Funded
with a very successful Kickstarter campaign, filmmakers Jory Piglowski and Carl
Jessee created a documentary feature that
delves into the world of floatation (Flotation Restricted Environmental
Stimulation Technique).
The full film can be watched for free in HD
The
film is the end result of a month-long road trip across the United
States and parts of Canada.
Float Nation explores the common use of ‘floating’
and its many uses and health benefits. Puzzled by the vast amount of flotation
research and recreational use, and a general lack of awareness amongst the public at large, the film-makers set out to talk to
researchers, float tank innovators, tank users, doctors, and float centre
owners to figure out what floating really is and why it was relatively
obscure to the mainstream.
Experts and talking-heads share and
exchange views on the benefits sensory deprivation can bring to all of us.
The i-sopod features
heavily in this documentary at various junctures confirming its place in the US and world market
as one of the very best float tanks. You can see this pod and its functions alongside
some contrasting antique models being used by the pioneers of floatation.
Here’s a great opportunity to find out
just how good floatation tanks are and how they work.
Featured in this clip from American
sports show Hang Time in which EPSN – The Magazine’s journalist Sam Alipour
visits a floatation centre with Stephen Curry (Warriors Guard) and Harrison
Barnes (Warriors Forward) of the Golden State Warriors basketball squad.
We learn that one of the biggest trends
in the sports science world is athletes using floatation tanks to protect and
repair their bodies and minds.
In the clip, the two basketball players
use i-sopod tanks, based at Reboot Spa in San Francisco. They go on to discuss
the benefits of regular float sessions and they both agree that it’s good to
let go of their thoughts and see where their mind takes them as they lay back
in the Epsom salt solution.They endorse
the experience because it soothes their bodies as well as their minds.
Stephen mentions that he begins the
session by planning play strategies but within minutes he’s relaxed and it’s
Russian roulette as to what his mind may turn up.
All in all, our i-sopod floatation
tanks are certainly having a positive impact on these two player’s game. The
team’s performances speak for themselves just as they are getting closer to the
longest regular season winning streak in NBA history.
Much has been written about the therapeutic
qualities of using floatation pods. The isolation can centre the mind, induce
deep relaxation and heighten the senses through reduced sensory stimulation.
But why does it enhance creativity?
Here’s what happened when some jazz
musicians immersed themselves in the realms of the floatation pod to give themselves
a creative boost and increase good technique use. But did it work?
Back in 2011 professors from the
Universities of Toronto and British Columbia thought they’d find out if an hour
in a floatation tank would have any effect on jazz students who had already
spent a full day sweating lbs over their instruments.
The researchers found “a significant
difference between the treatment and comparison groups on technical ability, but
not on any other dimension”. Thanks to this enhancement of skill level, those
who had floated “had significantly higher grades in their jazz improvisation
class than the comparison group.”
The results of the studies led by Oshin
Vartanian and Peter Suedfield found that one hour per week (over the test
period of 4 weeks) boosted the technical agility and ability in the group.The outcome suggested that limited periods of
minimal sensory stimulation could well improve an individual’s skills.
So Epsom salts does
mix with a good dose of saxophone noodling.
The Floatworks was first established in 1993 and we now operate 9 tanks and receive over 1300 customers each month. We also manufacture the i-sopod floatation tank and sell these in Europe, Asia and the US.