ORLANDO -- Carolina Begglo looked like a sleeping princess as she lay on her back, her long, dark hair billowing around her while 10 inches of water cradled her body and 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts kept her from sinking. <\/p>\n
Begglo, 31, is a new convert to an old form of rest and pain relief that has arrived in Orlando: the flotation tank. <\/p>\n
\"Everything happens so fast: your life, your work, constant stress,\" said Begglo, a massage therapist. \"It's always nice to find someplace to relax.\" <\/p>\n
That's what Laurie Samulonis Bowers and her husband, Mark Bowers, thought when they opened East Coast Floats in Baldwin Park, Fla., in August. Since then, more than 800 people have climbed into one of their three sleek, white pods that look as if they belong in a sci-fi movie. <\/p>\n
Begglo, whose hands and back get tired from work, said the water, darkness and silence ease her discomfort and soothe her mind. The sensation is similar to dreaming, she said. <\/p>\n
\"It's very calm. It's very quiet. It's just you and yourself,\" Begglo said, adding it \"totally relaxes you until the point that you forget even your name.\" <\/p>\n
Proponents say the focus and freedom from distractions they get in a flotation tank -- sometimes known as a sensory-deprivation tank -- are conduits to spiritual enlightenment, anxiety relief, improved creativity and physical restoration. Some tout the tank as a remedy for conditions including fibromyalgia, arthritis, whiplash, jet lag, migraines, insomnia, premenstrual tension, back discomfort and depression. <\/p>\n
Claims of miracle cures haven't been proved, said Tom Fine, who studied flotation for 20 years and is on the board of the Flotation Tank Association. But research and anecdotal evidence have shown that floating can relieve pain and tension. <\/p>\n
\"It's an easy way for people to experience a very deep relaxation experience that then they can transfer and continue to experience with a technique like meditation,\" said Fine, a mental-health counselor and associate professor in the psychiatry department at the University of Toledo College of Medicine. <\/p>\n
The process works like this: A client enters a soundproof private room, disrobes, showers and lies supine in 150 gallons of skin-temperature water. Earplugs and inflatable neck collars are also available. <\/p>\n
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Using flotation tanks to wash away stress<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ORLANDO -- Carolina Begglo looked like a sleeping princess as she lay on her back, her long, dark hair billowing around her while 10 inches of water cradled her body and 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts kept her from sinking. Begglo, 31, is a new convert to an old form of rest and pain relief that has arrived in Orlando: the flotation tank. \"Everything happens so fast: your life, your work, constant stress,\" said Begglo, a massage therapist. Continue reading