On the little triangle strip at Monte Vista, Central and Girard there is a new sign up, not flashy but appealing. The light blue horizontal oval says "Lumen: Mind, Body, Float" with a symbol that could be a flame on water, or a flower bud- you decide. Inside Lumen smells new and clean. I immediately noticed the fuzzy modern area rugs in the lobby. I touched one and was delighted by it's soft silky feel. I took my shoe off, just like grass, only copper colored and no allergic reaction. Cool.
Meanwhile, Dan Spanogle, the owner, is behind the sharp front counter and entering my vitals into the computer: name, email (I had three emails when I got home and 2 more have come in the last few days). Looming in the corner of the lobby is a huge black ARX machine. I was not here for that- it looks quite complex and for another day, but the scoop is this machine provides motorized resistance with tracking software instead of weights for a whole body workout- better workout, less time, and no injuries. Super cool.
So I sign a release form and go into the bowels of Lumen with Dan as my guide. There is soothing music, dim lighting, sofas and many therapy rooms. A few for massage (they have a deal with Masterpiece Medical Massage) one for Neuroptimal Brain Training (gotta get back for that one!), an infrared sauna with a glass front and the lovely smell of toasting cedar (back for that one, too!) and, finally, the float rooms.
The float rooms have a corner shower with a glass barrier and a huge square showerhead, very important after the float to get all the salt off. The cabin itself stands about seven feet high, eight feet long and six feet wide and is free standing. To the side and tucked away are the motors and pumps and timers for the cabin. In the cabin there is a spray bottle and a washcloth and a head halo (flotation device) but nothing else goes in the cabin without being washed first. There is special soap on the wall to bathe with (and shampoo and conditioner, neither of which did much for the salt hair after, three washes at home worked).
Naked and clean you enter the cabin, unless you need to protect a skin wound, in which case you smear petroleum jelly on it first. Now a timer has been set so the lights will dim and illuminate automatically. I chose a ninety minute session, Dan had informed my the first 1/2 hour or so is mostly getting settled and slowing down.
Clouds; remembrance of light. Floating in nothingness, I felt safe. Only two people knew I was naked just off Central and Girard. The preview by Dan Spanogle was very thorough, still I was not prepared for the sensation of the float cabin - weightless yet supported. Honestly, what I've always dreamed water floating was like. The reality of all the obligatory and life-saving wiggling to stay a float has always been off-putting. So, floating on twelve inches of very salt-dense water was, well, dreamy.
After I showered, I settled into the cabin. A few minutes later the soft blue light and mood music faded. What a relief. Dark. Truly, dark. When I was six or seven years old I instructed my little brother about the movies constantly playing on the backs of your eyelids. Anytime you wanted to you could just close your eyes and watch. This was an effective sleep aid for us both. Now, in this cabin of dark and flow I realize the eyelids were only the screen, the movies were right in front of me all along. Was this my eyes remembering the light? I like remembering it is somehow refined and abstract at once.
My neck was irritated before I arrived. During the float I was able to subtly (and not so subtly) shift my pelvis side to side and allow the undulation up through my head. I then pressed my pelvis down into the liquid salt and released sound as my center popped back up. The sound of my voice was very distant under the water. The vibrations of my vocal chords and the monsoon of sympathetic vibrations occupied most of my experience. As I stretched I was able to produce very low and very high pitches. The silence in-between was truly the gift. The emotional energy was dynamic in the cabin. I laughed (fairly maniacally) in multiple bursts. I cried and shook violently, I sighed and rested and repeated. I guess I did that for 85 minutes because suddenly the cabin was bright blue.
Things I learned in the dark: you don't have to turn your head to reach- if you do you get liquid salt in your eyes (there is a towel for that), you will lose your bearings- losing your bearings is pleasurable, my heart has a cool beat, float stretch is good stretch, the head halo flotation assistant is also a good bumper, the cabin size was perfect for me (I am 5ft. 9in.), bumping into a border was grounding.
I found a physical, mental and spiritual freedom in the floatation cabin that is still resonating with me. The freedom of meditation, free from the cruel restrictions of gravity and light; breath, imagination, and movement are free to explore the vacancies. read more