The float experience is different for everyone, and every person who enjoys sensory deprivation prefers their experience to be just a little different. One of the factors that work for some but not for others is music: certain people prefer music to be playing during their session while others want absolute silence.
So, if you want to listen to music – or want to try – during your float sessions here’s what you should consider or how to approach creating a playlist for your next session.
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Is It Going to Ruin My Session to Listen Music?
Well, the short answer is it really depends on you and what you find relaxing. Many float centers will play some relaxing music at the beginning and end of each session, but they will gently let it fade out for the majority of your time in the tank. This isn’t to say that you have to do that, it’s really up to you.
Many experts who float often will suggest that everyone who floats should try some of their sessions without any kind of noise or sound. It’s very cool to experience nothing – not even if your own weight. It won’t ruin your float session to listen to music, but you might not get the total benefits that you could get out of it.
That being said, some people do not do well with complete silence and darkness – they get anxious and start to freak out a little bit. So if that happens, music to help you relax might be a great idea.
It can help users to calm down as being inside a tank without any lights and floating in water can be a really different experience the first couple of times.
Floating is a unique experience for everyone, so don’t be afraid to try something new and see what works for you to make sure you get the most out of each float session you have.
Trying out different kinds of music, or music for different lengths of time might work very well for you. Read on for some more information on adding music to your floating experience.
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Your First Float Experience
Many centers will leave the option of music up to the user, except when it comes to a person who doesn’t have a lot of float experience. Many centers will recommend that you don’t have music for your first experience, or two, to just be in the complete silence and darkness.
The point of this is to make sure a person is completely comfortable with the idea of all their senses being cut off before adding ones back in. Additionally, you may find that there are some times you do not want any noise during your floating experience – it’s really a personal choice.
Choosing Music
If you have experienced sensory deprivation tanks before and really want to try listening to some music while you’re floating, selecting the right type of music will be crucial to getting the most out of each float session.
More Sounds, Less Music
One of the most popular options, for those who don’t want complete silence, is more sounds than music. Crystal bowl sounds or rhythmic chanting are very popular for helping people to get to that state of complete relaxation in a float tank.
If you think about it, when working on other ways to relax your body (yoga or meditation) we don’t really listen to music or songs in the traditional sense. We often put on tracks with calming noise or chanting to get our minds into the state of relaxation we need to be in for the practice to be beneficial.
These types of tracks, which are often available on numerous music streaming apps, are helpful for relaxing in general so it makes sense that they can help when you’re in a float tank.
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Other Music Options
If you find that the chanting or rhythmic sounds just aren’t working for you, and it isn’t helping you to relax that’s ok – there are plenty of other options out there. As a bonus, many float centers will allow you to bring your own music to play on their sound system so often times you can pick your own playlist.
Guided Meditations
There are playlists you can put together known as guided meditations. They are designed to walk you through relaxing your minding and getting comfortable with shutting off the outside world. This type of playlist is usually recommended for someone who is newer to floating, or even to meditation.
Focus
There are other tracks you can select specifically to help you with focus and concentration – if that’s what you’re looking for out of a float session. The noise will compliment your experience in the tank so you leave feeling refreshed and with a clear mind.
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Relaxation
Do you feel like you just can’t shut your mind off or you just can’t stop thinking about things? You are not alone – promise! Similar to the guided meditations, picking tracks that focus on relaxation can help your brain slow down and relax during the session.
If you aren’t comfortable with completely cutting off all your senses – which can be weird at first – listing to relaxing music can help you to really focus on the moment and be present.
It’s a very weird sensation to have be completely cut off from all the outside senses and even feeling weightless in a tank – especially if you’ve never done it before.
Using a relaxation track, or a few, while you’re in the float tank can help keep you from feeling anxious about have no senses and get you to focus on the experience of being in the floatation tank.
Where Can I Find Music to Play During My Next Float Session?
Most float centers have music available to choose from, but that doesn’t mean you will enjoy the list they have. Most music streaming services have pre-made lists of sounds and tracks to help you relax when you need to.
In addition to that, almost all float centers have the ability for you to connect to your phone so that you can play your own playlist through their speakers in the tank.
You may want to take a quick listen to the list before you get to the session so you know what to expect and you can determine before if you think it will benefit you and help with relaxing and meditation.
By the way, we have an in-depth guide on how to prepare for a float tank.
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How Do I Know If I Will Like Listening to Music in a Float Tank?
Well, good question. The simple answer is that you probably won’t know for sure until you try it, which may sound like the easy answer but you really do need to experience it to know if you’re going to like it.
Now, float sessions are not likely going to be every occurrence for most people so it makes sense you want to make the most out of your time there.
What you can do is try some pseudo sessions at home and see how you feel. What does this mean? You can put together a playlist that you might be considering listening to while floating and listen to it at home. Put it on when you’re in a dark and quiet room, where you can meditate.
When you do this, do you feel more relaxed? Is it working to clear your mind? Or do you find it distracting? The results will be different for each person, but this is a good way to try and determine if listening to music will help while you’re in the float tank.
Now it won’t be exactly like being in the tank as you aren’t experiencing weightlessness but in a dark, quiet room you can try to see what listening to music to relax would be like.
When it comes down to it, whether you listen to music or not is completely up to you. It’s about your comfort level and what will make you feel the most relaxed while in the floatation tank. If you think that listening to music will help you further enjoy your float session and get the maximum benefit then preparing a playlist would be a great idea.
If you aren’t sure that playing music is exactly what you want – that’s ok, too. It’s understandable that you might not want to use up float sessions with something you don’t know you’re going to like, especially since it can be expensive and you don’t get to do it that often.
It’s not very often that we get to experience, well, completely nothing! Even if you enjoy listening to music during your float session a lot of experts recommend turning off all the lights and sounds at some point during your float session so that you can get the true nothing experience.
To get the most out of your floating experiences you need to quiet your mind and body, and that can really take some time to figure out how to do. Much like any kind of athletic endeavor – even yoga – it’s a practice and it takes time to get good at it. With time and experience, it will get so much easier for you to quickly quiet your mind and get to that state of relaxation.
