Source on High_2
Source on High owner Corinne LaReau is a firm believer in the healing properties of water. Removing gravity from the body’s system helps allow the body to completely reset, she said. Photo by Abby Laub
Flotation tanks create total sensory deprivation for mentaland physical benefits
For thousands of years, the Dead Sea has attracted visitors in search of healing properties that are largely related to the high salt content of the lake water. Among other perks, the high salinity levels – which are about 10 times denser than seawater – increase buoyancy dramatically, making swimming feel more like floating on a cloud.
Now, central Kentuckians can attain that weightless floating sensation in their own backyard, with at least two Lexington wellness businesses boasting what their owners say are the first anti-gravity “flotation tanks” in Kentucky. The High Street wellness center Source on High opened its Float Center in January, and Gym Laird on Regency Road is slated to open theirs this spring. A 60- to 90-minute session in one of the fiberglass float tanks, which swirl with about 1,200 pounds of Epsom salt and 200 gallons of water, is a trendy yet ultra-simple way to achieve total relaxation.
“Even on a massage table, you can release tense points and make space in your joints, but you’re still feeling gravity,” explained Source on High owner Corinne LaReau. “When your body is in the floating environment, it’s almost opposite of the world, and it has the opportunity to go back to being healthy.”
LaReau said that floating can help the body heal faster than with traditional therapy. “The body wants to heal itself,” she said. “When you relieve the body of that gravitational pull, a lot of medical, emotional and physiological benefits can happen.”
Releasing tension from the joints is a major benefit of float therapy, but there are many other benefits to the environment of sensory deprivation, ranging from increased blood circulation, pain management and increased immune system function, to stress reduction, increased creativity, sleep schedule maintenance and feelings of euphoria. The therapy has been used for athletic recovery and for helping combat everything from combatting post-traumatic stress disorder to addiction.
Flotation and sensory deprivation therapy was initially developed in the 1950s, but the experience was not as comfortable as it is today. The float tanks at Gym Laird and Source on High feature options for music or ambient lights, and the lid can easily be cracked open to abate fears of claustrophobia. But many floaters opt for a true sensory deprivation experience, floating in complete darkness and total silence.
That experience was something that Gym Laird owner Jim Laird needed in his life.
“We never really truly shut off in our modern society,” he said. “We’re going all the time. That’s pretty much the reason I got this, is to help people have a tool to chill out. I was driving to Dayton twice a month to float for 90 minutes because it truly was the only thing that allowed me to shut off.”
Float tank_1
A Source on High employee floats in what the wellness center purports to be the first functioning float tank center in the state. The high salinity level of float tanks’ water creates a sense of buoyancy similar to that of the Dead Sea. Photo by Abby Laub
For Laird, the benefits have been unmistakable. He called float tanks the next “big thing” and predicted that in five to 10 years they will be all over the place.
“It’s something we need because our society is just stressed to the max,” Laird said. “Anything we can do to get people to shut down and shut off from that hyper-inflated state, getting people to relax is the key to making people feel better over the long run.”
Laird’s gym, which focuses on strength training and overall wellness through eating and sleeping habits in addition to fitness, has a motto of “rest more.”
“To work out hard you have to do just as much work on the work inside,” he explained. “You have to work in so you can work out, like putting gas back in the tank. So that’s one of the reasons I wanted to get this – not only for myself so I didn’t have to drive to Dayton all the time, but for our clients to give them a tool that helps them shut down.”
To maximize the “shutting down” sweetness, Laird and LaReau both suggest 90-minute floats.
“At first, you start to think you’re going to get bored,” Laird said. “But you get used to it. Once you relax and let go it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced; it’s complete calm and peace. You finally just completely let go because you’re in this weightless environment. It feels like you’re floating in the air because the water is the same temperature as your body.”
LaReau compared it to “floating in a pool on a warm sunny day” on a raft that conforms to your body.
“The more you float, the more your body starts to understand and grasp what’s happening, so you don’t have to try to force it,” she said. “It’ll automatically start going softer and craving this quiet solitude. That’s where the magic really starts to happen.”
LaReau said the key is completely removing gravity from the body’s system, allowing it to reset on its own. She called the environment almost like a “brain trip” and very “womblike” in its supportive and nurturing nature. LaReau, who also is a longtime practitioner of the aquatic bodywork practice Watsu, believes that water can facilitate divine connections for humans. Plus, the saltwater is like “bringing the ocean to Lexington.”
“Everyone’s been very excited to see these get here,” she added. “It’s something that is so cutting edge, and I think a lot of people are looking for something new, something very different.” cc
For more information on the float centers mentioned in this article, visit www.sourceonhigh.com or www.gymlaird.com.