ChennaiFloats-Isolation and Floatation chamber experience

People go to Israel and Jordan to float on Dead Sea. Do you know that you can get similar experience in Chennai itself? No need for expensive flight tickets, visa and so on- take a short break, de-stress yourself in complete isolation and gain medical benefits that come with floating on magnesium rich water.

Chennai Floats, located in Abiramapuram (about a km from Crowne Plaza hotel in Alwarpet) is a very unique facility- not available other Indian cities yet. Recently I had the opportunity to try their service for about an hour and this post shares my experience.

I’ve not been to Dead Sea yet, but have seen friends posting pictures of floating there. Because the water is rich with minerals and materials that increase buoyancy, one can float in Dead Sea when in lie down position. Here at Chennai Floats, they have replicated a similar setup, with added advantage of complete isolation, music for company and a controlled environment as well as affordable prices.

I reached Chennai floats after office hours at about 7.15 PM. (They are open till 9 PM, so you don’t have to take a day off from work- can go there after office hours, which is a lot convenient). I was taken directly to the room that had a pod like below. 

I was given following briefing

• I need to take a 5 min shower for hygiene reasons
• I should wipe my face and avoid touching eyes, nose, mouth etc with my hand once inside the pod (else it may cause irritation)
• There is a bottle of fresh water, should feel the need
• Disposable inners and ear plugs were given for better comfort
• I can switch off the light or can keep it on as per my preference
• I could use some additional floatation devices for additional comfort (like a head rest etc)
• There is an emergency button if needed
• I get about 1 hour time in total- there will be soothing music during first 10 mins, then music stops and 5 minutes before end time music will resume again.
• After 1 hour, a pump will start recycling the liquid, so if I fall asleep and don’t vacate the pod, recycling sound would be my second alert.
• If I need air I can open the pod from inside a bit.
• Be sure to switch off your phone or put it on silent, inform close family members not to call for next 1 hour.

I was expecting the tank to have blackish fluid like I had seen on the faces of people dipping in dead sea. But here it was transparent in colour, just like water. Water is mixed with epsom salt.

I took my shower and entered the pod. The liquid was just about a feet deep- I was told the quantity is about 600 litres. Standing and sitting won’t help you float, but once you reach lie down position, you will be floating an inch or two above the base of the pod. Using ear pods is important as ears will be partially submerged. No need to fear for rest of the face- it will be above the liquid.

If you have any open wounds, cuts Vaseline is available that can be applied on fresh wounds- this will avoid sting.

I tried sleeping but didn’t get any sleep. I was told that is common during first visit. Spent all my time in lie down position thinking about various things in life. At some point I felt air inside isn’t fresh enough, so opened the lid a bit, then got comforting air and continued my floatation. It was nice to float without any pressure. Because our skin is not under any kind of pressure, it is believed to get maximum health advantages of rich minerals like magnesium. The liquid was bit thick but didn’t feel too thick. The chamber or pod has just enough space for an adult- it is not big enough to swim or stand up or do anything else other than lying down.

Eventually the music came back on, I came out of the pod, showered again and I was out. A glass of water was nice to have.

The said health benefits: Floating like this is said to give you a set of health benefits- do check their website for details. You may not realize all of that in one sitting and we may not have a way to instantly measure it- I believe multiple sittings over a period of time is highly recommended for maximum benefit realization.

I asked why not club this with a spa treatment- like people can float for an hour followed by another hour of massage therapy. But running a spa centre has its own set of regulations, complications and inconveniences such as police checks, thus Chennai Floats people prefer to stick to their float therapy

At present Chennai Floats have 3 rooms, two standard and one slightly smaller pod- thus it is possible to accommodate up to 3 people at a time. There is no big float that can accommodate a couple (I was told such a facilities are available in US). Chennai Floats is about an year old and are getting customers mostly through word of mouth publicity. If what I experienced excites you, then you should definitely give it a try.

I got many queries asking if they can try this in Mumbai or elsewhere- ChennaiFloats do not have any branches as of now

How is this different from floating in Dead Sea?

Floating in dead sea would mean facing hot sun, dealing with lots of disturbances like crowd whereas Chennai Floats ensures complete isolation and a very comfortable and private way to float and relax. Plus you don’t have to spend a fortune to travel.

Cost of floating:

One hour session costs INR 2200, 90 mins for 3000. Check with ChennaiFloats for any applicable offers from time to time. Their youtube channel has some client feedback videos