Intro

It's Monday morning, you get to work at 8 AM and you feel like the weekend was a blur with no opportunity to unwind and relax your body or mind. So you head to the toilet, lock yourself in the cubical, set your timer for 20mins and aim for a good old power nap. Who cares that you spent 20mins in the bathroom? As long as you don't come walking out with a glow, the rumors should be kept to a minimum. Why does it have to be so tricky to just have a bit of undisturbed me time? Taking short breaks from my everyday hustle and bustle has often helped me organize my thoughts or even recharge my brain, allowing me to make better thought out decisions and avoiding decision fatigue. Since our bathrooms are not ideal for taking power naps, I started looking at potential alternatives that may be better suited. Let me introduce you to "Float On": a company that specializes in exactly what I was looking for: undisturbed, extremely low external sensory stimulus inside warm water.

Being inside the pod, floating around like an almost weightless water lilly, I was shocked to realize how much tension I had been holding onto in my neck. Moving my arms to different positions I was able to find a completely neutral and relaxed position. It felt surreal, and once I switched the light off I was amazed to hear how much mental noise I had going on. It seems my mind is in constant chatter mode with a few different voices (hopeully this is not the identification of multiple personality disorder) competing for space. The time floated by quickly (pun intended), and I left the experience feeling refreshed and more mentally focused.

The good:

Being centrally located makes it a convenient option for a mid-day escape should the need arise. The atmosphere and experience is geared towards making you feel good and let's face it, who doesn't want to feel good? The float is at your own pace with you in control, which takes away most reservations you might have.

Who is it for?

Anyone who is looking for a relaxing way to clear the mental chatter or take a time-out from work, life and bad behavior.

Watch out:

If you have shaved, waxed or dyed your hair recently, then it's worth checking with them before you go. If you are hydrophobic or if you suffer from aquaphobia, then you probably won't have as much fun as I did - but bring a hydrophobic friend to have some fun watching them try and float!

Alternatives:

Using a meditation app like "Calm" is an alternative that aims to provide the same objectives, but it is definitely not as easy. Lying in your bathtub with lights off and wearing earplugs will definitely not give you the same experience but I guess that sometimes you've just got to make do.

Review:

The experience was what it promised to be and I managed to float comfortably while getting what I was hoping for. Who knows I may even start my next date night with a mind-clearing float before heading out for dinner. Let's hope my wife has enough time in the pod to think about whatever good things I've done lately rather than seethe over me leaving my socks on the floor.

The verdict:

I would definitely recommend it to anyone who thinks they may benefit from getting some "me time", looking to relax a bit or even just for the experience. Check this out for more details and let me know what you think!

What others say:

“I believe that in our culture we need certain socially accepted places where we don't answer the telephone, we don't have to answer questions, or agree with anyone or anything.”

John C. Lily

Hack your mind-without having