My Float! in just testing

yes it finally happened and I wanted to wait till I was on an actual comp - instead of a phone - to note all about it.

But first Friday. Friday wasn’t terrible work wise and then I went over to my mom’s. I’ll spare you any details of Emma’s behavior cause it doesn’t matter. I’m not raising her.

AND THEN in it was float day!

So I had an appt at 10am with my friend who traveled almost an hour just to have someone to experience this with. BUT I think I got up at 6am, which is normal for me, so I just had to wait all that time!

The place that’s walking distance from me and pretty small but they def made it feel spa-like. When you walk in there’s an amazing lavender smell. They have a small waiting room of maybe only 2 seats but they offer coffee and water in a min fridge in the waiting room. Maybe tea too, we didn’t take anything.

They lady explained there’s only 3 rooms. 1 with the enclosed pod and 2 with actual open pools. Me and my friend had already decided that I would get the pod and she would get the pool. She’s actually nervous about being enclosed so it worked out well for me cause I really wanted the pod.

The lady - who was actually the co owner with her family - showed us all the rooms.

The “Bamboo” room was the pod room. She showed me where the light and music buttons were inside and outside the pod for me to control. The bamboo room also had a separate shower room and bathroom. They had a “rainfall” shower stall and a hair dryer, towels, etc.

The rooms are not locked so that she can come in IF we need help. Say I got scared or God Forbid I slipped (although they do have rubber mats down). The rooms aren’t exactly sound proof so if I shouted for help, even within the pod, she can hear from her reception desk and would come to help.

IF it was something simple, like I needed another towel, she’d just stick her arm in the door - not her face because we’re supposed to be naked in there - and leave stuff for me. She of course respects everyone’s privacy and expects people to be naked in there.

The other two pool rooms were named Earth and Stone and it really only had to do with the décor. Otherwise it was an open room - meaning that the toilet and rainfall shower had no doors within your room - and there was a good sized pool for you to step into. I don’t know if it had steps down or not.

Both the pool and the pod had shallow water in it cause the Epsom salt makes you float. The water is at 96 degrees. She said this isn’t a “hot tub”, it’s just supposed to be near your own body temp. When I got in it WAS warm to me so maybe I was colder than 96 degrees!

I should mention, I’ve never taken an Epsom salt bath. I’ve heard about it and even have salts in my bathroom but I’ve never done it. Plus these pools/pod had thousands of lbs of salt to make you float so I guess it isn’t the same as a home Epsom bath anyway.

The coolest thing about the pools was that they had fitted both rooms with a night sky ceiling and twinkling lights. So you could keep the full lights on, go medium with dim colored lights or go dark with the night sky. I don’t know if you could turn the stars off and be in the complete dark…

Each room got a goody bag as well with a swim cap, googles, ear plugs, Vaseline to put over an open cut so it doesn’t sting, make up wipe, etc. Just a nice touch. Unexpected.

I think each room has a different smell as well. Mine was tropical which was lovely. I forget the other rooms.

Once she explained all the rooms we then signed a loooong ass waiver. I didn’t read everything but I’m sure they’re protecting themselves from slip, fall, infection, or dissatisfaction that could be experienced.

Then we split up into our rooms.

So I got into mine, went into the bathroom to get nekkid and do the “before” shower. You’re supposed to take to wash off any lotions, etc. I purposely didn’t put anything on but was still going to shower.

Except the rainfall shower was a little complicated. First off the shower head was the same size as the shower stall so when you opened the door and turned on the water, you and the floor (there were mats) were getting wet.

So I’m standing there naked, with the door open, trying to get the temp where I want it to be before stepping in but getting wet anyway not being able to get the temp right. She kinda scared me saying that the hot is “very hot” so to not put the shower too hot.

I was worried about wasting my hour fiddling with that so I just thought, fuck it, I already showered and had no lotions - I’m just gonna get in.

I did try to put the shower cap on as well but it wouldn’t fit over all my hair (which was up) so I said fuck that too.

Now I’ll tell you guys, I was on my period.

I completely forgot when I made this appt with my friend that I was due around the same time and got it the day before. I did research if you can do this on your period and the sites said yes, just wear a tampon that you won’t leak from and it’s the same like going to a pool on your period (which I don’t know if I’ve ever done).

So I had my super in, put my ear plugs in, took the head rest (so that you don’t strain your neck trying to keep you head up although you don’t need to strain cause you will float), and I got into that pod and waited with the colored lights on a bit to see if I was creating a murder scene or not, but it didn’t look like it so I shut the lights off and laid back and floated.

You lose track of time in there. The co own said the pool and pod have jets or bubbles or something but they turn them off for an hour. So when I hear the hum of the pump turn on and the jets/bubbles start going, that’s when I know it’s time to get out and then they give about 15 minutes to get showered, dressed, and out of the room. Although she also told us she had no one booked after us so there wasn’t a rush to get out of the room.

So since you lose track of time, I know that there seemed like a long moment of time where I couldn’t shut my mind off. I was SO HAPPY to finally be doing this and it also took some time to find a way that I wanted to stay floating. Where did I want my arms to be etc.?

It was all so new and I’ll tell you, it wasn’t pitch black in there. Even with the lights off there was a slight light coming through the seams of the top of the pod so it was really more like dark gray than black. AND it’s bigger than you think in there. It didn’t feel like a coffin at all. The top was far away. I could sit up without hitting the ceiling. It was very spacious for 1 large person.

So maybe I took 10 minutes figuring how I was most comfortable and calming my mind down from the pure happiness I was feeling about actually finally being in this moment that I’ve been thinking about for months.

Now, one of my main “goals” of this was to relax and meditate. I can’t seem to meditate anywhere. At home, even if I were alone, my cats are knocking shit over and jumping on me. I’ve tried to do it in my car but I’m weirded out by who’s going to see me and there’s still noise outside. PLUS, when I get a moment of quiet I usually fall asleep. And I don’t want that. I want awareness during meditation. Not sleep.

I will say - in my room which was at the front of the spa - you could still hear things. My room did have windows. They were closed and covered but if a car had a loud muffler or honked I could hear it. Also if the owner was on the phone I could hear her but it was very muffled. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, just that she was speaking.

And at the beginning of trying to meditate, that did take me out of it a bit and I didn’t think I’d be able to do it because I was taking notice of every sound.

BUT after a bit, in the dark, floating, you do kinda start to get into a zen like state where even though the noise isn’t completely gone, it doesn’t jump you out of your relaxation. AND those noises weren’t constant. Just once in a while things.

SO finally I was starting to get into that relaxed mode.

Part of my meditation plan was not to completely blank my mind - cause I can’t - but to ask my angels and spirit guides questions and hopefully get some answers or insights. Now whether the answers are coming from “me” or “outside me” or ” a higher dimension of me”, I dunno. I just wanted to ask questions and wait for messages.

And they didn’t come immediately, which frustrated me a bit and was taking me out of that zen feeling. I can’t really remember what I specifically asked, I would just kind of think of my mom or Will or my sister and the problems I have with them and wait for messages on how to better deal with these main people in my life. Wait for advice, insight…

And I played in my mind different meditations I had heard of. The one that worked is something like:
you imagine yourself in front of a door, you go down stairs and there’s a chest or something there that you open up and lock away all your anxieties and fears and doubt and then you go out another door into your paradise. It could be a beach, a forest, the clouds - for me it’s a particular beach in Bermuda - and your spirit guide or angel or whatever you want to call it is waiting for you there - I have more than one - and you can sit on the floor or imagine a comfy chair for you and your spirit guide(s) and you invite them over to speak with you.

It took a while for me to slow my mind and to clearly see that meditation in my head but eventually I got there, with my spirit guides, and information started coming in. I felt peaceful. It felt like a conversation, even if it was only with myself or different versions of myself. I don’t know how to explain it to you guys.

I haven’t had a moment of quiet like that ever, unless it’s right before I fall asleep. And I’m so glad that there in that pod I didn’t sleep. Or I don’t think I did. There was relaxing music playing lightly and there were times where I felt like I didn’t hear the music at all and I don’t know if I fell asleep or if I was so zen that even the music disappeared? I don’t know…

Then my tummy started grumbling. You’re supposed to float on an empty stomach so I had been up for hours with no food and my stomach started groaning like a whale. AND at one point I almost started to get a little nauseas and I had no idea how much time I had left but I was close to getting out of the pod and just getting dressed early cause I wasn’t feeling well.

But then that moment passed I got back to my relaxed mode.

Most of the time my eyes were closed and I was completely still. Or at least I thought. I was actually floating in that pod and so sometimes my hands would bump a wall and I might open my eyes for a moment and notice that I was sideways or something in that pod. I was actually floating around in there but not noticing it because everything seems extremely still.

Now that I think about it, I must have fallen asleep during the end because when the hum of the pumps turned on (which was gentle, not jarring) I kinda sat up like where the fuck am I?? for a moment.

I turned on the lights and prepared to be fucking freezing when I opened the door to that pod but I wasn’t. The temp was warm enough that I wasn’t an icicle when I came out. The towels were nearby so I got out of the pod (still no murder scene) and into the bathroom.

The towels were normal, not beach sized or anything so I might consider bringing my own towel to cover more.

There were also flip flops and robes. I didn’t use the flip flops - I have plenty and I didn’t take a robe cause I didn’t know if it would fit around me. I think it was a one size fits all deal but I’m not exactly and “all” size yet.

I felt like I was moving slow when I got out of the pod cause I was so relaxed.

I felt like I didn’t have time to mess with that shower and wash my hair so I just thought fuck it. I’ll go out to breakfast with my friend and then shower at home.

I HAD NO IDEA EPSOM SALT TURNED EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES COMPLETELY WHITE AND CRISPY LIKE YOU’RE COVERED IN TABLE SALT

SO I decide not to shower and while I’m getting dressed I see myself looking ashy and weird from the salt and I’m kinda like fuck but now I’m dressing so I can’t do a shower now right? I got 15 minutes to dry and get outta here and I did dry my hair, while it was up, which just turned the whole back of it that was wet into crispy white faster.

And cause my hair was up it was dripping into my face making white streaks on my face!!!

The make up wipe in the goody bag was the only thing that kept me looking semi normal but not really!!!

I just had no idea about this part of it LOL

SO I get out - my friend is already out - and we pay. While we pay the owner is talking about how she used to have Lupus so bad she couldn’t walk - like she was in a wheel chair because her legs were that bad.

I don’t know enough about Lupus to know how it effects your legs.

She said that after regular doctors could do no more for her pain she started to go to holistic doctors and one suggested floating. That worked so well for her that she now walks, without a walker and convinced her family to go into this float business because she believes in it so much.

They’ve only been open 3 months and it’s during a pandemic so they are struggling but they are seeing signs of becoming more popular as people come outside more and they’d love to open more float businesses if this one does well.

Meanwhile I’m crusting over and they can all see it and I told them I didn’t realize what would happen if I didn’t shower after LOL

ANYWAY I STILL went to the diner and had my cheese omelet - yes potatoes and toast came with it :/ . Truthfully because I was covered up and used the make up wipe on my face - the only place people could see the white was on the back of my head where my hair was in the water and I don’t know what people thought, like that I had half a head of hair that was white? I dunno cause there wasn’t many people INSIDE.

Yeap I ate inside folks. It’s actually an event when I do that. I feel like I haven’t eaten indoors since last summer and that one time last summer was only because Will’s mom wanted to.

So after breakfast we split up and I went back home and stripped and showered.

I loved the experience.

LOVED IT.

Completely plan on doing it again. It was $40 because they had a deal on but really it’s $80 normally so I can’t do it all the time.

I really think that doing it once a month during my ovulation depression week will really help me.

I think I can swing that as a treat to myself and the perfect time to do it is right when my mood drops due to ovulation. So that’s my plan.

ALSO I told the woman about where I work and HOPEFULLY she gives a gift card to the silent auction we’re hosting in June. I told her I’d bid on it myself if no one else did but it’s a way to get the word out on her new business as well so I hope someone new bids on it.

There was more to the weekend but this was so long and I gotta call Will’s insurance now. He’s extending his leave if he can… he’s not ready to go back to work.