History of floatation

 

Dr. John C. Lilly, M.D. (training as a psychoanalyst) first set about creating a simple floatation tank as a “research instrument” not really thinking about meditative states of consciousness, peace or relaxation. Lilly had been pursuing his studies of the brain, mainly its electrical activity, trying to understand the connection between the physical brain and the “mind”.

In his experiments, subjects was suspended in an upright position and entirely submerged into the tank of water. Their heads were covered by an underwater breathing apparatus and mask made from moulded rubber. Not attractive or comfortable.

During these floatation experiments it was found that virtually all major external stimuli had been eliminated. The conclusion to this experiment was not only of “richly elaborated states of inner experience” but also to his surprise one of “profound relaxation and rest”

During the next few years Lilly found that not surprisingly, lying in a tank was far more comfortable and by adding Epsom Salts in large quantities to the water it gave the buoyancy he needed. Water heaters were added to maintain the correct temperature, an air pump added to keep the air clean, and a filtration system was added to recycle the Epsom Salt.

Word soon got around about Lilly’s tank and a computer engineer called Glenn Perry came along to try the floatation tank for himself, fascinated by the results he used his engineering skills to build and design a tank that was inexpensive and relatively easy to build and maintain. Lilly made full use of Perry’s tank design. The demand grew for Perry’s tanks to be installed into homes of people who had been involved in Lilly’s experiments.

At the same time Perry met and married Lee Leibner, an educator who had studied floatation for several years for helping hyperactive and learning-disabled children. They quickly merged their strengths, building and marketing the first tank designed for home and commercial use. By the late 1970’s the market had grown rapidly, Gary Higgins of Float to Relax Inc came out with a modestly priced home tank and began opening FTR centres all over the United States and became known as the “Big Mac” of floating. More publicity came when celebrities like John Lennon, Kris Kristofferson and Robin Williams acquired float tanks.

In 1983 tanks were being used in Health Spas and Hydro’s, which have exploded in popularity in the last 10 years.

Since the floatation tank, alternative devices have been introduced one of which is the Hydrofloatation Pool using Dead Sea Salt rather than the conventional Epsom Salt.