My First Floating Experience

THE BUSINESS


Float Lab Technologies
www.floatlab.com
801 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 5, Venice Beach, CA 90291 USA (Google Map)

Owner: “Crash”

2 Tanks with private showers. (towel, soap, shampoo, conditioner all provided free)
No bathrooms inside, must walk outside.
Ocean, beach, waves, and sand, within 50 feet.


90 min session + Ear plugs = $40 CASH (up front)



THE PROCESS:

There are 3 rooms.





Room 1 is the front reception room.

Room 2 is on the back left and has a tank/shower.

Room 3 is on the back right and has a tank/shower.

You walk into Room #1.

You sit on a black leather couch.

You read a laminated paper that describes the tank and how it works.

You wait until the tank is ready to go.

You listen to the owner “Crash” give you safety tips and instructions.

You use the restroom if you need to. (Restroom is outside)

You pay $40 cash.

You go inside either Room 2 or Room 3, which ever one is free and bring your stuff with you.

He shows you how the shower works and how to get into the tank.

He leaves.

You get naked.

You shower.

You go in the tank naked.

You get out of the tank.

You shower again.

You get dressed.

You leave.

Inside the Tank:

Very humid.

Water is lukewarm.

Completely dark

NOT completely silent.  (sometimes, you can still hear loud motorcycles/car/airplanes/sirens)

MY PERSONAL REVIEW OF THE BUSINESS AND EXPERIENCE

I will break my review down to 5 parts.

1.Research

2.Before the float.

3.During the float.

4.After the float.

5.Results.


RESEARCH

A friend texted me and said to check out "Isolation Tanks" or "Float Tanks."

I googled it and and got very curious.

I watched the Joe Rogan YouTube video where he talks about his experience using the float tank.

I also checked out this 8 video documentary series on YouTube called “Introduction to Flotation Tanks.”

Since I’m very impulsive, I called this place and booked a session for me and my friend. The guy told me to be sure not to cancel because it really hits him, which I agree sucks since someone else could of floated.

BEFORE THE FLOAT

I was really exited to try this out, but also was a little freaked out because I’m scared of the dark, and all devil/demon related things.

DAY OF THE FLOAT:

My friend ended up bailing on me which sucked! because I told "Crash" I wasn’t going to cancel.

I decided to go anyways. At this point I’m already nervous because I’m going by myself and I’m not familiar with Venice Beach at all.

I pulled up the wrong directions and it took me 40 min to find this place. At this point, I’m really nervous and almost afraid because in the boardwalk, I’m by myself, in the middle of a bunch of people smoking week, dressed like hippies, skateboarding, and offering me “Marijuana Cards.” Asking for money, and just all out chaos. I don’t mean to criticize but I’m not familiar with this type of atmosphere at all. I’m from Rowland Heights! All you see is Chinese people driving. So you can kind of see this wasn’t a good start for a “spiritual/relaxing experience.”

I ended up asking a guy for directions and luckily got to the place 10 min early. I walked in and the guy hardly acknowledge me. He was busy trying to pick up stuff and trying to organize the place up. To my high standards, the front room was not up to par. He was by himself and had no workers there.

I sit down on a black leather sofa and he gives me a laminated sheet to read about what the float tank is and how it works.

He then tells me to hop on this cool machine that shakes you in different rhythms and speeds. Very cool machine. At this point I realize the windows are clear and that people could see me on the machine as they pass by. I felt a little embarrassed.

After the machine ride, he sits down and explains to me I need to shower before and after the float, how I need to enter the tank , and that I should keep my face dry and not rub my eyes because the salty water will sting. (which it did! keep reading).

He then gives me a pair of ear plugs and leads me to the tank, shows me how to work the shower, and leaves. LITERALLY LEAVES THE BUILDING! I’m now by myself, in this place, in this city that I don’t know, about to go into complete darkness which I’m scared of, not knowing what to expect, not knowing if I’m going to see angels or demons or the devil himself because of my fears. YIKES!

I got naked and took a shower. The soap here is AMAZING. It leaves your body feeling minty with a tingling sensation. The water was lukewarm, I couldn’t find a way to make it hot like I like it. At moments it was super cold. Once again, this is not a great start for a “relaxing experience.”

I get out of the shower, dry my face and…


DURING THE FLOAT

I go into the tank. I realize it’s super humid in here. Not what I expected. Warm. Water felt like regular water, not like JELLO or anything I expected. I lay down and kept my eyes closed.

I was surprised I floated very easily over the water. I noticed I kept moving from side to side and touching the wall as I was floating and couldn't stay perfectly “centered,” which made me question if it would affect my floating “Experience.”

As the minutes pass, I’m still pretty nervous at the fact that I’m by myself, in a city I don’t know, alone in a room, inside total darkness, with no one to hear me if I scream or start to freak out.

I try to relax, and begin my “spiritual/enlightening” experience as I expected.

I tried to keep my mind blank, without any thoughts or thinking about anything. I was afraid to start thinking and stop any thought that pop up by saying to myself “Don’t think.” I just keep saying to myself "relax, relax, relax."

About 30 min. into it, I’m not really enjoying my time, I’m more like just forcing myself to wait for the time to be up so I can get out. I’m way to nervous, I just can’t relax enough to go into Delta wave state.

I noticed I felt a little cold. The water was warmer than the air.

About 45 min into it, I realize I needed to pee but didn't want to get out since I knew I would not get back in. So I just ignored, but it still bugged me from that point on.

At some moments I probably did go into a sort of unconscious state when I let go and relaxed a little, but nothing to trigger an out of body experience, hallucinations, any "spiritual" experience, or the feeling of becoming one with the tank and losing sense of where my body started/ended.

To my surprise, time went by fast and at about 90 min. I heard Crash call my name “ROBERT!” and I yelled back “Yeah?!”, he said “TIMES UP BUDDY!,” I said “OK!”.

I quickly got up, feeling a little rushed and a little anxious. (once again, not good for a “spiritual experience") As I got up, I accidentally rubbed my eyes, since I’m so used to doing it from when I go swimming, water got in and it started to sting! I quickly opened the door and got out.

I showered with almost cold water and was shaking. At this point I just wanted to get dressed, and go home.

I quickly got out of the shower, it was super cold, and got dressed. As I was dressing I heard Crash talking to another dude who was saying he was going to go smoke some Marijuana upstairs, which totally disappointed me to ever hear that conversation. I don’t mean to bad mouth Crash, or say he smokes Marijuana, but this isn't helping my already bad experience :(

I got to the front room, saw some people outside, saw Crash, I said thank you, he saw me shaking, and said "what’s wrong?", I said "it’s super cold man and the shower water is cold." He then showed me how to turn on the hot water. I just needed to move the lever to the left and let it run. I kept the lever in the middle thinking the water temperature was already set. LOL!

AFTER THE FLOAT

As I walked to my car, I realized my body felt SUPER relaxed. It was almost like I was on a natural high.

Originally, before the float, I wanted to walk to the beach, chillax, and contemplate after the my float, but at this point I just wanted to leave.

As I started driving and felt more calm, I started to feel better and realized I was WAY too nervous, WAY too tense, WAY too scared, and that it wasn't THAT bad. CHILLAX BUDDY!

I guess that’s what it feels after one faces our fears.

While driving, I reflected on the experience, my self, and my life. I felt really empowered and proud that I did it by myself.

When I got home, I went straight to sleep.

LESSONS LEARNED

The float tank is tool to help you relax, unwind, and get away from all the noise of everyday life. It is not a "gateway" to a spiritual experience like I thought it was. At least not the first time.

With practice, deep relaxation, and the right intentions, I'm sure you can achieve a metal state conductive to altered states or spiritual experiences.

Another huge lessons I learned is that if you really want to do something, you do it with or without someone. Don't let anything stop you from growing and experiencing life.

Meditation is not some mystical complex thing, it's just the act of relaxing your body and mind.


RESULTS


The biggest effect this experience had on me was that it made me realize that my current closest friends are not people I should associate with if I really want to grow, develop personally, and be ultra successful. We just don't share the same passions for personal-development.

So I decided that I will end my friendship with all of them and make new like-minded friends.

LIKES:

I like that CRASH said to me, “that’s great that you came anyways, I see you’re on your own independence, that’s good.” And when he said “The tank is a development tool, who knows, you might have triggered something today.”

The machine that shakes your body in the front room. It's wicked!

The minty shower soap.

I like that the location it's right next to the beach.

DISLIKES:


The fact that I went alone.

The fact that Crash left me by myself knowing it was my 1st time. I wish he would have stayed; it would have made me feel more secure.

The lukewarm/semi-cold showers.

Water stinging my eyes.

The bathroom being outside.


MY ADVICE FOR FIRST TIME FLOATERS


Don’t drink water at least 3-4 hours before your float to make sure you don’t need to pee.

Don’t eat anything that can upset or mess with your stomach while you’re floating.

Make sure to pull-up the right directions.

Arrive at least 1 hour before your float.

Try to go with a friend or have a friend accompany you just so you can feel safe.

Don’t be afraid of the tank. Nothing bad is going to happen.

Look at the tank as a tool to help you relax, not as a center or gateway for a spiritual experience.

Understand that everyone has a different experience when they float and that your float may not be the same as mine, your friend or other people.

IN CONCLUSION

Everything I said here was based on my experience. Your experience might be totally different. I hope that my review can at least help you get a glimpse of the details of what it’s like to float for the first time. I made this review because I couldn’t find this level of detail anywhere on the web.

I will try to make a video version of this review.  I’ve been typing for a while now and I’m getting irritated. I know I’m missing a lot of pointers which I will include later on in the video. I hope this helps you, and good luck.

To your development.

God Bless.

Rob