Ok- so apparently this is a "thing", a "thing" that I actually didn't already know about. I thought I was pretty in the "know" but it seems that I'm not in the "know" about everything... This experience was gifted to me for Christmas by a friend who also "floated" in the room next to me.

So, if you're like me and have no idea what "floating" is, here's the gist:

You go into a 4x8 ft sensory deprivation chamber filled with water that's had 1,000 lbs of epsom salt (this is what makes you float) dissolved into it, for an hour. There is a shower in your "cabin" to rinse off before and after. You can't hear or see while you're inside the chamber, it's a zero-gravity, zero-senses experience.

Here are some the benefits per the Remedy Float website: (remedyfloat.com)

reduced stress

improved sleep patterns

normalized blood pressure

enhanced ability to focus and concentrate

improved creativity

strengthened immune system

pain relief

reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD

decreased feelings of vertigo

accelerated recovery from jet lag

Clearly, there are known to be a lot of health benefits to "floating". The biochemical pathways created by the epsom salt are known to expedite relief from chronic pain and swelling. The idea is that you give your body a complete break from gravity and give your mind a break from the world, in turn, releasing endorphins and dopamine. It's a very meditative/therapeutic experience.

For prep, here's what we were told:

Don’t drink coffee for several hours beforehand (it can make your system jittery). Also, don’t shave or wax since the salt water can irritate your skin. Eat a light meal about an hour to 90 minutes ahead of time.

My concerns were as follows:

Will I be scared?

How is it cleaned?

Will I get to speak to my friend during the experience? (Answer: no)

Do I have to go naked? (Answer: yes)

Do I have to be in the pitch black? (Answer: no)

So, here's my thoughts after the experience:

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It's definitely a unique experience and something very cool to try. I would do it again but probably wouldn't be the type to get a full-time membership, however, I think that it's cool that there is an option to do that if you want.

The facility was incredibly clean and sterile. It was very soothing and reminded me of walking into a spa. The staff helped ease our nerves and were very informative. They led us back to our rooms and my friend and I were together until we actually entered into our specific "chamber cabins". Everything was immaculately clean. Also- sidetone, the water in the chamber is cleaned using a state of the art filtration method, so nothing to worry about in terms of cleanliness.

I started by using the restroom, rinsing off, putting my ear plugs (provided) in, and applying vaseline to any small cuts so that the salt didn't cause them to sting. There was also light music playing in the room which I liked. After that, I hopped into my chamber and immediately floated (LOL). I was still a bit scared to be in complete sensory deprivation so I left my door cracked a tiny bit throughout the entire experience. For about 45 minutes I just floated and though there were times when I was a little bored or had a tiny freak out claustrophobia moment, I still thought it was super cool and I enjoyed the relaxing time. I don't "rest" very well, so designated rest-time is very important for me. I do think that next time I would leave my door cracked a tiny bit again, and would turn on an audio book to listen to so that my brain shuts off and just listens.

You know your time is up in the chamber because music starts playing and gets progressively louder in case you've fallen asleep. After you get out, you rinse off and re-dress! That's it. It was a truly

unique and lovely experience and I would definitely go back any day. I floated at Remedy Float in Savannah and as I said before, it was a gift, but some of their pricing info is to the right. -->

If you have any other questions about "floating" or my experience, feel free to find me on Instagram, @simplynikibblog.

Until next time,

xoxo

N