Test Drive: Float Therapy

First things first: There’s no way to climb into a pod at the Better Being Float Center without feeling like Mork (Google it, kids). Picture a giant alabaster egg filled with salt water and soothing periwinkle lights—yeah, we live in the future. Space-age as it sounds, the float tank blocks out external stimuli, allowing you not only to unplug, but to briefly un-exist. At Better Being, which accurately bills itself not as a spa but as a sensory-deprivation experience, $59 gets you 90 minutes in body-temperature water that holds you up by magic. Okay, and a little science—900 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts increase the water’s density, and up goes your body like a buoy. Getting your Zen on does require some decisions, though, such as whether you’re cool going commando, and whether you want mood lighting or music. Let me suggest not—this is sensory deprivation, so go hard or go home. It’s not for the claustrophobic, because once you close the hatch, you’re in for a silent, cave-black experience that will be blissfully unfamiliar to anyone who isn’t an astronaut. I did not, sadly, peer into any parts of my soul, or feel the session’s supposed mental and physical healing power; I did, however, fall asleep three times. Mostly, it’s supremely novel to be in an environment that commands your inattention. Staff float guru Kenny Bailey says your appointments become richer each time; during my first one, I probably didn’t turn off my brain for the first hour or so. But if you’re looking to soak up some peace and quiet—and who isn’t?—then take the plunge and float your cares away. 

Better Being
3065 Salt Lake Rd., 755-2677,
betterbeingindy.com