A few weeks ago I had a chance to try out floating in an isolation tank for 90 minutes. I've been told about them by various friends, and out of curiosity I decided to give it a shot. It's a great way to just be free from having to ignore distractions, and focus on important things or to meditate.

I was kind of curious if any of you have had any experience with an isolation tank, and what it was like for you. If any of you own an isolation tank, let me know about what it's like owning one, please!

I wish! Joe Rogan talks about them all the time. Hoping to try one out. Potential good spot for a mushroom trip.

What was it like? Did you lose sense of where your body stopped and began?

Float tanks are great. Used to own one years ago. Hopefully will again once I have the space. Very relaxing, lots of benefits.

Not quite, but that's because I had to stop briefly in the first half hour. I got a bit of the salt water in my eyes and had to get up to grab the towel.

Once I stopped gently bumping into the sides of the tank I lost a sense of how big the tank was, and eventually my sense of orientation in the tank was ambiguous (that is, I wasn't sure if I was facing up or down). It was really neat because once I reached that state, I was able to just relax deeply, focus on my breathing and just have the sensation of my mind settling out. There was no difference between having my eyes open or closed, and I did have some very mild visuals (mostly of the variety you'd see just before you go off to sleep, nothing exciting).

It's pretty expensive, so sadly I can't do it very often. However, I do want to try it again, and the idea of doing it under heavy influence of marijuana is very inviting (especially since I know for a fact the owner likes to get high and go into a tank).

If you get a chance to go, I suggest taking a cold shower before hopping in. If you take a hot shower, the water in the tank will feel cold relative to your skin and will be pretty discracting.

Been in a float tank twice. The first time I opted for the ocean tank that was 6ft tall, seeing as how I was a bit nervous of being in an enclosed space. The tank was too big though, I could feel cold air blowing in and also hear people in the foyer which was really distracting. Still very peaceful though.

The second time I went for the smaller tank that was further from the foyer and it turned out to be a much better experience. No obe or anything, but after a half hour or so I was sort of daydreaming and suddenly burst out in laughter when I realized I had been floating there thinking I was a hairy banana for who knows how long

I would do it again in a heartbeat, next time I would dose up with some weed before hand though.

Were you wearing earplugs? Also, I should add I went in the tank in the evening; I was the only one there. Plus, I wore earplugs, too. It was dead silent.



That sounds like a pain to arrange. I'd rather just wait to own one and do that.

Yes, I had wax earplugs in because I get water stuck in my ears bad :/ I think the place just had a bad set up with the room being so close to the sitting area and thin walls.

It wouldn't be too hard, just eat an edible 30 minutes before you go. You could also have a quick smoke outside depending on the location. It would be amazing to own one though.

If you have never tried floating I highly recommend it! I've been going about 6 months now, only every second week due to work but I would go every week otherwise. Its an awesome way to end your work week, very relaxing. I have fallen asleep a few times, its a jolt to wake up just floating in dark silence!
The experience that has struck me the most so far is a sensation of pressing up against the top of the tank, there have been other brief hallucinations but nothing as vivid as that feeling of my body pressing against the ceiling while I knew I was floating below.

I went in one once under the influence of a lot of mescaline. It was quite an experience that I won't repeat again!

I definitely recommend it. There is an awesome VICE documentary on the float tanks as well; it's part of Hamilton's Pharmacopedia series. I also recommend watching these couple videos before going in, just so you can get a sense of what you're in for.

I went with some friends as well who were not under the influence of anything besides an open mind. They said that their perceptions were lifted. I noticed this too; you may lose all sense of location, time, and (if you choose to do drugs beforehand) identity/ego. It can be quite a blissful state, however try to avoid splashing or moving too much. If salt gets in your eyes, it will be very distracting from your meditation.

Try laying back and not really moving your head or sitting up once you enter the tank. Then be open for anything! I hope you enjoy, and consider posting a follow-up thread after you do it!

And if you use the smaller capsule type tank remember to wipe the condensation from the inside of the lid wear your face will be! Those drips can be annoying, especially when one gets you square in the eye! I speak from experience

Float tanks are amazing! Done it a few times now. Once on the tail end of an acid trip, which was truly blissful.

I've floated a handful of times. I think it's an incredible tool and hope to build a tank someday. So far the 3hr mark feels like the perfect length but I haven't gone much longer than that yet.

Hey Strigi,

I have floated, it was an interesting experience. I see the possibilities the tank offers in terms of meditation and when you're ready, the combination of other substances with it.

I did a two hour float and didn't start to get visualization of my thoughts till probably the last half of it. I think it was so new to me that it took a little while to completely let go. The idea of sensory deprivation is so interesting to me though. When you stop being able to decipher between where your skin starts and the water begins is hard to explain, but it is an important experience that I think people would benefit from.

I would do it again, but if I did I would want to go for much longer (six hours or more).

Great post,

-djsnexus

I was lucky enough to own a float tank in the final year of college. I'd sleep in it sometimes. Once I awoke from a deep dreamless sleep to the world vibrating wildly all around me. Turns out I had been snoring loudly and it was vibrating the heck out of the water I was floating in as well as the plastic shell of the tank. Strange experience.

Float tanks are awesome. Hope to own one again soon.

Haha, oh man. Can you imagine how tough it would be to get out of bed if the tank was your bed. It's the ultimate warm blanket.

I want to know that feeling now

-djsnexus

The float tank I had was a convertible model and used gas shocks to open and close. When closed the top was perfectly flat and allowed a mattress to be placed on top, so my bed was literally on top of my float tank. It gave me a symbiotic relationship with it to use it as a bed, then move the mattress and float in it anytime I wanted. Like I said, it would be nice to have a similar setup in the near future.

Sounds like a nice setup, Mita.

That's genius

I've yet to float, but my buddy had went about a month back. I would've checked it out, except for the fact of it being 45-50 minutes away, by car. Im pretty sure he payed 60/hr, but they were doing deals for multiple floats for a combined cheaper price. He had told me he ate a potent brownie before going in.



We met up after he got back. He said that the room they had it in; there wasn't 'complete' silence, as even with the lid closed and in a secluded room, once settled in, he could still hear the occasional person walk by, aside from the pump making a tiny bit of noise -_- . He said that for the price and what the place had advertised to him over the phone, that the build of the tank could've been of much better quality, versus some of the more refined float locations/tanks out there.

He also said that he would start to get really deep into the experience, then he would gradually float over to one side, bumping the side, completely startling him, snapping him out of it.



Although, even with some of the downsides of this specific area to float, he said that it that it was pretty intense, something that could easily compound the more times you immerse yourself in the tank. He also said that he's had back issues for years; stiff back; morning soreness/stiffness. He said afterward, his back felt the best that it's ever felt; complete freedom of stiffness/pain, aside from the intense mood lift/clarity he had for the rest of the day.