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Why I float: Chris Murphy

Floating marked a new season of Chris’ self-discovery journey, where he found floating at the same time he began creating a more meaningful life for himself and helping others in his community – at Floatworks and around London – do the same.

My journey so far

I started on my journey of self-discovery about 6 years ago. I always felt that I wanted to live a different life to most people. I had so many groups of friends that I didn’t fit in with, I was never getting promoted with work. I kept chasing the next thing, started my own business, and built quite a big community in personal development. I was a Life Coach for a while. But none of that fulfilled me. There was always something missing.

I got to the point where I had a decent amount of money and lived in central London and had those external, materialistic things, but it didn’t give me what I really needed. So I started meditating, I started following people who were coming out of that phase, with that sort of hustle mentality. I was still working 10, 12 hours a day at this point, and I still had travelling to do.

One of the guys I was listening to recommended floating (and no, it wasn’t Joe Rogan!) He said just try it, if you get into a tank and you can’t be fully happy with yourself, there must be something not right. So I gave it a go.

My first visit to Floatworks

I was a bit anxious about coming. But the second I walked through the door, I just knew there was something special here. I remember the Chill Out lounge made a big impact on me, meeting other like-minded people. We all connected through floating and we’d all come from similar backgrounds, it’s a cool place to hang out.

I came back again, started a membership, probably did about 12 floats, and every time I came I started learning more and more about myself. And it led to this big transition where I actually still had my business that was evolving, but it got to the point where I just completely dropped that and went off to Nepal. I’ve always wanted to go travelling, I’ve always wanted to escape, and live a very simple life. So, I did that for 5 or 6 months last year.

Floating helped with all that. It was for the right reasons. Ultimately, I just wasn’t happy, and then as I got deeper into myself, I just started getting answers. As soon as I got back, for some reason I only wanted to come back to Floatworks. I messaged the community manager Kathy and she said there aren’t any vacancies. I stayed up North for a while, but then at the right time I just decided I’ve got to go to London, and the opportunity came up to work at Floatworks and I’ve been here ever since. Some of the best times are when I’ve arranged for groups of friends or from my Meetup Group to come floating, then we’ll go out for a coffee afterwards and talk about the experience.

My first float

I think if anything, I saw it more as a challenge. I’d heard about the benefits, so I was willing to give it a go. When I was in there it was difficult. I remember there was a lot of tension in my neck. By the end, it had gone, and I felt my whole neck had become looser.

I was thinking quite a bit at the start, but then eventually I went into a deeper meditation. For me, it was just the after-feeling. As soon as I got out, I felt like I was reborn.

When you come out of a float, you’re more present, you’re more alive, completely in your body and everything settles down. You stop worrying as much. If anything, floating helped me meditate more. Before I went to Nepal, I’d just be drawn more to nature. I’d just go sit in the park for hours, maybe read a book.

It’s very key for me to meditate before the float. Sometimes you can’t but it always helps you get into that state. It depends when it is, too. In the morning you’re thinking more, in the evening it’s much more relaxing. Mornings can be more challenging. If I’ve got a big day or an event coming up, I’ll float – I gave a talk the other day and did a double float beforehand just to keep me on the right path.

My community – Get Out Your Comfort Zone Meetup Group

It’s evolved a lot over time. I’ve still let go of expectation now. The idea is to create this space where people can be themselves, without wearing masks. Be more connected, honest, and make the world a better place, very similar to Floatworks.

Some people have gone their whole life thinking ‘why are people not seeing the world like this? Is it just me? Am I just different’? It’s about creating that space for them. I think this is how things are evolving now as a whole. I believe we are all consciously evolving to drop our egos, I can really feel that we’re hitting a shift across the world, and it goes in line with what Floatworks is doing as well, to be our best self and be happy in the present moment.

Knowing that, I think I’m just sticking more to what’s true to me. I’ve let go of expectation and packaging it in a business way, It’s essentially a community called Get Out Your Comfort Zone. We do new, fun things that allow us to grow whether a Skydive, a comedy course, or floating; we do a lot of healing, a lot of meditation. I do one-on-one coaching with some people. It’s allowing people to enjoy the growth journey with others whilst having fun overcoming their fears

At the moment, the focus is on Laughing Meditation. This feels great and its away to get in express the joy from within and making it a fun way to meditate. As we have suppressed our joyful feelings over the years, Joy is something we all have internally but for many of us we only allow ourselves to be happy with external situations. So although laughing like a crazy person for no reason seems weird to most people, its a joyful place that immeditately relieves stress and allows you to be free and in the present; a child will most likely do this sort of thing.

What’s interesting is everyone from the community is very similar to me who I bring to float – a bit anxious, a bit nervous. But then everyone I’ve brought have had a completely different experience. They all took something different out of it and you just see the excitement and passion in their eyes, which again is that joy shining through.

Being a part of the Floatworks Family

To be in a company where you can be yourself, and you can really feel like you integrate based on your strengths is incredible. Because I buy into the vision on a deep level, on a soul level, it all just fits in nicely. I think that everything Chris and Ed (the owners), are trying to do and the way they operate – that all filters down in a way that rubs off on all the staff. I feel like we’re all together, one big family and I feel at home here.

All previous jobs I was unhappy, but here we all work together and I want everyone in our team to be the best they can be and they want the same for me. We do everything from a place of love and compassion and this is why I feel like I can finally be myself here and when our members come here, they aren’t being judged whatsoever and can be completely themselves, making this the best place to be in London.



Follow Chris Murphy on Instagram:

@getoutyourcomfortzone