Don't Be Salty
By Brooke Campbell
My cousin treated me to the float spa for my birthday. For anyone unfamiliar, the website describes it as REST (REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULUS THERAPY) on three levels- Salt, Weightlessness, and Meditation.
Epsom Salts are great for your skin, hair, and nails and act as an exfoliant. They aid in joint pain, ease stress, and naturally relax the body.
Weightlessness creates a profoundly relaxing, anti-gravity environment. No pressure points on the body in this state can provide up to 100% pain relief. The spine naturally elongates and straightens, and the body undergoes the same regeneration process during sleep.
Meditation for an hour in zero gravity and with zero distractions will decrease the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, leaving us feeling refreshed and serene after the float. The brain enters the delta brain-wave state, associated with deep sleep and dreaming.
One of my favorite things to do while swimming is to float. There's something about the weightlessness, being able to stare directly into the sky, being carried by the water, and going with the flow of the currents. It's just so damn peaceful.
So, while I did not know what to expect from the experience, I was excited about floating.
The website suggested floating in the nude, kicking things off on an awkward note. I reluctantly adhered to this suggestion, although all I could think of were all those exposed bits in the water before me.
There were only two things in the private room, one of which was a shower— I would have just gone for that lovely waterfall-style shower. My shower at home, indeed, has an enlarged prostate. The water just trickles out.
The remaining item in the room resembled a space pod casket. It was filled with 1,000 pounds of Epson salt, which made the body float effortlessly.
But due to all that salt, they provide Vaseline so that any cuts on the skin won't burn. I didn't think anything of this. I'd not gotten in any scuffles while cooking or acquired any scrapes I could recollect. So, I skipped this step and proceeded to strategically place towels in various places to ease my narcotic germ fears.
I stepped into the pod, pulled down what I can only describe as a hatchback trunk door, and laid back. Instantly when I touched the water, my mangled nail beds, all the areas where I had trouble with eczema, and drum roll- my butt hole (this one caught me off guard) all began to burn. I mean burn.
When I finally adjusted to the burning sensations throughout my body, I instantly began to sob. Why? I don't know. But I instantly felt disarmed, stripped. I felt overcome.
Something about the time in the water helped me come to grips with approaching 40. I don't have an issue with the number itself, but with the things that we attach to it as women, especially a single, childless woman - like imagining my eggs possibly being scrambled with cheese and onions.
But in that hour, I talked to myself, recited affirmations, and meditated. I felt like these things had fertile ground to sink in for the first time.
This is not a PSA for float therapy—well, it is, lol—but it's about finding the place that makes you feel weightless while simultaneously allowing you to feel all your feelings without the anchor.
When you're running, you take yourself with you. Jenifer Lewis, The Mother of Black Hollywood: A MemIt's funny
It's funny how you can carry yourself always but never actually access yourself.
A place where you can hear and access yourself. That is what I wish for you.
Goodies
She's Gotta Have It: Need A Little Float Therapy
Pregnant Pause: Start Your Day with a Hug
Cravings: Get Cracking!
Flo(w): Don't Play with Our Feelings!