One of two floatation tanks located at Rivers Relaxation
If you’re anything like me, I’m always looking for two things on the weekend: a unique experience and a way to unwind and relax from another long workweek. With Rivers Relaxation, you can have both.
Located on Dupont Road, Rivers Relaxation is Fort Wayne’s only floatation center. What is floating, you ask? In a nutshell, it’s a massive float tank filled with 1000 gallons of heated water and a half ton of Epsom salt. Because of the precise solution of water to salt, the body natural floats without any physical effort. This buoyancy has multiple benefits, including reduction in pain, increases the speed of physical recovery from physical training and injuries and a strengthened immune system.
In addition, the floatation tank can be closed giving the user the opportunity to benefit from sensory deprivation or ‘Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique’. The benefits of sensory deprivation include reduction in stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and lowering of blood pressure. In addition, you might experience increased creativity, calming, and relief from insomnia and jet lag.
Rivers Relaxation is run by Andrew and Kelly Adams. Fort Wayne natives, they discovered floating from searching for a way to relax and unwind from the stress of their own day-to-day lives. Once they realized that there was not a floatation center in Northeast Indiana, they decided to pursue bringing this experience to the area.
Once I checked out all of the information on their website, I had to try the experience out for myself—and bring a friend along, since they have two tanks for use. After entering the center and filling out a few intake forms, Andrew led us back to show us the tanks and how to use them. The tanks truly are massive and take up most of the room, along with a shower that you use both before and after your float (first to remove any oils from lotions and hair products and after to remove the Epsom salt).
At first, getting in the tank is a bit terrifying, but you are truly buoyant. It takes no physical effort at all to stay afloat. There are ambient lights and meditative music in the pod, so relaxation begins right away. And the water is nearly the exact same temperature as the air around you, so it’s nearly impossible to tell which parts of your body are submerged and which is above water. After spending a few minutes with the ambient light, I decided to turn it off and go full sensory deprivation. I was a bit concerned that being in pitch black darkness would cause some deeply hidden claustrophobia to manifest, but it was at this point that I truly began to relax. While I never fell asleep, it was like time stopped. I was completely relaxed and yet totally aware. When my session ended, it felt like I had just awoken from the deepest most intense nap. I was completely calm, yet energized and alert.
In all, I’d say that the experience was deeply relaxing. I felt a significant boost in my mental clarity, as well as feeling physically energized and relaxed. So good energy added and stress reduced. That’s a win in my book! If you’d like to check out Rivers Relaxation for yourself, check out their website, email them at relax@riversrelaxation.com or check them out on Facebook. They run specials on their Facebook page so be sure to like their page to stay in the know for all the deals
