Decompress And Free Your Mind With This Therapy

With graduation quickly approaching, the stress of life and all of its questions are starting to take a toll on me. What’s next? What do you want to do? Where do you see yourself in the next five years? It’s rather interesting to me because interning for a fashion startup has shed light on the fact that I get asked many of the same questions as WRITTEN Founder, Emily on a regular basis.

Although we both understand the importance of knowing answers to such inquiries, seriously, how many people can or even want to answer these types of questions? I feel like a broken record on some days and other days I don’t even know where to begin to formulate my answer. Emily always puts it like this “The future is never guaranteed and it damn sure isn’t the way we plan in most cases; so all you can do is have a plan, but prepare for that plan to change many times. The good news is, those changes to course typically make you stronger and serve as learning lessons.”

Despite Emily’s words of wisdom, sometimes I just wish I could get away from it all…just relax and let all the fears and uncertainties of life float away. That’s when I remembered Emily’s mention of flotation therapy. The day following an intense Demo Day pitch that Emily presented in front of hundreds of onlookers, she had used the therapy as a way to decompress and free her mind of all the “clutter”. Could this work for me? I wanted to know more. Here’s what I found out.

Float To A Better You

Growing  in popularity since the 1970s, flotation therapy, also known as sensory deprivation, is actually quite simple. You float, you relax. But how does it work? It all starts with the float tank, also known as float pods or isolation tanks. These pods are typically 8 feet long by 4 feet wide. The most important of all however, is that there is no swimming or treading water necessary. Float pods are filled with 10 inches of water and over 700 pounds of Epsom salt, magnesium sulfate, making it more dense than the Dead Sea. Add in the fact that the the water is heated to exactly 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the normal temperature of the human body, and you have effortless floating…no really…effortless!

So what does all of this mean? I had the opportunity recently of speaking with Jackie Stiles, the WRITTEN Woman responsible for bringing the first float tank to Iowa, and she weighed in with her expertise on the benefits available from float therapy.

Flotation Therapy Benefits Are Endless

When life wasn’t looking so bright, Stiles found flotation therapy right on time. “I went in for a health screening [for work] and my cholesterol came back high,” she explains. In search of ways to live a healthier life mentally, physically, and spiritually, Stiles recalls once hearing about flotation therapy through former UFC fighter and Fear Factor host, Joe Rogan. “In 2013, there wasn’t much talk about them and there were no float tanks in Iowa.” As a result, Stiles drove to the nearest float tank in Illinois and found peace at last. However, after nine hours of travelling to and from Illinois, she thought to herself, “We need a float tank in Iowa.” In 2014, she made that a reality with Honest Floating, home to Iowa’s first flotation therapy services.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Float tank therapy doesn’t necessarily have a finite list of benefits, however, it can offer a wide range of benefits which varies from individual to individual. “Each person and their purpose [for floating] differs from the next,” Stiles explains. For some, the idea of just getting away from the rest of the world is benefit enough. “Everyday, we have this idea that we have to respond to people at the exact moment they call, text, or email us. Flotation therapy allows you to get away from all of that for a small portion of the day.”

For 60 minutes a session, you lay in this float tank and, as Jackie says, “Let the benefits sink in.” Other benefits range from absorbing the salt for your muscles, reduced anxiety, imaging for creativity, back relief for pregnant women, and so much more. More importantly you don’t have to float daily to receive these benefits. According to an article from usnews.com, researchers have found that patients still experience most of the benefits from floating several months after float sessions. It is important to remember, however, that float tanks are purely a tool in aiding these types of problems. Stiles explains, “I believe our lives, and for example the float tank, are reflections of ourselves. The tank is a tool to facilitate and assist in the work that needs done, but it is not the cure itself.”

Get Out And Float

We know the WRITTEN Woman is always on the move being the best bad ass boss she can be. Take the time to take care of you with flotation therapy! After all, the better care you take of yourself, the better care you can take of others. Here are some popular flotation therapy centers in our favorite cites.

Pause Float Studio (Los Angeles)

Serene Dreams (New York)

Float Sixty (Chicago)

Miami Floatation (Miami)

Adrift Float Spa (Dallas)

So now that you know where to float, what’s holding you back? Whether it’s for stress relief or just to get your brain waves flowing, flotation therapy can help you in any area you need!

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