should never knock it till you try it. Why was I so hesitant? It wasn't the floating part, it was being in a dark space with no music, no light, no phone for an hour. I really didn't know if I could do it.

As a social media manager and a blogger, I spend a lot of time on my phone or on the computer - constantly stimulated, distracted. In fact, as I write this I have my phone next to me and the television on. The only time I'm not ON is when I'm asleep. That was a big motivator for me to give Floating a chance. I needed to give myself an hour to disconnect and reconnect with myself.

What went down.

I arrived there a few minutes before my appointment. The Float Seattle Greenlake location has a warm, quiet feel that you're greeted with as soon as you walk in. I was led to a small room that had the float tank, a bench, and a shower. I followed the instructions given to me closely. The most important being that you have to take a shower and place earplugs in before you float.

This is when I felt myself rushing. I knew I only had an hour and that sense of urgency that I seem to live with was making me rush through this process. Once I realized this, I took a deep breath and slowed myself down.

Before I got into the tank I double checked my earplugs and scratched my nose. You see - you can't let the salt water get into your ears or eyes, so this part is super important.

Then I got in the tank.

It was pitch black. And I didn't know what to do with myself. I started to reexamine my need to do this, did I really? Then I started to hum to myself, then I went from humming to thinking about work, and then about what I needed to do after floating. I quickly realized that my thoughts were just bouncing around distracting me from this experience. So I decided to focus on my breathing. This is where I started to really give myself over to the Float. I moved my arms around and when my mind started going back to overdrive, I refocused on my breathing. Then my time was up. It came up faster than I expected.

I didn't have any epiphanies, I didn't walk away a brand new woman, but I think I finally understood what it meant to be in the moment. Also, the urgency I walked in with was not with me when I walked out. I took that slow pace feeling home with me. I didn't look at my phone, I didn't pull out my computer, I didn't turn on the television. I did put on piano music and made my dinner. I loved it. I loved just being quiet, not worrying about tomorrow, but actually enjoying a Sunday night.