7 Theories of Floating

THERE'S NO DOUBT that floating works - as a therapeutic, educational, and entertainment tool it has powerful effects on a number of levels, including the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. But why is the flotation environment so effective? What can be so actively beneficial in an essentially passive device? This is a question that has intrigued scientists, and today there is an explosion of flotation research going on in laboratories around the world. The evidence accumulated so far falls into a number of distinct, though interrelated, explanations. Among the most important of these are:

1 The Antigravity Explanation.

The buoyancy afforded by the dense Epsom-salt solution eliminates the body's specific gravity, bringing the floater close to an experience of total weightlessness. Gravity, which has been estimated to occupy nearly90 percent of all central nervous system activity, is probably the single largest cause of human health problems - the bad backs, sagging abdomens, aching feet, painful joints, and muscular tensions that result from our unique but unnatural upright posture. This theory asserts that, by freeing our brain and musculoskeletal system from gravity, floating liberates vestments of energies and large areas of the brain to deal with matters of mind, spirit, and enhanced awareness of internal states.

2 The Brain Wave Explanation.

More interesting than the well known alpha waves generated by the brain in moments of relaxation, are the slower theta waves, which are accompanied by vivid memories, free as- socialization, sudden insights, creative inspiration, feelings of serenity and oneness with the universe. It is a mysterious, elusive state, potentially highly productive and enlightening: but experimenters have had a difficult time studying it, and it is hard to maintain, since people tend to fall asleep once they begin generating theta waves. One way of learning to produce theta waves is to perfect the art of meditation.A study of Zen monks conducted by Akira Kasamatsu and Tomio Hirai, in which the monks' brain waves were charted as they entered meditative states, indicated that the four meditative plateaus (from alpha to the more sublime theta) were parallel to the disciples' mental states, and their years spent in Zen training.

3 The Left-Brain Right-Brain Explanation.

The two hemispheres of the neocortex operate in fundamentally different modes. The left hemisphere excels at detail, processing information that is small-scale, requiring fine resolution: it operates analytically, by splitting or dissection. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, is good at putting all the pieces together: it operates on pattern recognition-visual intuitively, rapidly absorbing large- scale information. Just as in the sunshine of a bright day it is impossible to see the stars, so are the subtle contents of the right hemisphere usually drowned out by the no is noisy chattering of the dominant verbal/analytical left brain, whose qualities are the more cultivated and valued in our culture. But recent research indicates that floating increases right-brain (or minor hemisphere) function. Floating turns off the external stimuli, plunges us into literal and I figurative darkness - then suddenly the entire universe of stars and galaxies is spread out before our eyes.

4 The Three-Brain Explanation

In a series of seminal studies produced over the last twenty-five years, Paul MacLean, chief brain researcher at the National Institutes of Mental Health, has produced convincing evidence that the human brain has three separate physiological layers, each corresponding to a stage in our evolutionary history. In this "Triune Brain Theory," the most ancient layer is called the reptile brain, and it controls basic self-preservative, reproductive and life sustaining functions. Sitting atop the reptile brain is the limbic system, which MacLean has dubbed the visceral brain, because it generates all our emotions. The most recent part of the brain to develop is the "thinking cap" of convoluted gray matter called the neocortex, seat of our abstract, cognitive functions: memory, intellect, language, and consciousness. While these three separate brains have many overlapping functions they are all quite different in chemistry, structure, action, and style.

5 The Neurochemical Explanation

Neuroscientists have recently discovered that the brain is an endocrine organ that secretes numerous neurochemicals which influence our behavior. Our brains secrete hormones that make us happy, anxious, depressed, shy, sleepy, sexy. Each of us creates different amounts of these various neurochemicals, and those who create, for example more endorphins - natural opiates - experience more pleasure as a result of a given experience than those who create fewer endorphins. Tests indicate that floating increases the secretion of endorphins at the same time as it reduces the levels of a number of stress-related neurochemicals, such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, ACTH, and cortisol substances that can cause tension, anxiety, ignitability, and are related to ailments such as heart disease, hypertension, and high levels of cholesterol. One other neurochemical theory is the "return to the womb" explanation.

6 The Biofeedback Explanation

Because of biofeedback research (including Johns Hopkins researcher John Basmajian's conclusive study of subjects consciously firing off single motor-unit neurons), we now know that humans can learn to exercise conscious control over virtually every cell in their bodies. Processes long thought to be involuntary, such as the rhythm and amplitude of our brain waves, healing, blood pressure, the rate and force of heart contractions, respiratory rate, smooth muscle tension, and the secretion of hormones and neurotransmitters are now thought to be controllable. The way biofeedback machines work is by enhancing concentration: by focusing on a single, subtle change in the body, which is being amplified by the machine, we are able to shut off our awareness of the external environment. This shutting off of external stimuli is exactly what the flotation environment does best - almost as if in an "organic" biofeedback machine, in the tank every physical sensation is magnified, including relaxation.

7 The Homeostasis Explanation

The human body has an exquisitely sensitive self- monitoring and self-regulating system that is constantly working to maintain the body in homeostasis -an optimal state of balance, harmony, equilibrium, stability. Considered in these terms, we can define stress as a disruption of our internal equilibrium, a disturbance of our natural homeostasis. Research now indicates that many of floating's most powerful effects come from its tendency to return the body to a state of homeostasis. When we view the mind and body as a single system, it becomes clear that external stimuli are constantly militating against the system's equilibrium: every noise, every degree of temperature above or below the body's optimal level, every encounter with other people, everything we see and feel can disrupt our homeostasis. But when we enter the tank, we abruptly stop this constant adjustment to outer stimuli. Since there are no external threats, no pressures to adapt to out- side events, the system can devote all its energies to rest.

If you are intrigued by the excerpts presented here, and would like to I know more about floating, pick up a copy of The Book of Floating by Michael Hutchison, published by William Merrow and Company. It is the FIRST and ONLY comprehensive guide to flotation. This one volume I provides in-depth coverage of the I practical uses of flotation environments. You will read HOW and WHY floating works, including detailed explanations of the benefits of floating such as: deep relaxation, improved athletic performance, control of habits and addictions, weight loss, reduction of anxiety and depression ,plus accelerated learning methods. An indispensable text for the novice or experienced floater.