My Experience Trying Out Flotation Therapy フローテーションセラピーを試してみました

It was my birthday few days ago so I decided to treat myself and try out flotation therapy. It was recommended by my friend to help with my upper back and neck pain about a year ago but I never got around to doing it until now. I paid special introductory rate of $35 for a 60min session which is a very good deal.
数日前、私の誕生日にフローテーションセラピーを試してみました。１年ほど前に友達が背中と首の痛みを治すのにいいと言った事を結果に試して見たかったのでやっとできたという感じです。初心者用値段として６０分で＄３５と安くしてもらえました。

Flotation Therapy is also known as sensory deprivation therapy and it consists of you floating in a soundproof and light proof tank filled with magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) dissolved water. Due to the dense water from the salt, you are able to float in the water without any effort at all. This allows you to relax your whole body without the feeling of the gravity and makes it easier to be in a meditative state.
フローテーションセラピーとは完全に外の音と光を遮断したタンク内でエプリムソルトと呼ばれる塩を溶かした水の上浮かぶという療法です。 エプリムソルトは通常の塩水の5倍の濃度が有るため強い浮力を作ります。体全体をリラックスして重力の影響を感じることなく浮かぶ事が出来るので楽に瞑想にふける事ができます。

Once at the spa, I was taken down to a private room with a spot to take off your clothes and a shower. You have to take a shower before you get in the tank for sanitary reasons. Once I was done taking a shower, I put in a set of waterproof ear plugs (provided by the spa) and got into the tank. This tank had a feature where you can hook up an AUX cord to your phone outside so you can listen to the music. You can also control the light from the inside. I wanted a complete sensory deprivation experience so I decided not to have any music on and have it pitch dark. The water was kept at a same temperature as a human skin to assure comfort.
私の行ったスパではシャワー、服を脱ぐ場所、タンクがすべて個室に装備されていました。シャワーを浴びた後、防水の耳栓をしてすぐ隣にあるドアからタンクに入ります。このタンクは携帯電話から音楽を聴けるように外にAUXコードが装備されていました。タンクの中から音楽と電気のコントロールができます。私は完全に音と光から遮断したかったのですべての電源を切りました。タンクの中の水は肌の温度に近く保たれていました。

Once you laydown in the water, it takes a bit to get used to the flotation. For me, I kept bumping into the sides of the tanks for a little while. Once the water calmed and I got the hang of it, I was able to float steadily in the middle of the tank. As I floated in the tank, my muscles started to slowly relax. Especially my tight upper back and neck that has been causing me pain for over a year. As the pressure was released from my spine, it started cracking and popping which felt very nice. My wrist popped very loudly also which was weird since it never does that. Besides all the noises that came from my body, I couldn't hear anything else and I just closed my eyes to meditate. After a while, I fell into a half asleep state.
浮かび始めた時にはちょっと慣れるのに時間がかかります。私の場合は横の壁にぶつかったりしていました。ですが、水が落ち着いて私がこの浮かぶ感じに慣れた後には筋肉がどんどんリラックスしていきました。骨や関節、体の組織がどんどん圧迫から開放されていって「ベキッ ベキッ 」と音が聞こえました。体からの音以外は何にも聞こえないので、目をつむって瞑想しました。ほとんどの時間は半分寝た感じで過ごしました。

Once my 60mins was over, they turned on the light. I got up, opened the door out the tank into the shower and washed all the salt water off. They provided a warm towel to dry yourself off which was nice.
タンクの中に入って６０分経つとタンク内の電気がつきます。タンクから出てシャワーで塩を洗い流して暖かいタオルで体を乾かして終わりです。

As for after effects, the pain and tension in my neck and upper back was completely gone. I was more relaxed and had this calm warm feeling all over my body for the rest of the day. The neck and back pain did come back few days later but it was not as intense. In the end, I decided to purchase 3 more sessions to see if I will get some long term improvements.
セラピー後、首と背中の痛みはほとんど無くなっていました。そして体中に落ち着いた暖かい感覚を一日中感じました。 首と背中の痛みは数日後に戻ってきましたが、今でもセラピー前ほど悪くはありません。もう３回やってみようと思います。