Photo: PR Times
lifestyle

Mindfulness-seeking visitors to 'UNBORN' unwind with isolation tanks, meditation, and art

7 Comments
By Luke Mahoney, grape Japan

I don’t know about you, but I could use a break. With the pandemic sadly picking up in Japan as of late, a trip to the hot springs or the hands-on attention of a masseuse might not be the best way to unwind. Perhaps a dip in an isolation tank is a viable alternative.

For those unaware, isolation tanks are a relaxation and meditation device gaining traction in recent years. In short, an iso tank is a capsule in which light and sound are blocked. Filled with water densely saturated with salt, they allow the user to float peacefully and in absolute silence. As a user lays in the tank, they gradually feel dissociated from physical sensations. By and by, they enter a deep meditation state.

Feeling “UNBORN”

Overall, being in an isolation tank must feel similar to being in the womb. With this in mind, the Human Miracle Co. recently opened a cutting-edge retreat lounge they are calling "UNBORN." Opened in January 2021, the lounge offers a creative space, a meditation room, and, of course, is complete with an isolation tank.

Those who regularly practice mindfulness using an isolation tank are quick to outline the benefits. By limiting one’s physical senses and experiencing a type of “sensory forgetfulness,” users become more sensitive to their everyday mental state. The practice provides some the opportunity to discover new mental states and develop new ideas. Moreover, isolation tanks are also thought to affect the autonomic nervous system beneficially. With repeated experiences, a state of increased awareness can continue throughout one's day outside of the tank.

unborn-img01.jpg
Photo: PR Times

At the Human Miracle’s lounge, users can follow their iso-tank experience with "color sound meditation." There, meditators can enjoy a calming light show accompanied by a soothing voice offering a guided meditation. Indeed, this is the world's first color-sound meditation performed by bathing a practitioner’s entire body in sound and light. Users can close their eyes for the best experience while relaxing their minds and bodies by focusing inwards. In so doing, they can focus on their breathing and the sensations of their body while listening to the guidance and experiencing the calming environment.

Screen-Shot-2021-05-.png
Photo: PR Times

Finally, users are led to the "creative lounge," where they can feel the energy of art in their relaxed and, hopefully, mindful state. Overall, the experience aims to help visitors escape the litany of information and thoughts that cloud their typical waking mindset.

unborn-img03.jpg
Photo: PR Times

If anyone is worried about the cleanliness of such an experience, typical bacteria cannot survive the high concentration of Epsom salts in the tank water. The filter system, which operates after each flotation, also filters microorganisms that are 100 times finer than a human hair to keep the tank clean. Interested readers can find more information on the lounge’s website. (Membership is required and, at the time of writing, there's a waiting list for registration.)

Read more stories from grape Japan.

-- Japan’s faceless lifelike cat plushie purrs in response to pets and acts as a heater

-- Japanese company makes world’s first glass faithfully reproducing elephant skin texture

-- Licensed smartphone game Touhou LostWorld is now available in international version

© grape Japan

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

7 Comments
Login to comment

‘Flash-forward’ to an oft predicted, globally -warmed overpopulated 2022. Similar sensory deprivation chambers and relaxation rooms could be used for the terminally ill and those who choose to not deal with a possible, dystopian future.

Analyst Sol Roth proposed ‘elective euthanasia’ as a final ‘personalized shopping’ experience. After making both Audio & Video preferences for ‘a final journey’, Roth proposed being escorted to such a room where he lying on a gurney, imbibing some sort of fatal ‘cocktail’, and beginning a most poetic departure.

Imagine a soundtrack plays an assortment of elegiac Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, while watching through virtual viewers or, IMAX screens, the breathtaking beauty of our vanishing world: majestic icecaps and glaciers, magnificent sunsets, flocks of healthy birds, clear oceans, plentiful plains of flowers and grain to feed the masses.

That experience would truly be:

- “Feeling “UNBORN” -

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Flashbacks! @starpunk and @zichi: Do you recall the similar Roger Dean’s “Retreat Pods” and his cover art for “Yes”, “Asia”, etc? - (James Cameron really ran away with those inspired concepts.)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Perhaps some caution with sensory deprivation is necessary: Respected scientist and psychology prof. Edward Jessup combined his experiments in similar tanks with powerful hallucinogenic drugs, hoping to unlock different states of consciousness. Successful at first, he began to experienced ‘altered states’, both mental and possibly, physical. Unfortunately, as side effect, his grip on reality began to slip away.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

For the younger ‘set’, these could be used as pods to predict ‘future-crime’.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Flashbacks of some trippy 80’s ‘experiences’, including the sleep chambers on the Nostromo.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Are they as quiet as a Japanese Office...can hear a pin drop!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites