Weightless Pregnancy

I wasn’t sure quite what to expect when I walked into Float Brothers Spa in Destin. I had heard and even researched the benefits that float therapy can have on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, but I wasn’t sure quite how it looked in practice.

Furthering my curiosity about float benefits is that fact that I am currently seven months pregnant and carrying an extra 30 pounds around with me, which has of course put some strain on my back. I had heard when floating your body feels weightless and the experience can help to alleviate pressure in the joints, something I was definitely feeling from little baby Vasquez!

When I arrived at the spa for my appointment, I felt right at home in the small yet inviting lobby. The area was designed with minimalist feel, and I began to relax as the staff answered my last-minute questions and showed me a short tutorial video about what to expect.

The Float Brothers Spa has four private rooms, each equipped with a float pod, a shower (complete with shampoo, conditioner and soap), a make-up removal station, a dry shelf for storing your belongings, and even an audio jack if you wish to bring your own music or podcast. Each room is also themed to help with the relaxation ambiance. At Float Brothers the themes include the Ocean Room, the Nature Room, the Space Room and the Patriot Room. For my first float I got the Space Room, which I thought was awesome as I’ve always dreamed of going to space.

As my session began the lights dimmed in my room and the pod glowed a soft blue. After rinsing off in the shower I stepped into the float pod and tried to ease my way into laying position. It didn’t take any effort to float as the 10-inch-deep pod, equaling 150 gallons of water, also had 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt added to it. In fact, I floated so well that my pregnant belly popped out of the water and I felt exactly as others had described – weightless!

During the first half hour of my float I had trouble quieting my mind. I kept the light on in my pod and had the soft meditation music playing to help get me into a restful state. I had to consciously tell my muscles to relax, and to try to think of calming thoughts, but pretty soon I was completely relaxed and breathing slowly, and that is exactly when baby Vasquez decided to kick.

At first I thought I wouldn’t get to a deep point of relaxation because of the constant kicking, but then I decided to embrace the mother-baby experience as I realized maybe he was enjoying this as much as I was. After all, he is always floating and now I had the chance to be floating along with him!

It didn’t take long before the baby calmed down again and I decided to turn off the music and the light. It got pitch black and at first I was very uncomfortable in the deep dark stillness. But I thought again about the baby and how he floats around in the dark all the time and once again I was able to relax. I started breathing slowly again, and pretty soon I felt close to falling asleep.

At one point during my float I got thirsty and saw that the staff had provided a water bottle for my convenience, which was a welcomed sight. I was also happy to find they had provided a dry hand cloth to wipe my face and a bottle of fresh water to spray on my eyes when I accidentally splashed some saltwater onto my face.

After my refreshment, I again drifted off into a semi-sleep and lost track of time because the next thing I knew, the light came back on and the pulsing pumps started up, signaling the end of my hour-long float.

I felt so relaxed that I didn’t want to get up, so I slowly moved to a sitting position and that is when I felt the weight of my body come back. My pregnant belly especially felt heavy, and that is when I realized just how amazing the weightlessness had been. No gravity on an expectant mother is an amazing thing!

Upon getting out of the pod I washed all the salt off and changed, but I was already feeling a happy glow. My skin felt soft, my mind felt relaxed and my body felt amazing as my back pain and leg pain had subsided. I was surprised to find that I was not tired, but instead I felt very relaxed, like I had just woken up from a really good nap.

Float Brothers Float Spa is located at 4463 Commons Drive West in Destin. For more information or for pricing visit www.floatbrothers.com or call 850-460-8720.

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