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Entering a white pod, I stepped into a foot of water. Blue and purple hues glowed, and crystal bowl-like music filled the enclosure as I sat down and nearly floated above the water line. I peacefully lay for an hour, letting the anxieties and worries of the world slowly drift away.
Central Coast Floats co-owner Kelsey Elston described the flotation therapy experience as "magic," when the human brain can slip into the theta state and anxiety, depression, and PTSD are naturally alleviated.
As an anxious person myself, I'd have to agree with her. For that hour in the pod, floating in 10 inches of water and buoyed by 1,100 pounds of medical grade Epsom salt (wild, I know), I felt rejuvenated in a way that I never had, as if the worried voices in my head quieted down.
These are the results Elston said she had hoped for when opening the only flotation therapy facility in San Luis Obispo with her brother Matt five and a half years ago.
Starting her flotation practice was a lifestyle change, she said, inspired by her brother's passion for floating and inspiration to open a wellness center in SLO.
"I was in a different job, a different life, and ready to just be more involved with healing people, helping people," she said. "So, I quit my job, and I moved to Sacramento, worked at a float center there to get some experience, and started my floating practice, and it just totally changed my life."
Elston said she immediately felt the benefits of floating and described it as a form of "deep healing."
"I'm a water baby, so being in the tank for the first time and experiencing it, I just knew how much this could help people learn about the benefits mentally, physically, emotionally," she said.
A few benefits include alleviating chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, and depression, she said. According to Elston, when floating the brain goes into the theta state, a sort of subconscious reprogramming.
"I just knew this is ... the next level. It's like the future of holistic healing," she said.
The process, I learned, is simple. I arrived at Central Coast Floats, was given a pair of flip-flops, and escorted to the private floating room that has the pod and showering space. Central Coast Floats provides body wash and shampoo, as well as ear plugs and a head flotation pillow. Once rinsed off, I simply slunk into the pod and lay back for an hour of relaxation.
What's cool is the pod has controls inside for lighting and music volume, with options for leaving the blue- and purple-hued lights on or sitting in complete darkness. I tried both and really enjoyed the darkness for a portion of the float.
I also left the music on out of fear I would freak out in total darkness and silence (the staff ensured me it's something you work up to).
I had no sense of time or place, and it was surprisingly refreshing. It was one of the only spaces where I felt solely concerned about myself and no other outside factors. When my time was up, the lights of the pod turned on and drum music started playing. I showered off and went on my meditative way.
Central Coast Floats provides its customers with other amenities too, including a cold plunge and infrared sauna experience called "fire and ice."
While the float pod helps one to relax, Elston said the 45-minute cold plunge and sauna session helps to rejuvenate and energize.
According to Elston, the temperature change helps to elevate endorphins in the body by increasing blood flow and decreasing stress. It also helps to release a natural amount of endorphins every plunge.
"For people that are going through a hard time with depression or low mood or motivation, things like that, just kind of zaps you and wakes you right up, and it's crazy afterwards because you don't feel jittery. You feel steady, calm, energized," she said.
Central Coast Floats offers single visits or monthly memberships that feature discounts on additional fire and ice and float sessions.
"I would just like the community to know that we're here and that we're a place of healing, and that the intention is very simple," Elston said. "It's to just help people feel better and to leave the float feeling better than when they came in." Δ