Float: verb. To rest or move on or near the surface of a liquid without sinking.
Imagine feeling free of the weight of your own body. If you’ve ever been to the Dead Sea in Israel, you know what that means. Closer to home, there is 5B Floatation in the 511 Building in Ketchum.
Owned by partners Parker Morris and Freya Dickey, both of whom grew up in the Wood River Valley, 5B Floatation came to fruition in San Diego, while Morris and Parker were in college, working multiple jobs and studying.
“I was looking for a way to cope with stress,” Morris said. “A friend suggested I try it. I had a crazy epiphany, and new found respect for my body and myself.”
Morris and his friends purchased a tank, put it in their garage and charged their friends to use it. In 2014, he moved back to the Wood River Valley, bringing the tank with him.
First developed in 1954 to test the effects of sensory deprivation, floatation tanks are now used for relaxation and even as a tool of alternative medicine. It’s like giving your busy brain a soothing wash. Floating combines the sensation of weightlessness with an experience known technically as Restricted Environment Stimulation Therapy (REST).
The water is a mere 10 inches deep and saturated with 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt, creating such a high-density environment that you feel utterly weightless. The water is heated to the same temperature as your skin, resulting in the sensory loss of the physical boundary between the water and your skin. Parker also adds lavender essential oil to the tank.
In the large, pitch-dark tank, you hear nothing but some electronic music for a short time, then utter silence. Time escapes your senses. Your muscles relax as the salt’s magnesium is absorbed, and your brain is freed from the demands of orienting the body in space and processing external stimuli. Without these cerebral demands, the brain moves into a deep state of relaxation, which eventually leads to slower brainwave patterns.
Is it safe? Absolutely. Due to the heavy salt saturating the filtered water, if you fell asleep and rolled over, the salt would sting the eyes and wake you up. The filtration system uses ozone and organic hydrogen peroxide, and runs under an actual UV light that kills any bacteria.
It’s not unusual to be aware of small things like water dripping, or an ache somewhere in your body, but as time collapses, those aspects disappear. Music eases you out of the REST session. The sense of having relaxed deeply is profound. At no other time, even while sleeping, are we able to achieve such a sense of peace and weightlessness.
5B Floatation offers several packages. There is a starter package of three floats in a month, single sessions, a package that includes two or four sessions per month, and an unlimited monthly membership. There are discounts for various groups, including students and members of the Sun Valley Suns and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. For more information visit www.5BFloation.com.
