Floating is a great modern day lifestyle hack. Great for body and mind, helps with so many conditions and intentions, works well in tandem with other therapies.
The Float Blog highlights many of the reasons why people float especially to address medical conditions, chronic pain, or other physical conditions. This comes usually after other interventions and therapies have been used or did not provide long-term improvement or success.
Float therapy is a potent way to improve Vagal tone, a barometer of our nervous system. Floating creates an overlapping positive effect on both physical and emotional health.
Read MoreFrom a sniffle to surgery, there is an unrealistic expectation that insurance will foot the bill, including the broad spectrum of alternative medicine choices. Novel approaches to the treatment of anxiety, depression and stress management are now more visible and accepted. One emerging therapy known as float therapy is putting its collective hopes, dreams and grass roots dollars into research, for a disillusioned end game goal of going head to head with big pharma and the behemoth, politically entrenched insurance industry, with high hopes that insurance coverage will be the answer to the long term survival, awareness and usage of floating.
While insurance coverage for floating may be of limited benefit for the consumer, it presents a troubling situation for the bottom line of float center owners, who generally have big hearts and want to save the world, but also high overhead and maintenance costs as compared to massage, for instance. Some float centers seem to be on the right track and are creating their own version of “insurance” by establishing programs and discount packages for frequent floating. Making floating more accessible and affordable through programs that encourage regular use, avoids the middleman of the insurance company, dictating their own version of usage and cost based on a third party understanding and application. Thus, while float research is a good means for establishing viability, credibility and awareness, the end game purpose of research must also be considered in the mix. With all this in mind, it appears that the best way to maximize value to both the consumer and float center small business owner is to not involve insurance but to have the float industry collaboratively design and utilize a model better suited for float industry survival.
Read MoreFloat therapy is a good choice for athletic recovery. From decreasing inflammation to improving sleep, there are many ways that floating helps pain, prevention and performance for the recreational and professional athlete.
Read MoreHow does float therapy help traumatic brain injury (TBI)? From headaches, neck pain, mood and sleep issues to concentration, focus and energy levels, float therapy is disruptive to the brain in a good way. Floating on a regular basis can shift an individual into a more productive, positive, active human with less pain and dysfunction. This case study is an excellent example for doctors, health care practitioners and the public to better understand the value of floating on a regular basis to help manage ongoing symptoms related to TBI and concussion.
Read MoreDoes insurance cover float therapy? That’s the million dollar question. Those that use float therapy for therapeutic reasons need to float more frequently than those just seeking a periodic chill - and there are cost considerations. Considering the profound mind and body effects of floating, some feel that it should be an insurance covered benefit. There are some researchers currently doing studies to make floatation therapy more mainstream, even with hopes that someday it would be a routinely covered benefit. In this multi-part series on insurance and floating, this first blog sets the stage for the question itself - should insurance cover float therapy?
Read MoreFloat therapy leverages both medical and alternative medical care.
Read MoreWhen The Float Zone, a float therapy spa in Richmond, VA is voted one of the winners in the Best Spa category in Style Weekly magazine’s 2021 Best of Richmond, it shows a sign of the times. We are all seeking ways to manage stress, anxiety and better sleep. Floating is a unique experience, unlike other common spa experiences, that positively and predictably improves your well-being. Humbled and thankful, The Float Zone is proud to make a difference in RVA.
Read MoreNot all floats are awesome. Especially if you are new to floating, there are sometimes unrealistic expectations, such as thinking every float will enable an out of body experience, or that you’ll have some life changing realization while in the tank. While it is true that it is uncommon to have a bad float and that you generally feel perceptibly uplifted in both body and mind, poor preparation can lead to excess mind chatter, inability to get comfortable or taking longer to get into that sought after theta brainwave state. It sounds funny to say that floating, even though you are doing nothing, takes practice. Developing a few simple habits can ensure better quality, more predictable floats.
Read MoreFloat Therapy serves to get the body off the mind, as well as reducing so many other external stimuli, and in doing so, allows for a deep brain reset that results in less anxiety. Research in the world of floatation is supportive in demonstrating potent anti-anxiety effects. Floating is a drug-free, safe and effective choice for managing stress and anxiety in our culture of stress and anxiety.
Read MoreFloat therapy boosts heart health in a number of ways. Here are just a few.
Read MoreFloat Therapy boosts immunity in a variety of ways. From deep relaxation and a resetting of the brain’s perception of reality, floating helps pain, sleep and mood. Floatation affects both magnesium and hormone levels. Floating reduces stress.
Read MoreThe best sensory deprivation float tank experience can be found by paying attention to a few key issues.
Read MoreHe sat there in shock staring straight ahead in the driver’s seat. Getting some last errands done before emergency out of state travel, he had just started in motion after being stopped at a light. Without warning, he was rear ended by a car going over four times his speed. His bumper was crumpled. The other car’s hood looked like an accordion. The other driver’s car was towed and was taken to the hospital. He chose to go to The Float Zone and float.
On the way to The Float Zone, he began to feel tension creeping in, a headache on the way and a million big and little issues clouding his head. Thoughts about his multiple sclerosis. Thoughts about a past neck injury that brought him to a neurosurgeon who wanted to cut and he said “no”. Memories of using only his left arm to lift and shave and eat and dress, for months, were still fresh in his mind. He had recovered from this, and was feeling good and strong again. Ready to travel. And now, the thoughts of flying for hours, while in pain, was flying foremost in his brain.
Within an hour after the accident, he floated. His whole perspective changed. He was instantaneously transported to the parasympathetic nervous system state of being - a state of rest and relaxation. It gave him a chance to settle and slow down, to take control of his breathing, to relax his muscles.
The first hours after a car accident are the most crucial in terms of managing the inflammatory response and the adrenaline rush of the body’s “fight or flight” mode. It is always these immediate actions that can expedite or complicate both short and long term healing processes. Remaining in panic mode will feed fuel to the fire.
He found calm very shortly after this physical trauma. (Obviously, if he had broken a bone or had a head wound, he would not be floating effortlessly in 10” of skin temperature super saturated salt water and instead been at the ER). The warm water was soothing. He was not struggling to keep his head up. His rib cage and breathing was more freed up from defying gravity. He could feel his muscles relaxing.
He emerged from the float tank in a different mindset. This made all the difference. He was able to go on his travels and start this new healing journey on the right foot. He reached his destination and what was the first thing he did? Got in a float tank.
When he was back from his trip, he was finally able to be properly evaluated. However, by this time, he had already floated four times in 11 days. He was already well on his way to recovery.
You can bet he will be including float therapy in his healing regimen, as he has in the past and will in the future. He is supported by doctors, therapists, health care practitioners and fitness trainers, counselors and others who support floating and refer their patients/clients, to float therapy centers as part of a team approach to the healing process.
And that is why I floated first thing after my car crash.
Author Dr. David Berv can be reached at david@myfloatzone.com
Sensory deprivation isolation tanks are the perfect antidote for pandemic times. Detatch, unplug, reset, slow down. Sleep better. Manage stress and anxiety. Clear the head to make better decisions. Improve energy. Basically doing nothing for an hour in a foot Epsom Salt saturated water while floating effortlessly, can be crucial for improving both physical and mental health.
Read MoreSensory deprivation, known as floating, float therapy, or restricted environmental stimulus therapy (“REST”) is the perfect antidote when Mercury is in retrograde.
Read MoreMillions of people deal with pain on a daily basis. Finding positive and effective ways to cope with pain is sometimes easier said than done. Floating is on a short list of options for pain. This blog discusses five out-of -the- box ways to fight pain.
Read MoreYoga and floating, also known as float therapy, floatation, sensory deprivation or restricted environmental stimulus therapy, have incredible similarities. The combination of these wellness practices is the epitome of how passive and active therapies can leverage each other and provide incredible benefits with stress, anxiety, sleep, pain, focus, creativity and energy.
Read MoreDid you know CBD can be used in various ways? Learn about vaping or taking CBD orally through a tincture.
Read MoreConcussions are prevalent in professional sports. Floating is one effective way to alleviate the effects of concussion. One hour in silence and the absence of sound is a treat to the brain. You can also use a red light in the float tank to help minimize the issues from traumatic brain injury like concussion.
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