Whole Body

Rising to the Top

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There I was, floating inside a space capsule filled with the saltiest water I’d ever touched, and all I could think was “I wish it was darker in here.”

The space capsule, of course, wasn’t really a capsule - nor was it in outer space. It was a sensory deprivation tank at Float, a wellness center in Warwick that’s part spa, part fitness studio, and part new age energy work center, all towards the purpose of connecting you to your best (and best feeling) self.

I started my day at Float with aura photography, where a sensor reads your bio-data and gives you a visual representation of what’s going on with your energy. Think of it like the “before” picture of how I was feeling and a baseline of where my head (and heart and mind) were. As a disclaimer: I believe in the power of energy work and the importance of a connection with the higher self. I meditate - sometimes, not as much as I want to - and I pay a lot of attention to what’s going on inside myself. So, when Colleen Crowley took a look at my aura and told me where my problem areas were, I wasn’t surprised at all. Too much happening in the heart and throat chakras, not enough in the areas where my sense of self-worth and my sense of grounding live.

After, I went into a reiki session with Float co-owner Letitia Latek. Reiki is the Japanese art of balancing the body’s energies - boosting positive energy and clearing negative energy - through touch. As she worked, Letitia talked to me about working through my imbalances. I was already feeling pretty Zen, but I definitely felt lighter and more clear-headed afterwards. Maybe it sounds a little “out there” to you, but whether or not reiki actually works to dispel negativity from your life, the important part is that I believe that it did, and I felt positive benefits from it. So maybe it is all in my head - but isn’t everything anyway?

Then, it was time to float. Float therapy is, at its simplest, a long soak in saltwater. But it’s a lot more than that. You’re inside a pod where all you can hear is soothing music, all you can see is dim mood lighting, and all you can feel is total weightlessness. The water is saturated with Epsom salt to the point that it has the density of the Dead Sea - meaning that when I tried to submerge myself fully, I couldn’t. You float on top of the water, not in it. The idea is that you float in this tank with no real stimulus around you, and you fully relax your mind and go into a meditative state. At least, I did. I even shut off the lights inside the pod because I wanted a more immersive experience. Aside from the mental benefits, there are physical ones too: better sleep, relief from pain, lower blood pressure and cortisol levels. I already enjoy meditation, so it was easy for me to shut off my mind - but before I was even done with my first session I knew I wanted to go back for more.

After floating, I had a myofascial release massage with Robin Tanguay. Myofascial release isn’t the scented-oils kind of massage. It’s about applying pressure to areas of pain in the body and holding that pressure for long enough for the body’s fascia (the tissue that holds muscle in place) to release that tightness. It’s a deeper level of massage, and one that I really feel has deep benefits to my body. I leave a massage feeling relaxed. I leave myofascial release feeling like I’ll have long-term relief of that particular pain. I asked Robin to work on my ankle, which had been hurting lately for no good reason, and my low back, which had been hurting, oh, forever. In the week since I’ve had it done, I haven’t felt pain in either area.

So needless to say, my aura was in much better shape after Float than before it. But I didn’t need a photograph to tell me that. My sense of relaxation, of inner peace and of connection to my higher self all clued me in to what a beneficial day I had had.

Float
2258 Post Road, Warwick • 921-5100

Rising to the Top, Julie Tremaine, Whole Body, Working on mind, body, and spirit at Float, Float, sensory deprivation tank at Float, Warwick RI, Warwick RI wellness center float, SO Rhode Island, SO RI Mag, SO RI Magazine, SO RI, Rhode Island, South County RI, Southern RI, RI, Southern Rhode Island, South County Rhode Island

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