American chef, author and television personality known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential talks fondly of using floatation tanks

"Back in the late 80’s my kitchen crew and I used to float all the time. There used to be lots of 24-hour sensory deprivation centers and we'd generally go after work, when we were bone tired but still flying on adrenaline. An hour in the float tank and I'd come out relaxed, rested, my back feeling amazing and in good shape to interact with normal, non-restaurant people.

Interestingly, I found that for a day or two after floating, my experience of colours and flavours would be much more acute and intense. Reds were redder, blues brighter and the taste of food more explosive.

Lying in the tank, I'd feel like I was moving through space, my brain speaking to itself in an unfamiliar language. I miss the tanks!" ~ Anthony Bourdain

Why floatation tanks use Epsom salts

Why floatation tanks use Epsom salts 

Epsom Salt Floatation tanks are an excellent way of combating stress, alleviating muscular aches and pains and for reaching Zen like states of relaxation. 

The buoyancy in a floattank is provided by creating a super saturated mixture of Epsom salts and water, allowing the user to float effortlessly on top of the skin temperature solution.

Epsom salts / Magnesium Sulphate / Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO₄·7H₂O) has been used for centuries as an effective cure all.

Soaking in Epsom salts has been found to stimulate lymph drainage, and promote the absorption of Magnesium and Sulphates.

Magnesium is the second-most abundant element in human cells and the fourth-most important positively charged ion in the body, so it is little wonder this low-profile mineral is so vital to good health and well being. Magnesium, a major component of Epsom Salt, also helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins. 

Magnesium levels have dropped by half in the last century due to changes in agriculture and diet. Industrial farming has depleted Magnesium from soil and the typical diet contains much less Magnesium than that of our forefathers. In fact, the modern diet with its fat, sugar, salt and protein actually works to speed up the depletion of Magnesium from our bodies. 

57% of the US population does not meet the US Recommended Dietary Allowance for dietary intake of magnesium.

Researchers and physicians report that raising your magnesium and sulphate levels may:

• Improve heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

• Improve the body's ability to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

• Flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

• Improve nerve function by regulating electrolytes. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

• Relieve stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

• Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

When using a float tank Magnesium is absorbed through the skin due to natural molecular diffusion, the body optimizes the levels of Magnesium, so there is no overload effect from floating in the salts for extended periods.

While increasing your Magnesium levels, Epsom Salt also delivers sulphates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulphates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the Mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulphates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. 

Float tanks are becoming more popular with many multi tank facilities opening around the globe. Why not book a session today? 

Try searching the following terms; float tank, floatation tank, flotation tank, isolation tank, sensory deprivation tank to find your nearest float centre. 

Hollywood Actress Naomie Harris loves floatation tanks

28 Days Later, Pirates of the Caribbean and Sky Fall actress Naomie Harris loves to get away from it all in a floatation tank. 

"I’m obsessed with floating because it’s a bit like being back in the womb and is also a good way of getting over jet lag".

Huffington Posts My Daily Reviews float tanks

How do you switch off, kick back and really relax?’ a question that I, as a busy technology-addicted Londoner, had been struggling with for a while. I’d found myself when I wasn’t in the office, or on a train, or squeezing a spot of socialising into my jam-packed schedule, constantly on my phone or my laptop (I’d have been on my iPad too if I had one). I could never just sit down and do, well, nothing. This had to stop.

I’d heard about floatation therapy from a friend, who more or less said, “It’s like a coffin filled with water. You lie in it and like float and you like totally forget about everything and it’s, like, really amazing.” After that, I had to find out for myself what this off-the-wall relaxation method was all about.

When I arrived at Floatworks Wellness Centre for my one-hour float session I was a little anxious at the prospect of being detached from my iPhone (and my Blackberry – yup, I’m one of those people) and left alone in a watery coffin-like tank with just my thoughts for company, but I put on a brave face. I’d prepared for the occasion, no caffeine, no alcohol, I’d been to the loo, I’d eaten but I wasn’t too full, I was ready.

I was shown to my private room by Floatworks manager Peter, and upon seeing the Fiat Punto-sized tank with its soft glowing neon lights I couldn’t help but excitedly exclaim, “Oh my days. That is SO cool,” to which Peter laughed and I cringed inside. All my preconceptions had vanished in a flash and I couldn’t wait to climb in and shut the lid.

After a quick shower and inserting a pair of earplugs I took a dip in the Epsom salts. Peter had warned me that I might end up with super-salty water in my eye during my first float… He was right. Upon discovering that I could actually float in this silky water without any effort, I sat up in shock and splashed myself in the face (schoolboy error), fortunately for me the tanks are kitted out with a fresh water spray bottle for mishaps such as these.

I spent the first few minutes playing about in the water, pushing myself off the sides and giggling, but soon turned off the lights and tried to relax. Now, I’m a real sceptic and was utterly convinced I wouldn’t ‘switch off’, but lying there completely still in water tempered to match the human body I felt like I was drifting through space. I forgot it was a Monday, forgot I had to go back to the office, forgot I even owned a mobile phone – it was brilliant.

I felt the real effects of the treatment once I was back to reality at the tube station wearing a massive grin on my face feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world. The shoulder and neck pain a lot of office workers suffer with was alleviated and in sum I was a new woman. I floated home (sorry) without a care in the world.

A single one-hour float session at Floatworks is £45. 

©Huffington Post, My Daily, Ellen Stewart Celebrity Writer. 
10 Feb 2013.

See original article  http://www.mydaily.co.uk/2013/02/10/float-therapy-floatworks-review_n_2637920.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Ricky Gervais Show - Floatation Tank

Olympic Athletes use isolation tanks

The Chilean medical and Physiotherapy team visit the Floatworks to check us out.

When we asked "Why floatation?"

Dr Radice replied:

"Because it is the perfect therapy for our athletes! You get off the plane after many hours of flying and you arrive feeling tired and achy. A one hour float and you feel so much better. Also being super relaxed helps with sport as your muscles are more flexible and it helps you stay mentally focussed."

London Olympics 2012 Float Tank preperation

In the mind of an Olympic fencer.  

Interview by Peter Bell

Earlier this week I got a chance to sit down with Laurence Halsted: A Floatworks Customer and GB Olympic fencer.

We had invited him in as a congratulations for getting his place in the GB Olympic 2012 fencing team. We are certainly very proud of him and will be rooting for him when he competes on the 5th August 2012!

Laurence had just spent a wonderful hour in the float tank and so we had a good old chat about the importance of the mind in sport. The conversation has been edited for brevity and to keep a few top training methods he uses secret (let's keep the home advantage!)

Interview: 

PB: Thank you for coming in to talk Laurence and congratulations on getting your place in the Olympic Team 

PB: How long have you been working towards this? 

LH: I started fencing when I was 8 so I have been fencing for 20 years now. For the last 6 years this has been my full time job. I have been focused on the Olympics since we won the Olympic bid in 2005. 

PB: Why did you start fencing? 

LH: Well firstly it’s because it’s the best sport! The tactical and physical elements really make it better than the others. How I got it into it was because both my parents were Olympic fencers and my Mother ran a fencing club 'Finchley Foil' in North London. So it’s in the blood! 

PB: What are the big competitions like? 

LH: A very intense day of activity.

You start the day with rankings and then there is a knock out tournament - from the top 64 all the way to the overall winner. 6 years of training and the winner is decided in one day! 

PB: That must be very stressful? 

LH: It's what we're trained for 

PB: What enables you to thrive in that pressured environment? 

LH: It's all about mentality. All the top competitors will have great technical abilities - so the deciding factor is a mental one. I’ve been working with a psychologist using a new psychological approach by Dr Steve Peters. It focuses on focus - about being able to block out all the psychological noise that really gets in the way. When you start commenting negatively on your own performance and over analysing your technique then these thoughts are not going to help you. When you learn to recognise these thoughts and quieten them then your chances of winning increases. So every time I have a negative/ unhelpful thought I have a special response to it which I use to bat it away and stops it from returning. 

PB: Can you tell us what things you would do to quieten those negative thoughts. So for example if an athlete had the thought "My opponent has better technique than me" 

LH: then you can negate it by saying "that's fine I can still win if I'm determined and having those thoughts are not helpful to me". Also another technique would be to....... [CENSORED] 

PB: Its obvious that the mind plays a big part in sport from the number of GB Athletes we have visiting floatworks. What role do you think floatation plays for athletes in their training? 

LH: Its good for mental preparation as well as recovery. Visualisation is a very valid use of your time in a floatation tank. As an Athlete you are encouraged to visualise every day and in the floatation tank you are free from distractions which makes it the perfect place to do this. If you lead a very busy life then it can be difficult to find the time and space to visualise - this is why having an hour of dedicated time in the float tank is just brilliant. 

PB: Because floatation is deeply relaxing is there any danger that you might lose your aggressive edge when competing? 

LH: It's true that in fencing you need to be switched on and have some aggression but I really wouldn't have any concerns about floating the day before a competition. I just wouldn't float on the day of my competition! 

PB: Well that's good to know! Thank you so much for sharing your Jedi training techniques with me. We at Floatworks give you and your team mates our full support and shall be cheering for you on the 5th August. In the meantime you know where we are if you need to have a float! 

LH: Thank you that's exactly the kind of support that we need!