The Zero Body Experience
The Zero Body Experience is an innovative practice that is part of an improvement in lifestyle, through the management and reduction of stress. It is, in fact, defined as a total relaxation experience, born from the encounter between wellness techniques and neuroscience.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN JAMES GREEN, STYLED BY GABRIELLA KAREFA-JOHNSON
In a complex society like the one we live in, full of rapid stimuli, both positive and negative, we often feel too tired to cope with our days and our projects. And many times, it also happens when we undertake pleasant activities, such as attending a dinner with friends, spending time with our closest loved ones, or taking part in events of interest to us. Working conditions, then, have certainly become more uncertain and pressing than those of the past, but our desire to fulfill all commitments in the best possible way is always very high. It also happens that you have long wanted to go on holiday, but when the day of departure arrives, instead of being happy, feelings of listlessness and anxiety take over if we think about everything we "still have to do."
The Stress
All these sensations, contradictory emotions (and our related behaviors), can lead us to think that we are lazy, in difficulty, sometimes "wrong," but this is not the case: in recent years, neuroscience has demonstrated how our brain is plastic, and learns to adapt perfectly to stimuli repeated over time, in particular negative ones (such as obligations, other people's conditioning, feelings of guilt, and fear induced by the news events that we constantly see on television). This can lead us to gradually and silently experience an accumulation of stress that sends us into burnout. Burnout is a condition of chronic stress linked specifically to work but which, in a context like ours (where all fields of existence are closely connected and the boundaries are blurred), can lead to a state of general malaise, if not managed in time.
Better Life Management
Precisely with a view to managing stress and achieving a better lifestyle, practices and disciplines such as meditation and yoga, brain training, autogenic training, and greater awareness have made their way (especially in more recent years), sports combined with spiritual exercises, to raise people's awareness of the importance of mental well-being combined with physical well-being. The right message that is now being passed, finally, has become that of focusing on both the well-being of the body and that of the mind because everything is united. The Zero Body Experience fits precisely into this framework: it is, in fact, defined as a total relaxation experience, born from the encounter between wellness practices and neuroscience.
Photo on Viaggiare da soli by Francesca Di Pietro
Floating Therapy as an Ancestor of the Zero Body Experience
Photo on Viaggiare da soli by Francesca Di Pietro
But let's take a step back. To explain what the Zero Body Experience is as a cutting-edge wellness experience, we must first of all refer to therapy defined as "Floating Therapy." The Floating Therapy aims to reduce stress in the body and mind, intervening on the physical level to change the non-physical, and vice versa. It all happens by literally letting yourself float in the water, gradually abandoning yourself completely, until you desensitize the sensory stimuli. This practice was born in the mid-1950s thanks to the studies of John Lilly, the doctor and neuroscientist who first used the sensory deprivation tank, also called an isolation tank or flotation tank. The name of the tank seems rather disturbing at first glance, but it derives from the fact that it was used to study the human brain in the absence of sensory stimuli and, consequently, to study how the absence of such stimuli affected states of consciousness. In its original version, the tub was used in a vertical position, but later scholars realized that its horizontal position would have guaranteed more effective relaxation. Other fundamental characteristics were that it had to be filled with water at body temperature (approximately between 35 and 36 degrees); rich in magnesium sulfate salt (to ensure perfect buoyancy of the body); dark and soundproofed, to eliminate external stimuli.
The Experiences
Dr. Lilly himself tested the effects of the flotation tank several times, with the result of refuting the starting assumption of his research study, according to which in the absence of stimuli, the brain had to stop functioning. On the contrary: at the end of the experience in the tub, he realized that the reduction of sensory stimuli combined with floating produced a state of deep relaxation and, in some cases, also the entry into a dreamlike condition which manifested itself with visions. This was due to the decrease in the level of cortisol, the hormone that is produced by the body in case of stress, and the increase in endorphins, which instead generate a state of well-being and happiness. Floating Therapy and flotation tanks have become famous since the 1970s, with their commercialization. Subsequent scientific studies on this therapy followed, confirming the fantastic results and benefits obtained on people. Those who have tried this experience, in fact, report having found themselves in a state of deep relaxation, but not only that: there are those who claim to have had visions and/or hallucinations, those who have found the solution to a problem, those who have had creative ideas, and those who have increased concentration and focus, thanks to a series of sessions. There have also been those who, as professional athletes, have managed to recover more quickly from intensive training or an injury, managing to have a faster and more effective recovery. Furthermore, this type of therapy is also used for aesthetic treatments: the use of magnesium sulfate salt (Epsom or Epsomite salt) promotes the draining action on the entire body, reducing swelling and stimulating lymphatic circulation and blood. The positive result is visible in a decrease in water retention, swelling, and greater firmness of the skin tissues.
How a Floating Therapy Session Works
The person is invited to wear a bathing suit and immerse themselves in this tub, filled with water at body temperature and Epsom salt, to ensure the body floats. After which the tub is closed completely, and you find yourself in the dark, with only small safety lights turned on to avoid the claustrophobic effect, and an emergency button to interrupt the session in case of discomfort. The duration of the experience is approximately one hour.
At the Forefront of Wellbeing
It is precisely on the basis of Floating Therapy that the Zero Body Experience was born: taking advantage of the peculiar characteristics and beneficial effects described above, a particular bed that uses floating, but this time in dry conditions (called "dry floating"). It consists of a deep relaxation practice that takes advantage of floating in water, but without having to undress or get wet. It is not, therefore, a question of being immersed in water, in a closed and dark tub: instead, one finds oneself comfortably lying on a liquid bed, with the option this time of being immersed not in darkness but in particular lights colorful, while also being able to listen to a Mindfulness session or carefully selected music. This technique also employs, therefore, the benefits of bodily floating, which also induces mental regeneration and vice versa. "From treating insomnia to chronic pain, from cognitive enhancement to athletic recovery for those who train intensely or recover from an injury, its benefits embrace multiple aspects of daily life. During floating, certain brain areas are activated, stimulating a physiological response opposite to stress, with a consequent lasting improvement in mental performance. At the same time, the absence of contact points has a beneficial effect on the muscular system, circulation, and joints." It is thus a system that is more accessible to everyone, being more immediate and easy to approach (you don't have to undress or get wet), not to mention that what could have been a great deterrent for some is eliminated, namely being closed in the dark in too small a space, for an hour. Some might argue that contact with water is really more intense, in terms of experience and effectiveness, and this is certain. Let us remember, however, that not all of us are immediately inclined to experience this intensity, as water can be annoying for many; and that what matters here are the effects of buoyancy, also produced in this case. Furthermore, if we want to try the Zero Body Experience, the practicality of not having to get wet implies a greater beneficial use of our free time, between one commitment and another.
How a Zero Body Experience Session Happens
The person is invited to lie down, dressed, on a bed that does not have a mattress, but rather a particular membrane; this membrane separates over 400 liters of water, brought to body temperature, from the person himself, who thus has no contact with the water. This ensures dry flotation. The user can at this point start the session, thanks to dedicated software and the touch-display for controls. You can select one of the Mindfulness programs carefully chosen by those who provide the service, or a guide to breathing techniques, or relaxing music from the playlist.
The Zero Body Experience Follows the Times of the Human Being
As we have seen, nowadays we have managed to synthesize, in a single method, the beneficial effects on the body and mind of floating and microgravity, together with the practical needs of contemporary man. All thanks to scientific studies from the 1950s to today, making this practice available in a "smart" environment and within everyone's reach. The world of American professional sport was the first to make use of the technique described for its athletes, but in Europe, unfortunately, we find a certain delay in the use of techniques that combine mental and physical well-being like this. In any case, the ever-growing curiosity on the part of people (not just athletes) and of the European scientific community is leading the Zero Body Experience to be increasingly present in Europe too, in structures such as SPAs or hotels; this makes it more easily usable by the common man, even on holiday or during a business trip. Therefore, I ask you: who wouldn't want, having an hour available between one commitment and another, to feel like they are floating without weights, leaving their mind free to wander? A liberating and pleasant sensation that perhaps we experience only a few times a year, for example, on holiday at the seaside, could thus become within our reach, every day. It is absolutely not trivial if we think about how well we feel at that moment, to be able to replicate it in everyday life.
