As anyone who meditates can tell you, meditation is an effective way to reduce stress, control anxiety or depression, manage pain, and increase wellbeing. It can also enhance perception, and some say it can foster creativity. Here’s a page on the Healthline site that describes a dozen benefits of meditation. If you’ve never meditated, it’s worth the effort to try it, because it can truly enhance the quality of your life.
I won’t try to explain how to meditate here. There are great resources all over the web for that, from this Meditation 101 to this WikiHow. Effective meditation takes some practice, and beginning meditators face both mental and physical obstacles. Mental obstacles are the thoughts and feelings that nag at you when you’re trying to empty your mind. Physical obstacles come into play when your meditation posture is uncomfortable, or your environment promotes restlessness.
Mental obstacles to meditation are a question of discipline, and the only way to overcome them is to practice. You are the only one who can truly control your mind, and you have to do that on your own. But you can overcome physical obstacles without any effort at all. Just do your meditating in a float pod.
No matter what anyone tells you, you don’t need to conform to a certain posture or sit on a particular cushion for effective meditation. Practiced meditators can do it anywhere, from a crowded bus to a business meeting. And once you’ve set aside any prejudices about posture and furniture, the advantages of float pod meditation become apparent. It is almost impossible to be uncomfortable in a float pod. You’re floating so there are no pressure points whatever, and gravity is offset by the water that supports you. If you find music is helpful, that’s available, and if you find darkness intimidating, you can choose soft lighting. But if you opt for a dark, soundless experience, there is no better way to shut out distractions.
A recent article in Tricycle described the experience of meditation teacher Loch Kelly, an advanced meditator who tried out float pod meditation: “Most beginning meditators in the West deal with pain in their knees and body because they have to sit with their knees on the ground and straighten their spine. But in the tank [i.e., the float pod], there’s none of that. So for beginners, if you’re dealing with pain that keeps you from relaxing; this takes all of that out.”
If you’re interested in meditation, it’s worth the effort to follow the link above and read the article. The only disadvantage Kelly found to the float pod experience was that he nearly fell asleep a few times. If you’re concerned about falling asleep in the float pod, be aware that, although it won’t be meditation, it will probably be one of the deepest, most profound naps you’ve ever had. And you don’t need to worry that you might roll over in your sleep. You are so singularly comfortable in the float pod that you feel no impulse whatever to change your position. In the times I’ve floated, my only movement was a slight wiggle of the toes that I did consciously, to reassure myself I still had feet.
Convinced? Start your meditation practice by booking a float pod session at Peak Recovery & Health Center.
