Combining Floatation Therapy in this way is a marriage made in heaven
At the well-established Lazy Frog floatation centre in Wales in the UK they are combining Yoga Nidra and floatation to give clients a shot of bliss. I had to check it out!
If you consider a 1-hour float is the equivalent of 4-5 hours sleep, while Yoga Nidra meditation restores both body and mind, for an afternoon’s investment of time you’ll get a mini-retreat in seaside Swansea.
Locals are fortunate to be on the spot. But for people escaping the city for a weekend by the sea, booking into the Lazy Frog www.lazyfrogfloatcentre.co.uk for the afternoon, gives an extra restorative dimension to a relaxing weekend.
Yoga and Ayurvedic practitioner, Jackie Dorrian www.swanseayoga.co.uk runs a clinic in the Lazy Frog and uses the three Ocean Float Rooms www.oceanfloatrooms.com for herself and her classes. The Centre has a beautiful chill-out room with subdued lighting created by Himalayan salt candles floatation therapy Himalayan salt candleswith soft relaxing chairs and the perfect space for the Yoga Nidra. Clients either start with 1-hour Yoga Nidra followed by 1-hour float – or vice versa). These sessions attract a variety of people, some with specific ailments and some just for the relaxation. In the class I attended, there was a University student, a woman suffering from ME, a Feng Shui consultant, a retired lady, and a nurse.
Yoga Nidra (Sleep Yoga) is a systematic form of guided meditation through the body giving the client the equivalent of 8-10 hours restorative sleep. Jackie gives instructions as clients lie on their mats swathed in blankets. By bringing your attention to the various parts of the body in turn, activates the nervous system and connects the body as a whole rather than have it existing as a fragmented jumble of parts. It’s even better for you than sleep because the mind stops hopping around too as you are taken on guided tour of the body. When you sleep, everything shuts down so there’s no opportunity to switch the mind off. That’s why you can still wake up feeling tired and worn out especially if you have a lot going on in your life.
Meanwhile, in the float room, free from all external stimulation, the body can achieve a state of relaxation in floatation therapy which is deeper, purer and more beneficial than sleep. The bath contains a saturated solution of Epsom Salt heated to skin temperature, which when absorbed through the skin, is highly beneficial in itself. It’s like floating in the Dead Sea but you‘re in your own private bay! The float rooms are large and airy and easily accessible through a large door, which can be left open if preferred and the internal light left on if needed.
This combination of Yoga Nidra and Floatation Therapy is a marriage made in heaven – and the perfect antidote to the stresses of our daily world. It not only recharges the physical body deeply, it helps to erase any negative thought patterns running on auto-pilot so you emerge with a clear and focused mind. Like pressing the “refresh” button!
