Float in water for 90 minutes? Intriguing, I thought, but also, maybe tedious.
INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Float in water for 90 minutes? Intriguing, I thought, but also, maybe tedious.
"Who has time to slow down and float?" I wondered. But maybe, it's that very go-go-go mentality that has many of us feeling over stimulated, overworked, overwhelmed and in need of a break.
Floatation therapy isn't new. Hippies did it in the 50's. Twenty years later, the concept evolved to REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy) chambers. Professional athletes soak in warm and cold water tanks to calm their achy and overused muscles. Today, warm water tanks loaded with Epsom salt in a dark room are marketed as a perfect way to cut the cord and disconnect.
A Place to Float recently opened in downtown Indianapolis near Lucas Oil Stadium. The business has six private floating rooms and inviting lounge areas where you can hang pre- or post-float. Each private room has a shower with all the toiletries you’d want and a lock on the door.
Half of the tanks look like a giant egg or space capsule with a lid. You step into the water and lower the lid. The idea is to create a womb-like experience. There's a panic button that lifts the lid, for those like me who thought that idea was a bit too claustrophobic. I preferred the other open tanks that look like a super-sized hot tub. They contain 100 gallons of 95 degree water and 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt. That is a lot of salt! The drug store sells three-pound packets of the naturally occurring minerals of magnesium and sulfate for your tub at home. The heavy concentration of salt creates an extra buoyant environment. The tanks are just ten inches deep. The room is dark. The challenge is to calm your mind.
Erika Parson, 46, is a writer. She finds after she floats, she can effortlessly write page after page.
"My goal is just get a place where my mind is just quiet so I can just think and focus. That's what happens. It's just getting quieter and quieter and I am able to focus on just the things I need to take care of and not all the chatter that is normally going on," Parson said.
"I don't even particularly like water"
Craig Cox, 43, says balancing a demanding job and busy home life have him often looking for silence. He came to a "Place to Float" despite a mild aversion to water.
"I don't even particularly like water," Cox said, "but with phones and email and everything now, it is really hard to unplug. If I'm home then I will start thinking about something and it's too easy to turn on the television. It's too easy to pick up my laptop and it's too easy to pick up my phone. So I have to force myself or get in a space that will for me to get rid of any and all distractions."
Sessions last up to 90 minutes. Cox tried an hour at first.
"It's just like you are floating on a cloud," Cox said. "It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done, and I'd do it again."
Regular floating sessions have replaced regular massages for 29-year-old Derrin Slack. "Not only does my body feel well but my mind gets recalibrated. It takes a couple of days to wear off," Slack said.
I was a bit skeptical and anxious about the time, so I went for just an hour. It was dark, silent and my mind was active. At first I was distracted as I drifted and bumped into the sides of the tank, then I realized I was holding my head up. Gradually, I relaxed my neck and shoulders. The longer I was there, the warmer I got and the more my mind settled. My mental effort to keep track of the time slipped. I almost fell asleep. Then, surprisingly low level music piped into the tank provided notice my time was up. That went so fast!
I took a shower and my skin felt soft, my hair felt thicker. There was a makeup remover to clean up my smeared mascara.
It was cold and grey outside and it was the middle of a work day, but I felt chill. Nice! Now if only I could make time in my calendar to come back....
Sessions cost $59-$69 each, and when I last checked, Groupon was offering a deal for up to 60 percent off.
Let me know if you try it. I'd love to hear what you think.
Now relax already!
