Sensory Experiences
Beyond the float.
Deeper still.
Infrared sauna, Aqua Hydrotherapy, Shiftwave sound therapy and sensory deprivation experiences, each designed to extend, deepen and complement the effects of floatation. Or to stand alone as a complete recovery experience in their own right.
Heat from Within
Infrared Sauna
Far-infrared · Not convection heat
A traditional sauna heats the air around you until you are hot. An infrared sauna does something fundamentally different: it emits far-infrared radiation that penetrates 4–5cm into soft tissue, raising your core body temperature from the inside out. The air temperature is comfortable, around 50–60°C rather than 80–100°C, but the physiological effect on the body is significantly greater.
The internal heating effect triggers a cascade of responses: increased cardiac output (equivalent to moderate exercise), profound muscular relaxation as fascia softens, anti-inflammatory cytokine release, and deep sweating that mobilises stored toxins from adipose tissue. The overall effect is simultaneously energising and deeply restorative, a combination that is almost impossible to achieve through any other passive intervention.
Cardiovascular conditioning at rest, cardiac output increases as in moderate aerobic exercise
Muscular release, fascia softens at elevated temperatures, allowing depth of relaxation impossible in normal conditions
Anti-inflammatory, systemic reduction in inflammatory markers, particularly beneficial for joint conditions and post-exercise soreness
Deep detoxification, heavy metals and lipophilic toxins mobilised through sweat
Skin health, increased circulation brings nutrients to the dermis; pores cleared by deep sweating
Mood and sleep, endorphin release and core temperature drop post-sauna promote deep, restorative sleep
Session Prices, Infrared Sauna
Water as Medicine
Aqua Hydrotherapy
Warm water immersion · Targeted jet therapy · Temperature sequencing
Hydrotherapy, the therapeutic use of water, is one of the oldest documented forms of medicine and one of the most thoroughly researched. Aqua Hydrotherapy at Floatfree uses warm water immersion combined with targeted hydrostatic pressure and temperature sequencing to promote circulation, reduce inflammation, relieve joint loading and trigger profound physical relaxation.
Unlike floatation, which removes the body from water’s physical effects, hydrotherapy actively uses water pressure and movement as therapeutic tools. The combination of buoyancy (removing gravitational load from joints), warmth (dilating peripheral circulation and relaxing musculature) and targeted jet pressure creates a physical environment that is particularly effective for musculoskeletal conditions, post-injury recovery and circulatory disorders.
Joint decompression, buoyancy removes gravitational loading, allowing inflamed joints to rest and recover
Circulatory stimulation, warm water immersion dilates blood vessels and increases peripheral circulation
Lymphatic drainage, hydrostatic pressure assists lymph flow and reduces oedema
Muscular recovery, particularly effective post-exercise and for chronic muscular tension
Nervous system, warm water activates the parasympathetic nervous system, counteracting the stress response
Session Prices, Aqua Hydrotherapy
Sound as Vibration
Shiftwave
Resonant sound therapy · Full-body vibrational immersion
Shiftwave is a sound therapy system that delivers resonant frequencies not just to the ears, but through the entire body, via transducers that translate sound into physical vibration through the surface you are resting on. The distinction matters: the body contains more fluid than solid tissue, and sound travels through fluid with extraordinary efficiency. You feel the frequency before you hear it.
The specific frequencies used in Shiftwave protocols are chosen for their documented effects on the autonomic nervous system, slowing the breath, reducing heart rate variability markers of stress, and shifting brainwave activity toward the alpha and theta states associated with deep relaxation, meditation and creative insight.
Shiftwave is particularly effective when combined with floatation, the body’s already-surrendered state in the water makes it exquisitely receptive to vibrational input, and many clients describe the combined experience as the most profoundly relaxing state they have ever entered.
Autonomic nervous system regulation, heart rate and breath rate slow measurably during sessions
Brainwave entrainment, resonant frequencies shift brain activity toward alpha and theta states
Muscular relaxation, vibration at specific frequencies releases deep muscular holding patterns
Emotional processing, sound at body-felt frequencies facilitates the release of held emotional tension
Sleep preparation, particularly effective as a pre-sleep protocol for those with insomnia
Session Prices, Shiftwave
The Sensory Spectrum
Sensory Deprivation
Designed for those seeking the deepest possible withdrawal
The float pod and float room are themselves environments of near-total sensory deprivation. For those wishing to explore this further, or to combine sensory withdrawal with specific audio input, we offer curated sensory experience sessions that layer floatation with guided audio, binaural beats or complete silence according to your intention.
These sessions are not passive. They require a willingness to encounter what arises when external distraction is removed entirely. For some, that means profound rest. For some, unexpected insight. For some, a confrontation with what has been held below the surface of a busy life. All of these are valid. All of these are the point.
Sensory deprivation sessions are recommended for those who have already floated at least twice and are ready to use the experience with specific intention.
Deep meditation states without meditation practice
Access to theta brainwave activity, the state of creative insight and dream-adjacent awareness
Psychological integration, used therapeutically for trauma processing and anxiety in clinical research settings
Consciousness exploration, for those with a specific interest in the phenomenology of altered states
Sensory Experience Sessions
Recommended Combinations
Better together.
Each experience works in isolation. Together, they create something distinctly more than the sum of their parts.
01
Sauna + Float
30 minutes of infrared sauna followed by a 90-minute float. The sauna warms and loosens the musculature, making physical surrender in the float immediate rather than gradual. Most clients describe this combination as the most effective recovery protocol they have ever used.
From £90
02
Shiftwave + Float
A 30-minute Shiftwave session pre-float, or Shiftwave audio through the float period itself. The body’s fully surrendered state in the water makes it receptive to vibrational input at a level that is difficult to achieve in ordinary conditions.
Price on request
03
Full Immersion Day
Infrared sauna · Aqua Hydrotherapy · 90-minute float · Massage. A full day of progressive sensory depth, starting with active heat, moving through water, arriving at deep sensory withdrawal, and concluding with hands-on bodywork. Available by arrangement.
Price on request · Full day
Which experience
calls to you?
Book any combination online, or call us to talk through which experience is right for what you’re dealing with.