In the coming month, when someone asks you to go for a float in Cochrane, chances are they won’t be talking about down the Bow.
Sensory deprivation float tanks are quickly rising in popularity as a form of relaxation along with meditation all over North America with a huge boom of tanks in Vancouver, Toronto and some now making their way into Calgary.
And with the opening of Salt Water Sport and Spa in Cochrane, locals will be able to experience a float.
The new business is expected to open in early November, and owner Zoë Musch said it is focused on science and results, as well as a relaxing spa environment.
Musch added that as far as she knew, this would be the first float tank in Cochrane.
The spa is located on First Street East and is a combination of spa and sports therapy with three doctor-recommended massage therapists (one of whom worked with the Calgary Flames), medical aesthetic services, a full spectrum infrared sauna and, of course, the float tank.
Musch is a medical aesthetician and said the first time she ever floated, in less than a week, she felt a strong desire to go back, something she said many floaters experience after the first time in the tank.
“I just sort of craved it. It is such a healthy environment, I think you just naturally go back,” she said. “I think it is really unique and I like the health benefits of it.”
So what is the process of taking a float in the tank?
Musch said clients would shower before entering the tank, which would contain 11 inches of water and 1,000 pounds of salt. Floaters close the top of the tank and there is a switch they hit inside and it goes completely dark. Patrons are supplied with earplugs and the tank is completely sound proof.
Musch said that because the tank is inside a private room, clients who are uncomfortable closing the lid are still able to float with the lid open.
“Gradually, as your brain waves slow down, you go into relaxation and you stop feeling your body,” said Musch. “It takes weight off of everything. Even if you lay in a bed you have pressure, this is weightless.”
There is no need to be worried about sinking though, as Musch said there is so much salt people will be floating half way out of the water and if you did happen to turn over, the salt in your eyes would wake you up.
To put it in perspective, Musch said that the ocean is about three-per-cent salt and the tank is 30 per cent.
She said the salt that clients are floating in is magnesium rich and that magnesium is very helpful for aches and pain, helping with things such as fibromyalgia, premenstrual syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome and a number of other ailments dealing with pain.
The salt-rich air is great for people with asthma, psoriasis and eczema, according to Musch.
“I’m really excited about the skin. As a medical aesthetician, I work with people with psoriasis and eczema, so I know it is a tough condition to live with,” said Musch.
A number of scientific studies have been done on sensory deprivation tanks, something that was first used in 1954. Studies show that the tanks help with chronic pain, insomnia, headaches, injuries, reducing stress and elevating mood.
It has even been said to facilitate creativity in some studies done on professors and university students in the ‘80s.
Musch described it as a pretty unique experience, just like she described the concept of the new business.
“It isn’t all spa and it isn’t all sport. Sport and spas are starting to come up in the (United) States. Nobody has really heard of that here yet,” explained Musch. “I want everybody to leave feeling relaxed and I want them to leave having a tangible result and hopefully that’s what they will get.”
