By: Bridget Bachman
Do you remember the song called “Relax (Don’t Do It)” by the artist Frankie Goes to Hollywood? This seems to have become the motto of the modern day American family; hustling from event to event and always moving yet refusing to slow down enough to actually relax. The beauty of floating is that it forces you to relax. It puts you into an intentional state of mind and place where stimulation is literally nonexistent and you have no other choice but to give into the power of relaxation. Floating has guided me to relaxation and has revealed to me just how much I needed that relaxation. At times, we do not even comprehend that we are under great amounts of stress until we experience essential relaxation. Souler Float provides this essential relaxation experience in such a delightful, rejuvenating, and affordable manner.
Relaxation comes easy in the float tank because the floater is surrounded and saturated by the relaxation inducing mineral called Magnesium. The float tank is filled with 1,100 pounds of medical grade Magnesium Sulfates. Magnesium is amazing and contains many relaxation and healing properties! Magnesium causes relaxation due to its ability to increase GABA which is a neurotransmitter that blocks impulses between nerve cells in the brain and encourages healthy sleep as well as deep relaxation. Low GABA levels in the body can make it difficult to relax. Magnesium also plays a key role in regulating the body’s stress-response system. Many people are deficient in magnesium and this is associated with heightened stress and anxiety levels. When levels of stress and anxiety are high, it is more difficult for people to relax and even fall asleep.
What holds us back from receiving the gift of relaxation through floating?
Some negative mindsets that we unknowingly may carry that are blocking our ability to allow relaxation to take place include:
- “I just don’t have the time to relax. I have too much going on to slow down!”
- “Relaxing is selfish. I have other people to care about and I simply can’t take that much time for myself!”
- “I could do better things with my time than relax.”
I would have to challenge these mindsets with asking if the person thinking these things truly understands their core worth. When one starts to see that they are incredibly valuable and worthy of giving themselves the well-deserved gift of relaxation, then the unhealthy mindsets that “relaxing is selfish” or a “time waster” begins to dissolve and dissipate. The knowledge that relaxation actually produces more productivity in the work place, a healthier body, spirit, and mind, and even enhances daily relationships is vital.
How can one pour out from an empty cup? Relaxation through floating fills that inner cup and ushers in a relaxed state of mind and body, which in turn positively impacts relationships, interactions, and even conversations with all those around us. This is because people generally appreciate and enjoy being around a relaxed and rested person more than an uptight and anxious person. Think about it: Don’t you just love it when your partner, children, parents, friends, or any of your loved ones are feeling more relaxed, rested, cared for, and “filled up” in their own ways?
We can give more to others when we give relaxation first to ourselves. Make yourself a priority and put your oxygen mask on first! When one is flying on an airplane, the flight attendant tells the passengers to put their own oxygen mask on first before helping others. This ensures survival because if you run out of oxygen first, you can’t help anyone else with their own oxygen masks. In life, we need to take care of ourselves first before we try to take care of everything and everyone else. If we don’t take the time to care for ourselves, then burnout, stress, fatigue, health problems, anxiety, and even reduced mental effectiveness is bound to follow.
Why must we be so intentional about relaxing and floating?
If we are not intentional about taking the time to float, relax, and rejuvenate, then the stress of life will continue to grow and increase. Be your own hero and be intentional about your relaxation. A fantastic way to get intentional would be to define the motivation behind the reason to engage in relaxation and floating. I like to call this the “why?” factor. What is your “why?” for floating and relaxation? Once you capture the “why”, it will bring about a clear, concise understanding as well as an internal validation for the time you must take for yourself to relax. My own personal “why?” for my relaxation through floating would be to build a healthier self so that I may flourish and soar in my body, mind, spirit, career, and relationships with others. Find your intentional “why” right now, write it down, making it crystal clear and look at it the next time you face negative mindsets that try to prohibit you from taking the time you need to relax and float.
Another way to be very intentional about your relaxation journey is to make time for it ahead of time. Rather than just collapsing because you can’t keep going any longer, plan for relaxation before you reach that point. Schedule your floats into your calendar and treat it as sacred time because you know that it will bring undeniable healing and relaxation. View this relaxation time in your calendar as being just as important as anything else in your calendar if not more important! Love yourself, so that you can love others. Float, so that you can share the goodness of floating with others.
