 |
Floating |
|
Floating "on top of the word" |
| |
Besides being a highly enjoyable experience,
"floating" is a powerfully productive leisure activity
for individuals who wish to explore the full potential of their
bodies, their minds, and their natural abilities. |
| |
 |
|
|
Floatation REST - the science of deep
relaxation |
| |
|
Pathfinder is based on a scientific approach
to deep relaxation known as Restricted
Environmental Stimulation Therapy and its acronym REST.
Floatation REST has its origins in the "isolation tank"
developed by maverick neuroscientist John
Lilly
in the mid-1950s while he was an eminent researcher at America's
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Floatation REST "restricts" or eliminates all the external
stress-factors or "stimuli" that normally affect body
and mind in day-to-day life.
|
| |
·
|
Gravity: The concentrated Epsom
salt solution creates a weightless
environment that liberates mind and body from the effects of gravity. |
| |
·
|
Temperature: The solution is kept at skin-temperature,
thus freeing the nervous system and brain from another constant
stress-factor. |
| |
·
|
Touch: With only skin-temperature
fluid in contact with the millions of sensitive nerve-endings that
cover the skin, there is no sense of separation between the body
and its surroundings. According to research, this reduction
in tactile stimulation (sense of touch) plays a subtle but important
part in triggering a profound state of relaxation. Subjectively,
it creates a sensation of complete loss of body
boundaries. |
| |
·
|
Sight and sound: Floating in complete darkness
and silence liberates large areas of the brain
devoted to processing sensory information, further increasing the
depth of mental relaxation. |
| |
| |
Although we are usually not consciously aware of these
external factors, taken together they consume over 95% of our physical
and mental energy. |
| |
|
|
|
The Relaxation Response - nature empowered
by science |
| |
|
Floatation REST triggers a profound "relaxation
response" that is totally automatic and operates simultaneously
at all levels of the personality. |
| |
·
|
The importance of the relaxation
response to physical and mental health can be easily understood
by considering its opposite - the fight
or flight response - the deep biological process set in motion
by mental stress. |
| |
·
|
Medical science accepts that most of today's endemic
"lifestyle" diseases are stress-related.
|
| |
| |
On a gross physical level, floatation REST
allows the body to achieve a state of total relaxation - much deeper
and richer than normal sleep - almost comparable to a state of hibernation. |
| |
·
|
In the zero-gravity REST environment, muscles can
relax fully. Residual muscle tension (often unconsciously locked
into the body, and sometimes called "body armour") discharges
completely. |
| |
·
|
With a reduced workload on the heart and cardiovascular system,
blood pressure and heart rate are lowered to healthy levels. |
| |
·
|
Blood vessels and capillaries dilate, improving the
flow of nutrients and oxygen to every single cell in the body, promoting
healthy tissue growth. |
| |
·
|
During deep relaxation, the level of T-cells in the bloodstream
is boosted, strengthening the immune system. |
| |
| |
On a more subtle biological level, deep neuromuscular
relaxation changes the type of hormones secreted by the brain and
endocrine
system. |
| |
·
|
Floating cleanses harmful stress
hormones from the bloodstream. |
| |
·
|
Floating releases large amounts of endorphins
into the bloodstream, giving immediate relief from chronic pain
and fatigue. |
| |
| |
These subtle changes in body chemistry have a profoundly
beneficial impact on an individual's emotional
balance. Negative emotions such as anxiety and fear are replaced
by positive feelings of empowerment, confidence, and well-being
- the feeling of being "on top of the world". |
| |
|
| |
|
back to top ^ |
| |
