Driftaway - Panama's First Flotation Center

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I received an invitation from Mike Buchan, the owner of the new Driftaway Flotation Center in Panama City, to experience their sensory deprivation tanks. While in the military I had spent a considerable amount of time in California (a.k.a. the "Left" Coast), and back then there was a lot of interest in all kinds of alternative medicines, herbal treatments, and non traditional approaches to health care. I remember hearing about and reading about sensory deprivation flotation tanks back then but until this week I have never had the pleasure of actually experiencing it myself. So, when Mike called I took him up on the offer almost immediately - I was looking forward to checking it out. (more)

Be Prepared: If you're going to go there are a couple of things you should know. First of all you don't want to go there with a full stomach or directly after having eaten a large meal. Secondly, the point is to relax and to take a one-hour floating vacation from all of the normal stresses of our daily lives, so they recommend that you avoid beverages with caffeine or other stimulants before you get into the tank - you don't want to spend an hour bouncing around in there like a friggin' ping-pong ball. Third, if you wear contact lenses you might want to bring along saline solution and a lens case so you can take them out while you're in the tank. You float in a concentrated solution of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) which can be irritating if it gets into your eye. That's not a problem if your not wearing contact lenses because you can just wipe your eye and it's gone. But, if you get the epsom salt in your contact lens then it can be irritating. For the record, I didn't know about this before I went and I had by contact lenses in. I just went ahead and did the float anyway and was careful not to get the water from the tank into my eyes and I didn't have a problem. Finally, you want to bring any person grooming materials such as shampoo or deodorant that you might want to use when you get out of the shower.

Pre-Float Briefing: Mike's wife Kim walked me through the facility and showed me how everything works. It's pretty simple, actually - you just take a shower then climb into the tank and relax for an hour. What could be so hard about that, right? They showed me around the brand new and impeccably clean facility. They have two tanks for your floating pleasure. The rooms have a shower inside and they lock from the inside so you don't have to worry about your privacy or safety - the whole point is to relax, right. Oh, and don't forget to either turn off your cell phone or at least put it on vibrate while you're in the tank.

Right Brain, Left Brain: The lives of many people are generally dominated all day long by the operations of the left hemisphere's of their brains, the part responsible for logic, putting things into sequences, the rational, analytical, objective part of our head which puts things into a nice tight and neat package for us to understand. Our left brains require a constant source of new data feeds to keep them active. Remove that feed and you give the right side of the brain a chance to step to the forefront. The right side is responsible for random thoughts, intuitive or holistic synthesizing of information, for being subjective and for looking at the whole rather than the parts. That's part of the flotation experience - giving your left brain a chance to shut the fuck up so you can hear the right side for awhile. I mean, come on already...

The Physical Body: As we exist here on planet Earth our bodies are constantly subjected to gravity. And, some of us who have been beaten around a little have more than our fair share of aches and pains. For example I've got two blown disks in my lower back as well as arthritis in my hips and knees as a result of doing all of the standard military stuff. You know, like marching very long distances carrying very heavy backpacks, flying 16 hour sorties and working 26 hour days, stuff like that. Basically the military needs a fresh supply of young guys because by the time you've done 20 years you're basically chewed up and burned out. In any case, floating in the sensory deprivation tank is like being in a virtual zero-gravity environment. All of your joints that are normally under the constant tug of Earth's gravity have a chance to relax for a little while, improving things like flexibility and circulation.

Positive Effects of Epsom Salt: You can look it up yourself, but there's all kinds of information out there about the positive effects of magnesium sulfate or Epsom Salts. I found this with a ten-second Google search:

• Epsom salts are named for the mineral rich waters of Epsom, England, where they were known at least as far back as Shakespeare's day. When bathing, the magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) is absorbed through the skin and is an inexpensive and natural way to reduce stress, treat skin problems, and draw toxins from the body.
  
  
• It has been a long time remedy natural remedy for a number of ailments. An Epson salt bath is known to relieve aching limbs, muscle strain and back pain. In addition, it has been known to heal cuts, reduce soreness from childbirth and relieves colds and congestion. Furthermore, Epson salt will flush toxins and heavy metals from the body.
  
  
• It is a natural stress reliever too. Stress drains the body of magnesium. An Epson salt bath absorbs magnesium into our body thus helping to relieve stress. The magnesium helps to produce adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of calm and relaxation.
  
  
• It has many uses, as an all body exfoliate to remove dead skin cells and promote circulation, as a foot soaking agent to smooth, relax and refreshes your feet and neutralize odors, and as a facial exfoliate.

Now, Into the Tank: Honestly my preconceived notions of the sensory deprivation float tank experience were based on what I had heard or seen on television or read in magazines. The water is maintained at perfect body temperature so there's no sensation of either heat or cold. There is 800 pounds of magnesium sulfate dissolved into the water meaning you float like a cork - you couldn't sink in there if you wanted to. The sensation is like a combination of laying on a water bed while floating on a cloud. It took me just a minute or two to get "settled in."

"Your Worst Float is your First Float" According to Mike, the first time people experience a flotation tank or sensory deprivation session they tend to be apprehensive, they don't know what's going on or what to expect, and many times people try it once and then never return. But, there are a great many people who enjoy the experience so much they basically become devotees. "Some people to so far as to have a flotation tank installed in their homes and they float every day," said Kim. I could see how that could happen. If someone has been suffering from chronic joint pain for years and the only other options are either medicines or surgery then investing in a flotation tank might be a wise move. So, I guess I can say without a doubt that my first experience in a flotation tank was both my "worst float" and my "best float." Mike was right in that I don't think I really got the Full Monty so to speak (I kept waiting for Jimmy Hendrix to show up...) but without a doubt it was a very cool experience.

More Endorphins, Please: For some reason our bodies release nature's opium, endorphins, when floating in a sensory deprivation tank. Endorphins are hormones that bind to opiate receptors and are found mainly in the brain and help to reduce the pain and also positively affect emotions making you feel very happy and in some cases euphoric. Being in the flotation tank is very similar to meditation but without the need for special training or time to be able to achieve a kind of deep meditative state. By remaining physically still and actively calming the workings of the brain, eventually you lost all contact with your physical being and are left with just the "self" but now dominated by the creative right-side of the brain;

• "The stillness and the isolation that the tank provides allows the mind to enter into the deepest state of relaxation possible. This will in turn balance the brain: by reducing the activity in the left (logical) side of the brain and increasing activity in the right (creative) side. Therefore, both sides of the brain are in total harmony. (Apparently we normally only use 11% of our total brain power, therefore a session in the tank enables you to tap into a huge, previously unavailable sources of creativity, imagination, self-visualisation and problem solving.) You will enter a Theta brain state whilst in tank for long periods - This State is associated with reaching higher states of consciousness, deep relaxation, meditation, increased memory, focus, creativity, lucid dreaming and the hypnologic state which is an area normally associated with pre deep sleep; in this state you can experience visual imagery, so it can feel like your dreaming but you also feel as it you are conscious at the same time. Another beneficial brain pattern you will enter whilst in is the Alpha brain wave pattern. This state is associated with; light relaxation, "super learning", and positive thinking. You body enters many beneficial physical and mental states; with blood pressure reduced, along with oxygen intake (can lower as much as 50% due to the fantastically relaxed physical state whilst in the tank)." (Source)

A Kind Of Flotation Renaissance: Flotation tanks had a kind of heyday back in the 60's and 70's when anything went and people were open and receptive to alternatives to health and healing. People were looking for ways to expand their minds and consciousness, and the sensory deprivation or flotation tanks were perfect for that - it was a match made in heaven. Under no circumstances would I recommend crawling into a sensory deprivation tank while tripping your brains out but I'm more than sure it happened, and probably frequently (Kurt Vonnegut, where are you?) But then all of a sudden all of those college kids graduated, daddy stopped paying the bills, and everyone had to get a job and start to earn a living. Well guess what? We're back, and this time we've got cash, credit cards, and a 401K. Now the aging baby boomer generation is more into the physical healing or restorative angles of the flotation tank, and less into the potential psychedelic trippy-shit that mattered more on the first go-around. So just get your ass out of the way and let this old geezer into the damn tank, young'in...

Will Write For Floats: Mike and Kim are going to let me float around in their tanks as a kind of community service - I get access to the creative side of my brain while they get the word out to you all. Sounds like a great deal to me. The Driftaway Flotation Center is El Dorado in the Camino de Cruces commercial center. That's basically across the street from the Do It Center in El Dorado in the same center as the restaurant formally known as Shula's and now known as Bola's. There's ample parking in the garage, and the flotation center is located on the ground floor right next to the Hombre de la Mancha bookstore. Call them at 360-2051 or email them at info@driftawaypanama.com for more information. And, please tell them you saw it on Panama-Guide.com and they might give you one of the brownies Matt Landau's left behind...