The ultimate relaxing experience

26 February 2015

Two years ago, I was introduced by friend, Shannon Wilkinson to flotation therapy. I blogged about it in a post called Floating with my thoughts.

Since then I’ve floated two more times in Portland (at Float On and The Float Shoppe). Each time it’s been wonderful. I always come up with great ideas while floating and when I’m through, I feel completely relaxed, as though I’d just had the most wonderful massage imaginable.

I remember commenting to Shannon that I wished there were a place to float in St. Louis and, if there were, I’d probably go once a month. That’s how valuable it felt to me.

Well, my wish has come true. It feels like a miracle. Just this week, F.LO.A.T. opened in midtown St. Louis, at 3027 Locust Street. It was created by three therapists and float enthusiasts, one of whom, Kevin McCulloch, is a friend of mine. I was over the moon ecstatic when I heard it was coming.

On Monday, Kevin treated me to a float and it did not disappoint. F.LO.A.T. has two types of tanks. One they call the At Peace Float Spa; that’s what I experienced this week. They also have the Genesis Pod.

In the At Peace Spa, the tank is like a very large bathtub, enclosed to the ceiling. It has a door in it like a shower stall door. You open the door and step into the 10 inches or so of heavily salted water where float effortlessly. Once I turned off the light from inside the tank I was in utter, complete darkness. And I heard no sounds. As I floated, I barely felt the water that was supporting me. I felt weightless. It’s hard to describe how cozy and relaxing that is.

In addition to feeling relaxed, I also had the opportunity to do some deep thinking, without any type of distraction. That is a true rarity in my life (and I bet yours). I always experience significant insights while floating.

After 90 minutes of floating, I was signaled that time was up by the light in the room slowly being turned on, making the tank door glow. It was very gentle. Right outside the tank is a shower. I showered off the salt, dressed and joined my friend, Jeannette, who had also just floated. We were two extremely mellow women, enjoying some water in the comfy sitting area. (Jeannette is a writer for St. Louis magazine and wrote this great blog post on her floating experience that day.)

Here’s a photo of the float room at F.LO.A.T. (The tank is inside that shower door.)

The other type of tank they have, the Genesis Pod is a smaller, womb-like space. At the Float Shoppe, I floated in a similar pod and it was a great experience, too. I look forward to trying out the Genesis Pod. Here’s a photo of it:

At F.LO.A.T., a 90-minute float costs $65, comparable to a massage. Will I do it monthly as I’d hoped? I do believe I will. So far, I have dates booked in March and April. They have memberships for frequent floaters that make the floating even less expensive. You can bet I’ll be taking advantage of that.

If you are in St. Louis, I hope you check this out. I remember that it felt like a leap of faith the first time I tried floating. Though Shannon had described it to me, I had trouble visualizing what the experience would be like. I’m so glad I trusted Shannon and just gave it a try.

If you have questions about it, feel free to ask in the comments.

P.S. In case you were wondering, I learned from Jeannette’s blog post that F.LO.A.T.‘s wackily punctuated acronym stands for “For. LOving. Antigravity. Timelessness.”

Tagged with: floating, happiness, relaxation