Most detox programs ask you to give up substances in your daily routines where one often suffers withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, exhaustion and irritability making it harder to stay on track. Whereas floatation is a gentler approach matched perfectly with a detox program as floating provides a continuous technique to change your life and reduce the need for extreme measures which can be the catalyst for positive change.
In a one-hour float, the stress from one’s life slips away allowing for deep rest within all systems of the body and brain. Floating naturally triggers the brain to switch off helping reduce adverse symptoms that are associated with detox programs. Floating calms the mind and provides a clearer mindset to help you stay on track and achieve your goals plus regular float sessions help maintain the shifted mindset. You will feel calmer and more revitalised being able to better tune into yourself and access what you need and what to do with clarity.
We all can create bad habits whether with our diet of fast food, alcohol, drugs, sugar, caffeine and added to this list is technology. With increased use of computers, social media interaction and time spent online, our breathing becomes more swallow and there is underlying tension in our body that we may not be aware of. Time in the float tank helps us become better aware of the tension we hold and allows for us to really focus on our breath.
Have a Holiday
When we talk about doing a detox, we mean taking a break likened to a holiday. This will allow for the mind, body and spirit to rest, reset and recharge. One of the easiest ways to do this is to float in peace and quiet.
Many years of working in the health industry highlights the importance of detoxing regularly, by resting 2 days a week from known food and drink that causes stress on the digestive system or seasonally for longer periods. Some people fast for a few days on a fluid diet such as juices, broths or herbal teas and really notice a shift and improvement in their energy levels, quality of sleep, concentration, mood and weight loss.
Digital Detox
In 2021, digital detox has fast become equally important made worse due to the pandemic, where the main means of communication for many was by way of virtual. This has become an additional area we need to step away from when planning a detox and is essential to consider in our daily lives for a more calm and focused manner. This brings us back to our opening statement that floating is essential for detoxing the body, mind and spirit.
With most detoxing regimes, if things are not working as well as we would like, we need to have a rest and reset of the system. The body and brain get tired and sluggish, and we need to shut down and unplug for a time to reset and recharge. We can liken it to having too many windows or too many apps open on the phone or pc. This too affects the speed and function on our devices just like the human body can slow and crash.
Another reason health retreats are popular is that people will spend 2 weeks cleansing the body and clearing their mind, having massages, body wraps with Bentonite Clay, doing yoga, meditation and any number of activities that help revitalise. Floating on a weekly basis supports a regular detox cleanse and people who float regularly say how much it helps them with their ability to reset and be ready for the week ahead.
The digestive system and brain are intimately connected and an understanding of the gut brain connection is gaining much more media attention as research into the chemical reactions of neurotransmitters are understood. Emeran Mayer explains in his book the Mind Gut connection.
If the gut is inflamed, it will influence the functioning of the brain and again, just like a computer or phone, if overloaded they crash or freeze, so closing apps and windows to improve functionality and speed is essential. The human body also experiences overload and needs time to unplug and restart for optimal health. The magic of float therapy is like hitting the reset button on your hard drive.
What does breathing have to do with Detox
Our Lungs do an incredible job of cleaning the body of 70% of its toxins with each exhalation removing a build-up of CO2 (carbon dioxide) as each inhalation brings the necessary O2 oxygen to sustain life. Your breathing is an automatic process where the exchange of these gases takes place and keeps us alive. Both O2 and CO2 play an important role in balancing the body’s chemistry. When you are floating in a tank, you have an increased awareness of your breath and can consciously control it. Learning to expand your lung capacity helps with detox and with calming the parasympathetic nervous.
Detox naturally in Epsom Salt
Floating in an Epsom salt solution is different than a salt bath at home. In a float tank, there is about 600kg of MgSO4 making it far denser than the Dead Sea. The density makes you experience weightlessness giving the mind, body and spirit connection, the time to unwind, relax and heal.
Dr J.C. Lilly who is the creator of isolation tanks described floating to “recover 90% of the brain’s resources used for dealing with spatial awareness and gravity and redirect this vast amount of energy to cleanse the system by stopping the rush of adrenaline, flush excess cortisol and calm the parasympathetic nervous system improving functionality”.
The ritual of showering before each float session with our in-house skin spritzer and by using one of our popular dry skin brushes will aid in massaging the lymphatic system and remove dead skin cells.
Another vital key to good health is drinking quality filtered water helping the body eliminate toxins especially after floating as all systems in the body rely on water to function. It’s important to note drinking tea, coffee and flavoured drinks is not the same as good quality water. So, the next time you think about a detox, start with Floatation therapy and book in for a reset.
