A few days ago I did my first float at Float Madison. Lying in a tub filled with warm, salty water in the dark sounded like a nice way to relax and let my divorce stress just leech out of me and be washed away by a cleansing saline bath. So I scheduled a session for August but my new tattoo forced me to reschedule.
I arrived a bit before my scheduled time to go through orientation. As I was stepping in the front door, a woman walked in behind me. She promptly sat down on the lobby's couch and took off her shoes like a veteran floater. I presumed this wasn't her first time. A bearded gentlemen came in, greeted her by name, and she then shuffled off into the back. He turned to me and asked that I take off my shoes and put on a pair of rubber sandals. I did so and he then led me to a room of dancing shadows, er, I mean a float suite.
The lights were dim and a relaxing blue radiated from the float tank making me feel like I was in a bathroom in the mansion from Eyes Wide Shut. My host proceeded to give gave me his spiel.
The process was straightforward and soon I was left to my own devices. After disrobing and slapping on the earplugs I hit the shower. It had a glass wall and I admit I felt a bit showy, a bit ostentatious despite there being no one else in the room. I guess I'm just used to showering enclosed on all 4 sides with tile or a curtain/door that obscures the bathing within. It might have been titillating, however, if a woman sheathed in a cloak was watching me bathe through the eye slits of an ornate mask as some Jocelyn Pook played in the background.
["Skippy did a bad, bad thing." Is that how it goes?]
Once I was all clean, I carefully entered the float chamber not wanting to slip and get another head injury. They also have pods but I felt I wanted a little more verticality to my experience and went with one of the the more capacious chambers on offer.
So there's the tub with 10" of warm water below and a spangled ceiling above. All the lights were of a lovely cobalt hue and entering the chamber had a relaxing, if a bit surreal, effect. I got in, sat down, and closed the portal. There were separate controls for the tub and ceiling lights as well as one to adjust music volume.
Since this was all new to me and I had no idea what to do, I laid back and then turned off all the lights hoping for a kind of Altered States experience, although I left the music, which was your stereotypical unobtrusive ambient kind of stuff, on low volume. (I think Brian Eno should do an album called Music for Floats.) The earplugs reduced the volume further and the synth waves became this gentle, barely audible melody floating in the background. Oh. I refrained from psychedelics.
It was dark. Very dark. (I prayed that there were no grues about.) It was like looking into a void. THE void, if you know what I mean. I hoped that it didn't gaze back if for no other reason than I was buck naked and a bit self-conscious.
I have never meditated and the Float folks emphasize that their flotation experiences are fine aids to mediation/mindfulness routines. So, with the lights out I had no idea what to do. I began by concentrating on my breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
This may be salubrious for some folks but it merely made me acutely aware that my nose was a bit stuffy. Without visual stimulation as a distraction and my ears securely plugged, I felt myself becoming more conscious of my body in the general sense.
Ere long I noticed that my front was a bit cooler than my back so I
turned the lights on to see just how much of me was submerged and it
turned out not that much as most of me was floating above the surface.
That's what a crap ton of Epsom salt will do. I became aware of various bodily activities that are normally blocked out from my consciousness such as all the water and diet 7UP I had drunk before the float gurgling away as it wended its way through my digestive system. I also noticed that the salt made my skin feel slick. Not just smooth, but slick. Yes, I know how stoopid it sounds saying that something wet is slick but my epidermis felt slick in a way it does not in the shower at home. What does Epsom salt do?
My headache slowly faded to a dim throb and I took the proprietor's advice and put my arms up with my hands above my head. I began to splash with one of my fingers as the sound reminded me of the middle bit of "Take a Pebble" where you hear the splashes behind Lake's beautiful guitar picking. I got carried away and quickly learned to be more gentle as some droplets landed precariously close to my eyes. When I began daydreaming, I found that I was becoming progressively more relaxed. As in a deep down body relaxation. Is this where I'd regress into a caveman? If so, those filters would be working overtime.
I am not sure if I regressed because I fell into the arms of Morpheus. My guess is that I slept for 15-20 minutes but I cannot say with any certainty. All I know is that one minute I am thinking about a particular person and the next the lights are on and the music is gradually increasing in volume signalling the end of my float.
I made my egress from the chamber and once again hit the shower. After dressing I went into the lobby where I put my shoes back on and chatted briefly with the proprietor. I was indeed very relaxed yet invigorated at the same time. Float offers a lounge where you can drink tea and enjoy your post-float glow. I, however, had a cat to feed so I crossed Wilson Street where there was a bus stop. Standing there just looking down the street, I felt dislocated but in a good way. I couldn't remember what day it was for a minute and I felt like I was somewhere else too. No place in particular, just not downtown Madison.
I think these feelings were abetted by the fact that it was dusk, that liminal time between light and darkness. Groups of young folks were walking to what I presumed were taverns, talking and laughing amongst themselves. There was still some daylight left yet the cars and building had lights on. It was cool but still very much shorts weather.
It was just lovely out and things just felt right.
