WHAT IT IS AND WHY

For Doug Tansor, owner of NorthCoast Wellness Center, floating and chiropractic care was a natural solution to real, life-hindering symptoms that clouded his days.

“I discovered floating in a crazy weird way,” said Tansor, who attended College of DuPage from 2007 to 2009. “Back in high school, I suffered a severe sports concussion that produced symptoms I never wish on my worst enemy. [Chiropractics) helped me immensely,, and that is actually the reason I am a chiropractor today. I went from being on multiple different medications to zero with the help of chiropractic care,, but I never thought about concussions causing permanent damage to the brain. I learned about [Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy],, and how real it is for athletes. It’s sad,, but I truly think floating is going to play a huge role in helping these athletes!”

Tansor described floating as, “a practice in which clients float effortlessly atop water that is highly saturated with pharmaceutical grade Epsom salts creating an anti-gravity effect.  The tank is only about 10 inches deep but with 1,000 pounds of salt. The pod is [eight and a half feet] by five feet and is designed to shield out as much external stimuli as possible. When the brain gets a chance to shut down from processing the normal go, go, go buzz of the day it turns to a state of deep relaxation.”

The wellness center installed their own pod only two months ago and have received clientele from the Chicago Cubs, UFC and NFL. Tansor traveled the country experiencing various floats in order to create the perfect atmosphere and installment for his client’s comfortability.

Tansor’s passion for chiropractics and floatation therapy stems from his passion in helping mental illnesses. Floatation therapy has helped Navy SEALS with their rehabilitation and veterans and athletes suffering from CTE. and veterans and athletes suffering from CTE.

“It’s the only place you can escape gravity except in space. It’s the next generation of healing and stress relief,” said Tansor.

Due to the location near busy roads and train tracks, employees installed vibrational pads under the pod to enhance sound proofing. Everything in their installment is customizable to make the experience everything the client wants.

The therapy can help students as well as veterans and athletes.The therapy can help students as well as veterans and athletes..

“I remember trying to balance a class load, work, family and friends. All that is stressful,” said Tansor.  “Add in projects, tests, deadlines it just becomes a blur, and people forget to take care of themselves. Inevitably, many feel burnt out.  All college students know what I mean by that.  Floating is an opportunity to unplug from everything for an hour. It’s like literally hitting the reset button and starting fresh.”

If you’d like to experience floatation therapy yourself, bring a College of DuPage ID and receive $25 off an hour-long session, typically $75, at NorthCoast Wellness Center. Read more about floating and NorthCoast at northcoastchiropractor.com.

MY EXPERIENCE

My float experience left me with more questions than answers: Was I even awake? Was I even alive? Is life even real? Was that even me who experienced that? Where the hell did I go? And where am I?

Before actually experiencing my float, I had no idea what to expect.

“OKK, what’s so special about floating? I can go float in my own bathtub,” are the first few thoughts that popped into my mind. After researching, I learned how much more beneficial and unorthodox this seemingly simple float was.

I had the basic knowledge that it was a form of physical therapy that may also improve may also improve mental health. Created in the 1950s, it isn’t until now that the therapy has grown in popularity with athletes and the general public. Being a stressed student in finals, I figured it would be worth my while to try it out.

I walked into NorthCoast Wellness Center, roughly 10 minutes late, and was greeted by the most calm, soothing voice from an employee named Janet and the cutest dog.

I could already tell the owner and employees want customers to feel as comfortable and relaxed as they can.

The center had dark marble floors and purple walls lined with various quotes about health. I toured the facilities with various chiropractic benches and chairs until I was brought to the back of the small center to where they kept their floating pod.

We stepped into the room where a huge, egg-like tank lied. It looked intimidating and futuristic. It only made me more excited.

The room was dim, only lit by low-lights and low purple, blue and green lights from inside the pod. The strangest thing was how it felt and smelled. Almost immediately, I scrunched my nose, confused by what I was smelling. It was so familiar, like I had been here before, yet I couldn’t think of it.

Janet described the smell as coming from the salt in the pod. Then I knew: it smelled like the ocean. The salts and the heat imitated a beach day perfectly.The air was thick and warm, like a sauna. The room and the pod were kept at high temperatures to replicate the average body temperature. When water is equal to body temperature, as you float your brain cannot disconnect body from water. The purpose is to feel as though you are floating in space.

A shower resided on the right of the room where natural soaps were kept and supplied by the wellness center.

Janet walked me through everything I needed to know. “Earplugs, shower, float, shower,” is what I was advised. Earplugs were provided to keep saltwater out of the ear canal and to assist with maintaining absolute silence during my float.

Petroleum jelly was provided to hide any cuts from the salt and deodorant was provided for afterwards.

Then I was left alone for my float.

In the typical floating fashion, I was advised to float nude if I was comfortable. This was to allow no distractions and to have no barriers from me and the water. I undressed, and because of the atmosphere I was in, I was comfortable,, and I had no hesitations.

I then showered and opened the pod. Soft instrumental music played. I laid down and immediately my body was up, floating.

The 1,000 pounds of salt force your body to float, with absolutely no effort on your part. Initially, my arms were to my side, but I felt most comfortable with my fingers intertwined and under my lower back.

Then, I just laid there. After five minutes, the music faded out and it was silent. With any other attempt at meditation, I have never been able to soothe my mind and calm it down. I expected the same thing to happen,, and that’s exactly what did.

For what seemed like my full hour, I was only thinking of my finals I had that week, my personal turmoil, what I was going to write in my article, and various ways my mind could wander if I ever got to this meditative state I read about.

I chose to turn the lights off, so I was as vulnerable as possible. I was naked, floating in open water, in complete silence, and in pitch blackness. The thought of an easy death popped into my head a few times.

It felt like I was floating for 10 years. I am completely unsure of when it happened, but during my float, I either: a) died or b) fell asleep. Although it’s easier to argue I was asleep the whole time, it still felt as if I was awake. I cannot put the feeling into words. It felt as if I was awake inside of a deep dream.

The strangest part during my sleep/being awake/meditation was that I forgot about the world existing. I questioned anything beyond the pod I was floating in,, and I lost all consciousness of my own being. I forgot I had a body.. I was thrown into a black space where there was nothing.

Everything I knew was gone. I suddenly had no knowledge of earth, myself, my family. Various thoughts of sad times or knowledge of finals would come back and pull me to reality, though I never accepted them to be real.

I forgot everything that happened during that day and only half an hour earlier. I kept wondering how I got where I was.

Then the soft music began to play again, and I didn’t know if that was real or not either. I couldn’t decide if the music was coming from my own head, from the pod, or an outside force.

Then I moved in the water and brought myself back to the real world. I stood up and opened the pod, turned back on the music, and was hit with a horrible headache.

I showered all the salt from my hair and body and dressed myself. It was so normal that I couldn’t even remember exactly what I had experienced inside of the pod. It felt as if the two environments were two completely separate lives. I couldn’t recall my experience at first, I filled my own brain with endless questions about what I had just experienced.

Looking back, I would 100 percent recommend attempting floating for yourself. It’s interesting and exciting to see where your own mind takes you. Floating allows you to completely separate yourself from all stresses, physical and mental pains and allows time for yourself.