Meditation, an increasingly popular practice, lets you focus on the present, unwind, and escape distractions. During meditation, you may feel weightless or as if floating, liberating you from the physical realm. This tranquil experience helps you dive deep into a meditative state.
This article will explore the concept of the “floating feeling during meditation”, what it is, and how you can cultivate it, and share tips on how to attain this elusive state of mind. Keep reading to find out all the answers.
What is the floating feeling during meditation?
Ever had that floating feeling during meditation? It’s an odd sensation where it seems like your body is getting lighter as if you’re going to take off into the air. Some people experience this more than others, but don’t worry – it’s normal and harmless. It occurs when your mind focuses on the present moment and lets go of past and future concerns. You might feel like you’re hovering just above the ground. This powerful sensation can catch you off guard if you’re unsure what it means.
Feeling like floating during meditation could be a sign that your body and mind are ready to let go of all negative thoughts and emotions. If you experience this floating sensation, it’s likely that your mind is becoming calm and quiet. This could mean that you’ve reached a state of heightened relaxation and awareness, where your thoughts vanish, leaving only a profound sense of peace and tranquility.
Curious about why we feel this way? Let’s dive deeper into the floating sensation during meditation.
10 meanings of floating feeling during meditation
You’re becoming aware of your true self
Did you know that feeling like you’re floating during meditation means you’re becoming more self-aware? This sensation occurs when your mind quiets down, allowing you to truly see yourself. Like seeing the bottom of a still pool, a calm mind reveals your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. This is known as self-realization or self-discovery.
- To truly know ourselves, we must accept who we are without judgment.
- Embrace your thoughts and emotions as part of your true nature.
- Learn to love yourself unconditionally to connect with your higher self.
- The floating feeling during meditation increases self-awareness by revealing our innermost feelings and desires.
- Meditating daily boosts happiness, peace, and love while clearing away unwanted thoughts for a more enjoyable floating experience during meditation.
You’ve reached enlightenment or nirvana (highest level of awareness)
Before we continue, let me ask you something.
- What is your motivation for meditating?
- Are you trying to become more mindful of yourself and your surroundings?
- Are you trying to clear your head?
- Are you looking for more happiness, tranquility, and contentment?
- Are you seeking the ability to have better control over your thoughts and emotions so that you can live a better life?
The truth is 84% of people who meditate do so to lower their stress levels and boost their mental health.
The ‘floating’ sensation during meditation may indicate progress toward enlightenment or Nirvana. This ultimate awareness brings power, peace, and bliss to dedicated meditators. It reveals your true self and nature. Regular practice helps achieve this heightened state. Keep meditating consistently to reach it.
It’s a sign of relaxation
By relaxing your mind and body, you can feel a floating sensation during meditation. This relaxation leads to a great feeling afterward. To achieve this, meditate regularly to calm your mind and body. Even brief moments of relaxation are crucial to successful meditation.
Studies reveal that relaxed muscles during meditation enhance focus on breath and body, reduce distractions, and promote tranquility. However, it’s easy to lose focus or fall asleep if you’re not relaxed, which isn’t helpful. Achieving relaxation and quieting your thoughts means you’re on the right path to reap meditation benefits and live a fulfilling life.
You’re disconnecting from your senses
If you’ve ever felt like drifting away during meditation, it might signal a deeper meditative state. For example, closing your eyes and experiencing a buzzing sensation in your head, full-body vibrations, or other feelings could mean you’ve disconnected from your senses and entered pure consciousness. This is excellent, as it indicates you’re reaping meditation’s benefits like relaxation, increased focus and creativity, clarity, and more. When the mind is at ease, it’s easier to detach from sensory distractions.
You might be curious: can one disconnect from the senses and still meditate effectively? The truth is that total sensory detachment isn’t necessary for effective meditation. As long as your practice is powerful enough, it will guide you to a meditative state where you feel tranquil, relaxed, and engaged.
You’re in the alpha state
Have you heard of the Alpha State and its connection to meditation? The Alpha State, or “Relaxation Response,” is a state of wakeful relaxation where you are calm and alert. Often associated with meditation, it enables focused attention on your environment while keeping your mind free of negative thoughts.
Being in the Alpha State differs from sleeping or being unconscious. To enhance concentration and awareness, practice regular meditation. Research shows that meditation boosts focus and productivity in work or school settings. Thus, if you aim to be more efficient, don’t forget to meditate frequently.
Many people experience the natural relaxation of the Alpha State both while awake and during the process of falling asleep. If you feel like you’re floating with a clear and focused mind during meditation, it’s likely that you’ve entered the Alpha State.
You’re becoming more spiritual
Do you meditate for spiritual growth and a deeper connection with the divine?
If so, experiencing a floating sensation indicates that meditation is guiding you on your spiritual path. This practice helps connect with a higher power, bringing you closer to your spiritual essence. Experiencing levitation shows you’re headed toward enlightenment.
You might wonder about the significance of this floating feeling since you’re already in tune with your spirituality. Levitation highlights that you’re on the right path and helps increase mindfulness, enhancing your connection to your body. Meditation could trigger spiritual experiences, altering your perspective on life and its purpose. This transformation broadens your understanding of the world, which is the essence of spirituality.
So, embrace levitation during meditation as an indicator of increased spiritual awareness – a sign that your soul is awakening and following the steps toward enlightenment.
You’ve managed to stop discursive thinking and entered the meditative mind
How can you tell if you’ve reached a meditative state during meditation? It’s when you feel like you’re floating! You probably already know that you need to stop overthinking to meditate effectively. If you’ve done that, then it’s likely you’ve achieved a meditative state. It’s a state of pure awareness, not thinking about the past, present, or future, just focusing on your breath and being fully present while relaxed.
Overthinking is the main obstacle to meditation, as it distracts and interferes with your focus. For example, if your mind is preoccupied with a work problem while meditating, it indicates overthinking has taken control. So, if you’ve experienced a floating sensation during meditation, it’s a sign you’ve overcome overthinking and entered the meditative mindset.
You’re at the peak of your happiness range
Experiencing a floating sensation during meditation indicates you’ve achieved ultimate happiness. If it made you uneasy initially, it’s because this level of joy is unfamiliar. This fantastic, serene state is pure contentment, making you forget everything else.
Floating in meditation leaves people smiling, blissful, and wanting more. If this sensation brings you joy, it means your body has reached peak happiness. Encountering pure bliss is rare and requires the right mindset and environment for meditation. To experience this joy, relax completely, clear your mind, and focus on your breath. This is the secret to unlocking your highest happiness potential.
You’re releasing negative emotions and thoughts
Floating during meditation can signify releasing emotional and mental burdens. This sensation often occurs when negative emotions and thoughts are let go. To feel better, and happier, and reach your goals quicker, it’s crucial to release negative energy. Envision your body as a magnet with its north pole pointing down and south pole pointing up, attracting positive energy toward your head, while negative energy flows downward. Embrace the floating sensation during meditation and avoid worrying about anything else.
You’re letting Go of Fear and Floating During Meditation
Another reason you might feel like you’re floating during meditation is the sense of freedom and fearlessness. Floating sensations signify a fearless mind, allowing you to do anything without worrying about consequences. This powerful feeling indicates you’ve overcome your boundaries, are open to new experiences, and have achieved a higher self-awareness level. You’ve gone beyond fears and insecurities, embracing a sense of freedom and happiness. Recognizing life’s transient nature, it’s your responsibility to accept and move forward.
Why Do You Feel Like You’re Floating?
During meditation or relaxation, you may sometimes feel like you’re floating or weightless. This sensation can be described as detaching from your physical body, a common aim of meditation practices. Some people link this feeling to an out-of-body experience called astral projection.
Astral projection is the idea that your consciousness can leave your physical body and travel in a non-physical realm known as the astral plane. Despite lacking scientific evidence, numerous individuals claim to have experienced astral projection while meditating or during near-death experiences. People often describe feeling weightless or floating during astral projection and may see their physical body from a different point of view. Some even report visiting other realms, meeting spiritual beings, or having deep spiritual encounters.
Though astral projection is a debated topic and not widely accepted scientifically, many individuals believe in it and consider it an essential component of their spiritual journey.
Can You Really Float During Meditation?
Many individuals experience a floating sensation during meditation, known as siddhis, where spiritual energy lifts the body. Some Yoga and meditation practitioners claim to levitate while meditating.
But can everyone levitate? While many feel weightless during meditation, this may not equal actual levitation. Regardless of mystical powers, everyone can benefit from learning meditation. So, if levitation is achievable, how can you prepare your mindset?
The Upward Flow of Life Energy
Our body is influenced by 5 key pranas – they control our movements and actions.
If these 5 pranas are mastered, levitation could be achieved – allowing us to better connect with the upward-flowing life energy.
- Prana Vayu – Governs the chest and head and regulates inhaling, swallowing, and sensory perception.
- Apana Vayu – Found in the pelvis region, controls movement and circulation.
- Samana Vayu – Located in the navel area, it manages digestion and metabolism and brings energy to the core.
- Vyana Vayu – Controls circulation, extending to the full body, and lowers energy.
- Udana Vayu – Responsible for the throat and facilitates speech, expression, exhalation, and growth.
Even if you can’t levitate, understanding these pranas is beneficial. It could help you to experience the ‘airless feeling’ associated with levitation, even if it doesn’t actually happen.
What Does the ‘Floating in Water’ Feeling Mean?
So you’ve experienced that ‘float in water’ sensation during your meditation session. That’s certainly strange, but what does it mean?
In Buddhism, this uplifting sensation is known as ‘piti‘, and it brings a sense of hope and positivity.
Many meditators strive to feel this sensation again, while others may find it bewildering.
In addition to this ‘float in water’ sensation, some mediators have reported experiencing intense tickling-like tingling sensations.
‘Post-float glow’
People often report feeling a similar state of mind after floating as they would after a couple of days on a silent meditation retreat – a feeling known as the ‘post-float glow’. This blissful sensation can carry on and extend out into the rest of your life.
We take great care to ensure our surroundings are comfortable and tranquil in order to make the transition back into the world as seamless as possible.
After this experience, you can step out into the stunning natural environment of the Forest of Dean. Let your newly awakened senses come alive as you take a walk amongst the trees, listen to the birds, and feel the breeze on your face.
Discover Whether Floatation Can Help New Meditators Reach Deep Relaxation
Over the past decade, meditation has shifted from a niche activity to a widely accepted practice in the West. People now regularly use meditation apps, attend Yoga and meditation classes, and experience sound healing.
For meditation newcomers, it can be challenging to meet high expectations and not feel overwhelmed. Achieving a calm, grounded state while distancing yourself from emotions may seem impossible when initially attempting to meditate for just 5 or 10 minutes.
Floatation therapy offers an alternative approach to meditation, as its calming effects are well-known among regular practitioners. This method can encourage beginners to explore the world of meditation more easily.
The Float Therapy
Float therapy, also known as ‘REST’ (reduced environmental stimulation therapy), involves lying in a pool of highly concentrated Epsom salt water, helping to reduce stimulation to the nervous system.
The experience is designed to keep out any external stimulation. Your sense of vision, hearing, temperature, and gravity are all blocked from the outside world, creating a peaceful and calming environment.
A float tank, or sensory deprivation tank, offers the perfect environment for meditation and self-reflection. Without any external interruptions, your senses can relax, and you can focus your attention on yourself and your own thoughts.
3 Floating Meditation Tips for Beginners
Float tanks provide an ideal space for meditation, offering simple techniques for a more mindful experience. Even as a beginner, you’ll discover these practices are easier in a float tank compared to traditional settings.
Focus On Your Breath
- Bring yourself back to the present moment by focusing on your breath.
- Floating in the tank and wearing earplugs will allow you to become more attuned to your internal sounds – like your breath and your heartbeat.
- Inhale and exhale through your nose, being aware of the differences between the two.
- Inhale slowly for a count of four, and exhale for the same amount of time. You can gradually increase the count and observe how it relaxes you.
Become Aware of Your Body
- Begin to pay attention to your physical sensations through your breathing.
- When you’re floating in the tank, you will start to notice your body and any areas of tension that start to relax.
- As you breathe in, focus your breath on the part of your body that feels tense.
- Then, as you exhale, feel that area soften, and the tension melts away. You’ll be amazed at how weightless you feel with each exhale.
Try Out Some Visualization
Visualization is a great way to tap into inspiration and creativity and even to work out solutions. There are lots of different methods you can use, let’s start with these two:
- Start with self-affirmation, such as ‘I am resilient’. Imagine these words and how they’re having an impact on your life…
- Imagine that when you inhale, you’re filling your body with light, and when you exhale, all stress and negativity are released as black smoke.
FAQ’s
What is the floating feeling during meditation?
The floating feeling during meditation is a sensation that some people experience during their practice. It is an alteration in their perception of their body’s position, which makes them feel as if they are floating or weightless.
Why do some people experience a floating feeling during meditation?
The experience of the floating feeling during meditation may be due to a combination of physical and psychological factors. Physiologically, it may be related to changes in blood pressure, heart rate, or metabolism. Psychologically, it may be related to changes in consciousness and perception of the body.
Is feeling like I’m floating during meditation normal?
Yes, the floating feeling during meditation is a normal experience for some people. It is a sign that you are entering a deeper state of relaxation and concentration. It’s typically seen as a positive sign that you’re making progress with your meditation practice. It is generally not harmful or indicative of any medical or psychological problems.
How can I achieve the floating feeling during meditation?
Achieving the floating feeling during meditation is not something that can be forced or guaranteed. It may occur spontaneously during your practice, or it may not happen at all. However, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of having this experience, such as focusing on your breath, relaxing your muscles, and maintaining a regular meditation practice.
Are there any risks associated with the floating feeling during meditation?
There are generally no risks associated with the floating feeling during meditation. However, some people may feel uncomfortable or disoriented by the sensation, so it is important to listen to your body and not push yourself beyond your limits. If you experience any unusual or concerning symptoms during meditation, you should stop and seek medical advice.
Conclusion
The floating sensation during meditation shows we’ve found inner peace. Now you know that feeling weightless is a sign your mind is calm and relaxed. It’s important to take breaks from life’s stress, meditate, and absorb our experiences.
We may not have all the answers, but meditation has been around for ages for good reason. So, strike your pose and try to reach that light, carefree state. Embrace this priceless time and enjoy the positive impact of feeling like you’re floating in meditation.
