If you want to combat stress, use a tank

To the uninitiated it might look like an alien spacecraft, but flotation tanks like this one can provide a down-to-earth way of relaxing and letting your mind and body de-stress.TO be de-stressed and not distressed was what I hoped would be the outcome of my visit to Ringwood Natural Health Clinic.

I must admit that I wasn't entirely hopeful.

The idea of shutting yourself in a dark, enclosed space for an hour is enough to send any self-respecting claustrophobic into a tailspin.

The fact that you are floating in water for this period presses another set of panic buttons.

Will I drown or - worse - will I end up looking like a wrinkled prune?

There was only one way to find out as I lowered myself into the clinic's float tank.

There is something surreal about these things, something Bob Newhart about trying to explain it to someone else.

"Well, you see, Walt - there's this pod, looks a bit like an alien spacecraft, and it's squatting like an 8ft long toad in the middle of the room.

"You climb in, lie down and close the lid - psst, like the De Lorean in Back to the Future - and then you float around in darkness in the equivalent of the Dead Sea for an hour."

And?

No "and" - that's it.

Shower before and after, pay £30 for the privilege and off you go.

Tempted?

Probably not - but let me tell you, unlikely as it all sounds, it's an extraordinarily relaxing experience and I emerged, 90 minutes after entering the clinic, a convert.

The float tank is in a quiet darkened room at one end of the clinic.

It holds 170 gallons of salty water, which is about a foot deep and is filtered regularly.

Once you've been shown how it all works, you are left on your own and really it couldn't be easier.

You shower, stuff ear plugs (supplied) in your ears (ears aren't fond of salty water, apparently), smear Vaseline in panda-like circles around your eyes to protect them from salty dribbles, lower yourself in and float.

Soothing music is played into the tank (you can bring you own if you want) as your body grows accustomed to the 35.3C water temperature.

If you are worried about just lying back, a neck rest is provided, but I soon abandoned that.

Control of the lid is down to you so when and if you want to close it - or open it - you can.

I thought I would feel claustrophobic in the equivalent of a high-tech coffin, but it actually feels soothing and womb-like.

As you relax, you become very conscious of the areas of tension in your body and concentrate hard to release the knotted muscles.

The music fades after ten minutes and as you physically drift gently in the tank, your mind drifts too.

The theory is that we expend much of our mental and physical energy counteracting the effects of gravity - remove that necessity and your mind is free to focus on other things.

People solve problems in tanks, some learn languages and revise for exams, others mentally draft letters and stories.

Some of us just switch off, listen to our stomachs gurgling, and let our minds drift into an altered state of consciousness somewhere between waking and sleeping, so that the hour, which starts so slowly, ends up rushing to a close.

The solution of Epsom salts used encourages the elimination of toxins from the body and floating is also supposed to help with pain control, fitness enhancement and breaking addictions.

Showering afterwards is essential to remove all that salt, which crystallizes on your skin as you get out, but your skin feels incredibly soft and smooth.

Some words of warning, however: Don't even think about it if you have a hairdo you want to keep intact and think twice if you have even minor nicks or abrasions on your skin.

Around 700lb of Epsom salts are poured into the tank and a small cut will equal a big ouch.

Ringwood Natural Health Clinic is in Meeting House Lane, Ringwood. Appointments can be made by telephoning the clinic on 01425 471947.