The air and water are soft and the same temperature. It’s an unnerving feeling but it doesn’t last long and eventually I just feel like I am floating in a sea of darkness. After a moment lying in the blackness and silence I begin to feel that I am spinning. After a minute my neck begins to feel uncomfortable so I raise my hands above my head. The water is so salty it’s almost slimy, it doesn’t feel sticky like slime, but it’s viscous like slime. I lie down and immediately float to the surface. As I close the door behind me I am engulfed in blackness. Stumbling I get there eventually and go in butt first. Turning off the lights I find that it’s hard to make way toward the tank. Getting out of the shower I wipe my face, the towel soft against my skin. They stock the shower with amazing smelling soap and I rinse myself thoroughly. I put my earplugs in and then take a shower. I strip off my work clothes until I am standing bare-naked in a strange room.
Before I begin he also suggests that to get comfortable floating I might want to raise my hands above my head as I lie down.Īs he leaves the room I feel high on anticipation. I will not be able to use my hands because they will be covered in salt. There is a spray bottle right outside the door so that if my face gets sweaty or salt gets in my eyes I can spray water on then to relieve the discomfort. Once the door is shut I will lie down and instantly float to the surface in complete darkness and with no outside noises. I am apparently then supposed to enter the tank butt first, sit down and shut the door. After the shower I will need to wipe my face and turn off the lights. The water in the tank is body temperature and if I take too hot of a shower apparently I will sweat. After putting in the earplugs he suggests I take a lukewarm shower. He suggests I use ear plugs, not to cancel out the sand but so that not too much salt gets suck in my ear drums. However, the extreme saltiness means you have to take precautions. Apparently they mix hundreds of pounds of Epsom salt into the water to make it so that you float on the surface. He gives me a quick run down on how it works.
The tank is maybe 12 feet by 7 feet and 4 feet tall. In the far left corner sits a large white tank with a door that says “float” on it.
Opening the door I am confronted by a clean and bare space, there is a shower, a bench, white walls and a cement floor. Written on the door in large green font is the number two, like something one would find on a spaceship. He walks me to a door made out of a heavy Doug Fir slab, which has been sanded and stained. He smirks “you’ll be fine, it a great experience.” The office was minimalist with stark white walls and a large metallic sign illuminated from above that said Float Seattle. The front office was empty except for a skinny man in a beany sitting behind the desk. I had come from work and got stuck in Green Lake traffic. One of the perks of the place was that we would be able to walk along the water and catch some of the sunset after our float. The place was called Urban Float and was located close to Green Lake in Seattle. With only a few minutes of research we chose a place that looked decent and had a discount for first time floaters. After briefly hearing about sensory deprivation on a podcast, my girlfriend and I decided to sign up for a session. Walking through the door to Urban Float I realize my heart is racing, I don’t know what to expect.