Testing out the therapeutic waters at Float Marlborough

With Marlborough’s only publicly-accessible sensory deprivation tank in Blenheim, Stuff’s Andy Brew went along to Float Marlborough at Stadium 2000 to dip his toes in.

As I spend most of my days hunched over a keyboard, and most of my winter nights lying on the couch, I had more tension in my neck and shoulders than a football World Cup penalty shoot-out.

So when the opportunity came along to test the healing powers of a float tank – a car-sized pod filled with lukewarm and very salty water – I jumped in.

Nestled away upstairs in Stadium 2000, Float Marlborough was started by Tash Wakelin and offers the region’s first and only float therapy – a sensory deprivation tank experience in the region that is open to the public.

As I arrived for my appointment, a buoyant Tash welcomed me and gave me a run down of what to do and what to expect, and reassured me I wouldn’t sink, drown or get trapped.

Guests are asked to shower before entering the tank to wash off any possible pollutants such as perfumes and deodorants, insert ear plugs and apply Vaseline to any minor cuts or abrasions on the body.

The latter is for one’s own comfort as the water’s high saline content – 500kg of Epsom salt, the same kind my gran used to use – can sting quite a bit on open wounds.

Once showered, it’s time to turn off the lights, climb into the pod and close the lid to the outside world. Guests are given the choice of silence or light piped music, with pitch-black darkness or ambient light.

I went for ambient light and music, as although I’m not really scared of the dark, I just felt like a bit of brightness in my life.

Once afloat, it was time to relax and left the mind drift. The feeling of weightlessness was something I hadn’t experienced before, and after a minute or two of settling in, my mind did wander.

As I floated weightlessly in the warm, salty water I could feel the tiredness and tautness in my shoulders drain away as my head and neck found themselves in a position they probably hadn’t been in since birth.

Without the need to use any muscles at all, it felt like they were absorbing as much of the magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt) in the water as humanly possible. It felt as if they were thirsty for it.

Although I don’t meditate, I have done in the past and this felt like the perfect place to try it again. As I flailed my arms in wing-like motions I was soon flying high above the Amazon rain forest before landing in an Andean lake and basking in the afternoon sun.

The high saline content of the water also enables you to twist and torque your body in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible with all the weight-bearing gravity back on planet Earth.

Then before I knew it, my time was up and as I opened the pod’s lid and stepped back into the real world, I figuratively felt the weight lift from my shoulders as I bounced over to the shower to wash the salt from my body.

As I was leaving, Tash told me the tanks had become popular with tradies, engineers and athletes as a way to help mend their “broken bodies”.

As I skipped back to work on a warm, sunny day, I could see why; I felt bright, light and buoyant.