I'm not entirely sure what has motivated me to get a Sensory Deprivation (aka Float) tank. But that's what I did today, after a couple months of questionably rational consideration and reflection. It's in the garage of ATC (Air Traffic Control, the house where I live), empty, awaiting 250 gallons of water, and about 1500lbs (no typo) of Epsom salts. Magnesium Sulfate.
I got the tank from my yoga instructor, Brian Bales, who no longer needed a second tank after closing his studio in Bellevue. With the help of many friends through the day (Jen, Heather (ATC's owner), Kevin, Brady, Geoff, Leo, Lesley, Mark, and Brian - thanks so much y'all), 1/2 of the garage was cleared of all my storage stuff (books, stuff for a full kitchen, burning man gear, furniture, pictures, etc) into a nearby storage locker, and the tank was fetched and moved into place. I offered 2 hours of float time for each hour of help -- but I think being part of the adventure motivates them too.
I'm hoping that in 3-6 weeks, I'll have it up and running. There are some plumbing issues, some electrical issues, and certainly some other issues I don't know about yet which will need to be resolved before I've got a functioning system. This blog is intended to document this process for someone else thinking about going down this road, and also, hopefully, to tell an interesting story. We'll see how it goes.
Which is about how I feel about the tank -- excited, curious, but at the same time, a bit skeptical, much as I was when I started practicing yoga 5 years ago, thanks to some friends who pushed (guided? coerced? urged?) me into when I was going through a bit of a rough patch. (One of whom, oddly, once ran a floating business in Wisconsin!)
Brian said today that his floatation tank has changed his life almost as much as yoga has. This is a big statement, coming from someone who'd dedicated the last 10 years of his life (or more?) to the practice and teaching of yoga.
Will the (my!) float tank have that kind of impact on me? Yoga certainly has...
So. We'll see how it goes.
I got the tank from my yoga instructor, Brian Bales, who no longer needed a second tank after closing his studio in Bellevue. With the help of many friends through the day (Jen, Heather (ATC's owner), Kevin, Brady, Geoff, Leo, Lesley, Mark, and Brian - thanks so much y'all), 1/2 of the garage was cleared of all my storage stuff (books, stuff for a full kitchen, burning man gear, furniture, pictures, etc) into a nearby storage locker, and the tank was fetched and moved into place. I offered 2 hours of float time for each hour of help -- but I think being part of the adventure motivates them too.
I'm hoping that in 3-6 weeks, I'll have it up and running. There are some plumbing issues, some electrical issues, and certainly some other issues I don't know about yet which will need to be resolved before I've got a functioning system. This blog is intended to document this process for someone else thinking about going down this road, and also, hopefully, to tell an interesting story. We'll see how it goes.
Which is about how I feel about the tank -- excited, curious, but at the same time, a bit skeptical, much as I was when I started practicing yoga 5 years ago, thanks to some friends who pushed (guided? coerced? urged?) me into when I was going through a bit of a rough patch. (One of whom, oddly, once ran a floating business in Wisconsin!)
Brian said today that his floatation tank has changed his life almost as much as yoga has. This is a big statement, coming from someone who'd dedicated the last 10 years of his life (or more?) to the practice and teaching of yoga.
Will the (my!) float tank have that kind of impact on me? Yoga certainly has...
So. We'll see how it goes.
9 comments:
Wicked - I look forward to possibly experiencing this for myself at some point. :)
Holy crap! I tune out for a minute and my friends start doing nutty things like buying floatation tanks!
Frikkin' awesome, Barry. I'm curious to hear how it goes.
Barry - helping out isn't motivated by free float time, it's just to help out, yo.
I've never heard of one of these tanks, except perhaps in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous which takes place entirely in what Eddie calls her "iso tank."
is that the same thing? haha, I hope so.
Lesley - understood, and I totally appreciate everyone's help, rewarded or no. But it's nice to be able to offer a reward...
The tank will probably cost me upwards of $2500/year to run (not to mention the significant initial costs!) so I probably will try to recoup some of that by asking a small amount per hour for folks who want to use it.
I want to make sure that people who help out don't feel at all snubbed by this.
We all do tons as a community to care and provide for each other, but it is possible to give (or take!) too much. A little gentle accounting can make a big difference to the sustainability of such things...
Oh wonderful! You are absolutely the FIRST in all my various circles to own a dep tank! I'm looking forward to reading the continuing saga!
XO
CQ
"gentle accounting" -- I love it!
Barry is not, I repeat NOT the first one in our community to own a dep tank!! I will have you know I own a perfectly functional dep tank. It's uh, it's just that it's a SLEEP dep tank. And you can come use it whenever you want. For free! Changed my life it did, and took way less than 10 years!
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