Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Not every float is going to be pure bliss. Sometimes the anxiety doesn’t go away. Sometimes that back pain is still there. Are there ways to float with intention to help control the outcome of a float?
Graham and Ashkahn share their thoughts on techniques intended on getting the most out of your float and things that may work, as well as the perils of trying to control how your float goes.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Ashkahn: Alright, hey.
Graham: Hey everybody.
Ashkahn: How’s it going?
Graham: I am Graham.
Ashkahn: Good, I’m Ashkahn.
Graham: Great. And today’s question is, “Is there something one should focus on in the float tank? I did a float today and did not become less anxious. I have-” That’s it. The question ends. It ends there, “I have.” So I don’t know, maybe they got really panicky sending in.
Ashkahn: I hope they’re okay. Maybe a bird came and-
Graham: Yeah. They probably meant to say, “I have a big crush on both of you”, but then kind of backed off at the last second.
Ashkahn: Will you go to prom with me, yes or no?
Graham: “I have a sick ride to prom”. Cool, but yeah. So is there a right way to float, almost, or is there a certain exercise you should do during floating maybe specifically for anxiety?
Ashkahn: I found, personally, that I don’t have as much control, if almost any control over exactly what my float is going to be like. I’ve gone in with a lot of intentions before. I guess for me, it’s more, I like to do a lot of like problem solving, or thinking through things in a float tank. So sometimes I’ll go and be like, “Oh, think about this thing.” I’ll think through that while I’m in there, and I get in into the float tank and it’s just like “Nope!”, and it just completely derails what I thought I was going to be thinking about, and does something completely different.
That’s maybe a little bit different than the question they’re asking. I feel like there’s almost a, “Are there exercises you can do to try to relax in there?”, or something like that, aspect to that.
Graham: Well, yeah for sure and I guess it’s-
Ashkahn: Or how much intentionality should you go into a float with?
Graham: Yeah, and the question is read like “should”. Is there exercises one “should” do in the float tank?
Ashkahn: Yeah, so-
Graham: My answer to that is no.
Ashkahn: We’re very much purists, like just kind of go in and let it happen sort of thing.
Graham: Yeah, in fact, that’s my strategy for floating is very much that. I find if any one thing’s going to mess up my floats more than anything else, it’s going in with expectations, or like Ashkahn said, with a plan.
Ashkahn: I mean, sometimes I’ll be like, “Aw man, I’m really tired”, or something like that, “I bet a float would be good right now.” But I can’t even expect that to actually work.
Graham: Yeah, I was going to say. When you hop in there, and you’re like, “Time to conk out.” Then that’s when you think about whatever it was you’re supposed to think about two floats ago. Yeah, it’s like a truism, I think, that the float tank is really good at giving you what you need, but not necessarily what you want.
Sometimes it won’t actually give you what you need, either. Sometimes you have a float and you come out more anxious, and that’s just how things go. The float tanks are not this silver bullet for things you have going wrong with you. In fact, really it’s just salt water tubs, and it’s you cruising there, and it just turns out being relaxed, and floating and being in this weightless, kind of senseless environment.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: Does do a lot of benefit for human beings, but that’s not guaranteed. You shouldn’t feel weird that you had a weird float. Nothing’s wrong with you. I’ve had weird float where I get out and I’m like, “Wow, that was a really weird one.”
Ashkahn: So yeah, I think it’s hard to go in with any intention because the float tank won’t listen to you. Just like whatever happens in there will happen. I think you have better floats when you just kind of accept that.
Graham: That said, Ashkahn and I have put together kind of a relaxation meditation track. I would highly recommend listening to the sonorous sounds of our voice when you’re floating. Maybe you’d find that produces a little less anxiety.
Ashkahn: Best floats I’ve ever had.
Graham: We can just kind of guide you through our favorite travel experiences, going through customs. That’s one of our tracks. Yeah.
Ashkahn: You can buy it on our website. It’s just $500 per track.
Graham: Which is such a steal.
Ashkahn: It’s a bargain.
Graham: Yeah. Okay, so the other side. Getting serious again. We’re getting serious with you guys.
Ashkahn: Okay, okay. All right, I’m serious, too.
Graham: You don’t look serious. There are things that I know that our customers find useful for themselves. Like I personally always go in with no expectations. I just kind of let the float do what it wants. I know other people who go in and oftentimes, it’s people who have a separate meditative practice. But they have things that they really like doing that help them kind of get into their meditative zone.
Some of those are breathing exercises, some of them are actually even a little bit of chanting. Some of them are just taking themselves through almost an autohypnosis induction, which you can do both verbally and just by thinking about it. So, if you are looking for something that you might find even a little more calming. And along with all those, too, I should say there are actual tracks that you can listen to. Not me and Ashkahn, but serious ones.
We are float purists that tend to just want yourself in the float tank. But look up meditation exercises, look up breathing exercises, look up auto-induction of hypnosis. All of those things I know people have had a lot of luck with when they personally have trouble relaxing and need kind of a practice to grab on to.
Ashkahn: But also, I like-
Graham: A crutch.
Ashkahn: I like to encourage people to not have expectations or intentions or things like that going into the floats, because I feel like it could be easy to get into this place where you’re like, “Well, that wasn’t like the type of float I was hoping to have. It was a bad float.” I just don’t feel like it’s quite like that. I think you just got in the float tank, and what happens is what happens. They’re good in different ways for different reasons, from time to time. But I don’t want people kind of feeling this, “I’m trying to have this relaxing float, and I didn’t get that today. Man, that was an unsuccessful float.”
So I think there is some good things like that that can help people. Maybe if they especially have difficulty relaxing or things like that. I think those things can be more helpful. But I do want to encourage people to kind of think about the fact that whatever experience they have in theirs is maybe good for a different reason. It’s not that they can force their float to specifically go in one direction or another.
Graham: Yeah, for sure. Some of like I had said before. I’ve had challenging floats. But getting out of them, sometimes those have, in the end, been some of the most valuable. If you do have anxiety, maybe it is there for a reason. We have human emotions for a reason. Sometimes they go haywire, which is, anxiety can get out of control, and you can have chronic anxiety. But going into a float tank and still feeling anxious coming out, it doesn’t mean that anything’s wrong with that experience, or even wrong with your anxiety in that moment. We kind of go through things and process them based on cues in our environment, and often our reactions are valuable for some kind of reason.
And again, float tanks aren’t a panacea. So it’s nothing wrong with you. Everyone can go into a float tank hoping that their back will unwind and get a little comfortable. Sometimes it will, and sometimes they’ll come out and their shoulder still hurts. The same goes for anxiety. So yeah, try floating again and it might just help again. In the meantime, look into that $500 track that Ashkahn and I were talking about.
Ashkahn: It’s good. So yeah, I hope you’re okay out there, questioner. Hope everything’s good. And if you have some questions that you want to ask us-
Graham: Or you want to send us proposed fit-ins to the sentence of this question, either way.
Ashkahn: You can go to FloatTankSolutions.com/podcast.
Graham: And we will talk to you tomorrow.
Ashkahn: See you later.
Graham: Daily Solutions out.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Can People Undergoing Chemotherapy Float? – DSP 159
Naturally, most float centers want to be available for anyone who needs it, but there are practical limitations that they may not know about with certain conditions. Is there any risk or issue to having someone with cancer float in a float center? Do they need special instruction or care? Are float centers opening themselves up to liability by providing them floats?
Ashkahn and Graham answer a few of these questions, but the most important thing to remember is to consult the patient’s doctor. Leave the medical advice to the professionals.
Quick ways to get cash now for your business – DSP 158
Being strapped for cash isn’t a fun situation to be in. With an operating business, you have options, fortunately.
Graham and Ashkahn brainstorm some ideas for quick cash and some they’ve even used at Float On when a surprise expense has come up. It’s worth noting that to get money in the short term, you’re likely sacrificing something in the long term.
Avoiding Soundproofing Mistakes During Float Tank Installation – DSP 157
Obviously float center construction is expensive, in no small part due to the soundproofing in each of your rooms. The last thing you want to do is screw it up by making a simple mistake when installing your float tanks.
Graham and Ashkahn delve into everything you need to consider during installation to not screw up your soundproofing, including what additional materials to purchase and how to ideally set up your float rooms.
Book recommendations for Float center owners – DSP 156
It’s no secret Graham and Ashkahn love to read, often about business methodology and philosophy. In this episode, they provide a list of the books they would consider to be their biggest influences that helped shape their own business philosophies and methods, along with what exactly about each of these titles is so interesting and engaging.
Does it matter how you order your filtration equipment on a float tank? – DSP 155
When setting up your float tank, it can be tempting to look at the spa pack and imagine how much more convenient it would be if the pieces were rearranged a little bit. So… is there a particular order to the filtration equipment? Why or why not?
Fortunately, Graham and Ashkahn have painfully researched this issue and know all the ins and outs of water treatment systems for float tanks and why they are the way they are.
Latest Blog Posts
The Best Time to Start a Float Center
It's not today. Today is a great time to start a float center, but that's not the best time. The best time was a year ago. Or a month ago. Or yesterday. I've had the pleasure of seeing people from their first, innocent float all the way through opening the doors on...
Getting to Know Your Epsom Salt
Epsom salt has uses ranging from personal care to large-scale agriculture, and, of course, it is the salt that brings the ‘float’ to float tanks. Since it plays such a key role in our industry, and in maintaining the chemical balance of our beloved float tanks, we...
5 of the First Things To Do if You Want to Start a Float Center
One of the most interesting things I’ve discovered by fielding calls and emails from people through Float Tank Solutions is that floatation therapy has an uncanny ability to grab people. I’ve spoken to many dedicated floaters, still amazed by the therapy after decades...
Meet the Float Tank Solutions Team
We've met a good deal of you in person at the Float Conference, or at Float On in Portland. Some of us (mostly the easily identifiable ones with the larger facial hair) can even be seen in many an online video discussing salt buildup and small business. For some of...
