Have you heard of floating pods? If you haven't, dont worry I had no idea it was a thing until 2 weeks ago.
So floating... Well when I first heard about it I thought it was creepy lol. What happens is you get into a depervation tank filled of only 10inches of salt water. The salt causes you to float. Without gravity basically it allows you body to truly be at rest and often pain free.
If you wish, you can close the lid to the pod. While in the pod you gave the option to have a colored light on. In theory if you do have the pod shut and lights off you deprive yourself of light sound and touch which ends up in a very restful hour. One hour in the pod can equal 8 hours of good sleep.
There are all kinds of wonderful health benifits to floating. For myself im mostly hoping for relief with my chronic pain from Guillain Barré Syndrome.
As always I over think everything. Just thinking of voluntarily putting myself into a situation alot like in my early days with Guillain Barré/ Locked in Syndrome... Being in a small dark place, no sounds and having to stay still made me nervous but I'm to a point where id try just about anything for this thing called chronic pain. For the most part I keep the bad pain at bay with essential oils and supplements but that's all for a diffrent post.
Im still in pain every single day.
I went in knowing that this wouldn't cure me in one hour. That this is something I would have to commit myself to do 3-4 times to realy have an idea on what it could truly do for me.
I mentioned floating to my husband and said we should go. He gave me a quick and expected no. Haha
The next day he texted me and said that I should book a time for us to go. He researched it and was intrigued.
When I made reservations I made sure that they could accommodate my gimpy self. Ha! I have yet to use my own bathtub in fear that I won't be able to get out. I also still use my shower chair because falling in the shower and being the naked 29 year old in the shower call to the fire department is a very real fear... Especially when your uncle is the Chief, brother in law is on the crew along with past teachers and classmates... Ya. Im extra careful.
We arrived at the float spa to sign in. We chatted with the lady who asked us to take off our shoes before leaving the lobby. They had provided flip flops for us to wear... Well since im special and heartbreakingly can not wear flip flops, I went barefoot. I still do not have all the movement in my toes and my hands and feet sill always feel asleep. This prevents me from holding on a flip flop with my toes. They just fall right off and would be an accident waiting to happen.
We were brought to a small room to watch a short video on what to expect and how floating worked. After that they gave us a tour and took us to the ADA room where she showed us how to work everything and what to do.
I stayed in the ADA room but was a bit nervous getting in all by myself and walking on wet tile. You are given the option to go into the pod naked or with a swim suit. I chose a swim suit just incase I fell and for good measure I left my door unlocked. Before entering the pods you must take a shower and use the shampoo and body wash provided. The reason is to get off all of your products so the water wont be contaminated. But before you shower they recomend putting in ear plugs that the provide. The ear plugs are so the saltwater doesnt get into your ears but the seal better in your ears if you place them before showering.
The ADA shower area was convient. Not pictured is a small portable shower chair. After showering I placed it right next to the pod. I was able to swing my legs around into the water. While hanging on to the edge I slid right in. The salt water is very silky and slippery. The one thing I would have liked to have had was a bar to hang on to. But I made do.
Once in if you would like the lid closed you have to kneel in the water and pull the lid closed. I chose to keep it open just a crack.
The recomend counting to 300 to relax. But for me that wasnt so relaxing. It surfaced alot of bad times. When I was ventilated, to calm down and fall asleep I would count, sing 100 bottles of beer on the wall and sing the ABC's backwards.
While floating I couldn't feel any pain. The water is skin tempiture so you couldnt really tell if a body part was above the water or not. So weird. Towards the end I felt my body twitching and I fell asleep for a short while until the music came back on.
After getting out I showered again to get all the salt off of me and then met Bryan in a relaxing little room. Complete with yoga mats, essential oil diffuser, tea and journals to write in.
When I found him he was sitting recieving flavored oxygen... Weird. Weird. Weird...
As someone who had a treacheotomy and spent months on a ventilator and then oxygen through my nose the thought of being hooked to oxygen for fun baffles me... Let alone flavored oxygen. I watched Bryan enjoy his vanilla air for awhile. He talked me into trying it myself. I chose peppermint. That lasted about 2 minuets. I just cant get past all the bad memories attached to an oxygen tank or ventilator.
After leaving I felt wonderful. It was truly an awesome experience that I hope all if you will try atleast once.
While floating I had no pain but unfortunately it started creeping back about 45 min later. First with my knee and hip and then intense pain down my spine.
Like I mentioned above. I already decided to try 3-4 times before giving my total opinion and knowing how my body truly responds.
This is not Holy water. This will not cure you in one hour. I have a chronic illness. An auto immune disease that effects my nerves. Nerve pain is extremely hard to treat and for that I will stick with it and see how it can really help in the long run.
If you are curious in any way, just try it!
Im hoping to go again this week. I will be updating after each float experience.
