Floating for Meditation, Creativity & Learning
Many people use floatation to explore their deeper self and creative being. Floating allows you the opportunity to turn off the outside world. Since your body isn’t fighting gravity in the float tank and your brain isn’t busy trying to process a hundred million sensations all at once, your mind is left free to explore rather amazing things. We are free to explore all corners of ourselves courtesy of the float tank… and Theta brainwaves of course.
In theta state, we can achieve so much. Theta state is normally reached right before we fall asleep (the elusive inbetween awake & sleep moments). It typically takes years of practice to achieve theta state through deep meditation. With floating, you can start producing theta brainwaves after about half an hour. Think of it as a helpful tool for your meditation practice or a meditation “fast track” for those of us who lack the practice. Did you know that a nap after studying helps to retain what you learned? Theta state helps to increase our learning capabilities as well as the rate at which we are able to absorb the material we learn (recall). Therefore, floating after studying can help you study more effectively.
Benefits of Floating
- Stimulates left/right brain synchronization
- Shifts brain waves from Beta (normal day to day tasks) to lower frequency Alpha (daydreaming state/ when we are relaxed but aware of what is happening around us, Theta (reduced consciousness/ in between awake & sleep), and even Delta (unconsciousness or deep sleep)
- Creates mental clarity and focus
- Increases creativity
- Increases problem solving
- Heightens visualization
- Deepens meditation
- Expands awareness
- Intensifies acuteness of all the senses
- Promotes total calm, peaceful relaxation
A bit more about the brain
For a bit more detail on what happens to the brain during a float session, see the Floating For Mental Performance section.
For more questions about floating, see our FAQs.
“Meditation is very important. It has a very high objective – to take us away from this world of suffering into the world of happiness, joy and Bliss. It is a method, a discipline, that we have to follow very discreetly and if we follow it properly we will find that meditation helps us to discover ourselves, what we really are. As we get deeper into meditation we come nearer to the Source of our
Being.”
-Swami Nirliptananda
