I spent one hour in a sensory deprivation tank
And you should too
According to Wikipedia, a sensory deprivation tank is “a lightless, soundproof tank with high epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) content filled with salt water at skin temperature, in which individuals float”. When you are in it, you don’t see anything, you barely hear anything (except yourself) and you don’t feel gravity as you literally float in the water thanks to the salt density. You are in a bubble, just for you and just with you.
I first heard about sensory deprivation tanks a few years ago. I was curious but never had the opportunity (or will) to try. A few weeks ago, I discovered there was a student offer in Meïso, one of the only center in France. I called them and they had a rare free spot the very same day. I have been meditating every day for years now and I thought it could help me go a bit further in my practice. And, well, I am the curious type of guy! So I went.
Meïso has two centers in Paris. One in La Paillasse, a really cool bio-hacking space, and one the north of the city, called l’Oasis. This is the one I went to. It is really new (only a few months old) so they only have one tank. But they are building 2 new ones (yes, building, they designed and make the tanks themselves with a great DIY approach).
Quite excited but also a bit stressed, I was warmly welcomed by Maïté, one of the founders of Meïso. She first explained me the different programs I could choose from: guided or silent, totally dark or with some light, etc. I decided to go for the more classical one: totally dark and silent, except the first few minutes with Tibetan relaxing music and a smooth orange light. After some more explanations to make sure I would have the best experience (don’t touch your eyes, put some vaseline on your scratches because the salt can burn a bit, etc.), I was ready to go. I got naked, took a shower, put wax ear plugs on (you really don’t want salt in your ears) and immersed myself in this weird bath with a psychedelic orange light inside.
Whaou, this is weird! I feel like I gonna sink but, whatever I do, the salt keeps me on the surface. And the feeling of the salt on my skin is, well, unexpected. Not unpleasant at all but really surprising. Like a really soft protecting layer in all your body. I like it actually… Ok, let’s try to relax a little bit. I lay down, let myself be carried by the salt and close my eyes. It is actually quite relaxing. As there is still sound at this point, it is not scary at all. I open my eyes to see if there is still light. Surprisingly, I realize that my position totally changed without even noticing it. My head is now where my feet were 30 seconds ago. This is really disturbing. It makes you realize how much gravity affects your feelings. Without gravity, I have absolutely no idea of my position in the space. After the first few minutes of surprise, I am getting more and more comfortable. I now want the music to stop and the lights to go out to really be alone with myself. After a few more minutes, this is it, totally dark and silent.
OK, here we are… Let’s relax a bit! As I don’t feel any external stimulus, I can fully focus on my body sensations. I begin to feel the tense in my neck and in my shoulders. Actually, I feel it so much it almost hurts. As I can really focus on myself, I perfectly notice all these weak body signals that I normally don’t feel. I also realize that my body posture is totally closed with my shoulders pointing inside. Interesting… I would have never noticed it. I try to open my shoulders and begin to meditate.
After a few more minutes, I feel really well. My tenses are gone and my body is naturally getting more and more open. I feel the need to open my arms to help me welcome all my inner feelings. Am I now as open physically than mentally.
During my remaining time in the tank, I will alternate between real mindfulness moments and discovery moments, playing with my mental and physical feelings. I will think about important people and moments in my life, about my goals, etc. I will try new positions to see how my body react in the water (don’t try to sit down in a tank, it is the best way to get salt in your eyes and you really don’t want that). In the end, despite some quick moments of boredom, most of my time in the tank will be really insightful, full of new feeling and interesting thoughts that helped me a lot to understand myself.
At some point, the music starts again and the smooth orange light is turned on. I was out of time. You could tell me that it lasted 20 minutes or 3 hours, I would trust you. Time is relative and without any external frame of reference, you have no way to measure it accurately. I decide to open my eyes and stay in the tank a bit more. I don’t feel like leaving this protecting bubble right now and need a transition. After 5 last minutes of relaxation, I get up to take a shower.
The shower is quite violent. Compared to the feeling in the tank, everything seems really brutal now. With the noise of the cleaning of the bath, it is quite uncomfortable. Anyway, Maïté and Alexandre (the other co-founder) welcome me with a tea for a nice debrief of my experience. I left this great place happy and relaxed!
Going back to real life is quite brutal. The noise, the stress, everything you can feel outside seems quite oppressive. I remember not understanding why everybody was such in a hurry. For the first few minutes outside, I kept focused on myself and progressively came back to a more “usual” mood.
The experience was great! I will come back!
