Floatation Therapy at Saltwater Float Center

Happy New Year, everyone! Just like that—it’s 2019! Do you guys have any resolutions for the year that you’d like to share in the comments? I have yet to think of mine, but off the top of my head, I’m hoping to be more of a bride-chilla than a bride-zilla—especially since I’m getting married in less than 250 days!

It feels both so close and far away. Does that make sense?

Anyway, for my first blog post of the year, I wanted to talk about a very unique experience I had last December. I didn’t even realize it’s become a trending type of therapy for athletes, until I watched videos of Stephen Curry doing it. The experience was called a “Float” or Floatation Therapy, which provides one of the deepest forms of relaxation, and includes benefits like stress relief, pain relief, treatment of anxiety, improvement of blood circulation, and reduction of blood pressure.

To be honest, I hesitated agreeing to try it out at first because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stand staying inside an enclosed space that was pitch black dark for a prolonged period of time. But my sister told me that it was something she’s always wanted to try, so I decided to give it a go as well.

We booked an appointment and went to Saltwater Float Center in The Sapphire Block, Ortigas one Sunday afternoon to experience it together. The place had two rooms—each with a pod and shower area. After getting briefed quickly by their staff, we changed into our swimsuits and took a shower to wash off any dirt, sweat, or makeup we may have had, to avoid contaminating the water in the pod.

The water in the pod is made up of Epsom salt, which is known to be a natural remedy for various ailments. It helps ease stress and relaxes the body, relieves pain and muscle cramps, helps the nerves function properly, prevents blood clots and the hardening of arteries, relieves constipation, and eliminates toxins from the body.

Saltwater Float Center provides you with a towel, a halo (where you can rest your head while floating), ear plugs, a bottle of water (for drinking), and a water bottle spray with regular water (to spray your eyes with just in case the saltwater gets in your eyes).

After taking a quick shower, I immediately climbed inside and closed the pod’s door. There’s a button you can press to turn off the lights, and because I wanted the full experience, I decided to turn them off. Classical music began to play for about ten minutes, before I was left completely alone in darkness and in silence. Everything was still. I felt like a lone alien in outer space, and I was hyper-aware of everything that aside from hearing loudly the water moving around and splashing about every time I moved, I could literally hear my heart pounding against my chest. It was that still and silent. For a while, especially in the beginning, I became restless because I couldn’t find a comfortable position. But once I did, I just floated away and even fell asleep!

It was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience—something I wouldn’t mind going through again. And I don’t just recommend this for athletes. I think anyone with anxiety, or having trouble sleeping, or in need of a way to release their stress, can do this! If you’re scared of the dark, you can just leave the lights on, and if you’re claustrophobic, you can leave the pod’s door open.

After an hour and a half of relaxation, I heard a faint announcement through the speakers that my Float was done. I easily pushed open the door in the dark (I just had to feel for the handle), and took a more thorough shower to wash off the saltwater from my body. Saltwater Float Center has an area where you can dry your hair with a Dyson hairdryer! They had other amenities, too.

So that’s basically a quick recap of my Floation Therapy session at Saltwater Float Center. It really is worth trying, so if you want to book an appointment, give them a call at +63927 499 0888, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram for more information.