Float
I have long debated whether I am more a water person or a mountain person. In this case, I didn’t have to choose. I found myself a perfect little lake amongst the mountains.
I especially love being in water when it is flat. I could swim for hours, day and/or night, and if it is glassy enough that I can float, that is perfection.
One of the current health care trends is floating. It claims to help reduce stress, pain, and anxiety, and improve sleep and mood. These benefits are likely due to the calming effect on the brain due to sensory deprivation, similar to mediation.
One benefit that I get out of floating is much more simple. It is body awareness.
Regardless of the position or activity, it is likely that some muscles in the body are firing inappropriately, throwing our body out of balance. This can negatively impact our health.
Do you hold stress in your shoulders? Do you engage your diaphragm fully when breathing? Do you favour one side of your body over the other?
These habits may be present without us being aware of them. It can be due to being out of touch with our bodies, or that the body has adapted to find these inappropriate actions or positions to be the new normal.
Floating highlights these imbalances, and puts us to a place where we are much more in tune with our bodies. Forces us to check in.
This information is incredibly important. It is necessary to be in touch with our own bodies to gain a complete understanding of our own health. I’ve seen people who think being bloated is what being full feels like.
If we are disconnected from what we hope to heal, and intention is not set for our actions, progress limited. Body awareness is the foundation to healthcare, whether it be treatment of disease, prevention, or optimization.
I start my float with a full body scan and relaxation technique. Starting at my toes, I contract each muscle group for thirty seconds, then relax, and work my way up through each muscle group. This is paired with a practice of deep belly breathing.
Dr. Cristina Allen ND