Ep 133 Float Therapy for Physical & Mental Health with Ari Clark

Conversation with Ari Clark from Northeast Wellness about float therapy and the health benefits of experiencing sensory deprivation.

Topics of Discussion:
-The variety of float pod designs and additional sensory experiences
-Science behind float therapy and sensory deprivation
-Mixing other healing modalities with float sessions to increase the therapeutic benefits

Ari Clark is an advocate for float therapy and brought this service to NE Wellness. Float therapy has been a passion of his ever since he experienced his first float. After consistent use, he began noticing shifts in his physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, and he wanted to share this incredible healing modality with the world.

NE Wellness is a community acupuncture and wellness clinic in northeast Minneapolis, offering affordable and accessible healthcare for all. They offer a wide range of services that include acupuncture, infrared sauna treatments, massage therapy, fire cupping, health coaching, yoga therapy, Ayurveda, and more. It is a wellness center rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine services, but operated more like a Traditional Western Medicine clinic.

Website: NE Wellness
Book a Float Therapy session and get your first float for only $45, when you use the code Well Connected. 

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Transcript

Ep 133 Float Therapy for Physical and Mental Health with Ari Clark

[00:00:00] Cynthia: You are listening to the Well Connected Twin Cities podcast. I'm your host, Cynthia Shockley, and I'm here to learn alongside you through meaningful conversations with health and wellness practitioners. This is your time to experience some mindset shifts, learn practical tips, and get excited about what is possible.

[00:00:22] We want you to own the power of choice in your personal well being journey. Let's discover what's possible right here in our Twin Cities community.

[00:00:33] Hello, and welcome to the Well Connected Twin Cities podcast. I'm your host, Cynthia Shockley. And today, you might be familiar with the topic of today's conversation as we're speaking with Ari Clark of Northeast Wellness about float therapy. Yes, the same Northeast Wellness floats that we have in our ads.

[00:00:55] So Ari is actually the person who advocated for and brought in float therapy to Northeast Wellness. Float therapy has been a passion of his ever since he experienced his very first float. After consistent use, Ari began to notice shifts in his physical, mental, well being, and he wanted to share this incredible healing modality with the world.

[00:01:18] I'm so excited for you to sit back and enjoy this conversation around the science of float therapy and what it would be like to actually go to Northeast Wellness and try float therapy yourself. We'll talk about why. It is so accessible and beginner friendly at Northeast Wellness. And a big part of that is due to Ari.

[00:01:39] He really does a great job of hand holding you through the process, always making sure he's there for your very first float. So I hope you enjoy and you get to learn something new today. Hello I am here with Ari Clark. Hi, Ari. How are you doing 

[00:01:54] Ari: today? I'm doing pretty good, Cynthia. It's great to be here. Thank you. 

[00:01:59] Cynthia: Good, good. I'm so glad that we can connect here and especially since you and I got to meet at Northeast Wellness where I got my first float session there and I just we had such an amazing conversation and I can tell you were so passionate about This new offering and you're the guy that brought it to northeast wellness So i'm excited to dive in and hear a little more about the science a little more about the practice and what people can expect but First, let's kick it off with a little rose and thorn.

[00:02:35] So if you don't mind sharing something that is really going well right now, something that's beautiful in life and then also something that's not so beautiful and maybe a bit of a pain. 

[00:02:47] Ari: Yeah, no, absolutely. Okay. So I hate to be cliche because we're talking about the clinic and the floats and everything, but honestly, my rose and thorn is the clinic.

[00:02:58] Northeast Wellness was planning to be open in March of 2023 and we didn't get open until August. And part of the reason for that was, we just had a lot of difficulty with the city getting all of our permits approved and everything for the new location. we would have one inspector tell us okay, you have to do it this way or design your building this way.

[00:03:21] And then we would do it that way. A new inspector would come in, make a shifted up. And the reason that's a thorn is because, we were paying our debts and a lot of our loans for the entirety of the year. So my wife and I who are, behind the float tanks, portion of Northeast wellness, we really drained our bank account, to make this happen.

[00:03:45] But the I would say that would be the thorn. The rose is that. IT's gotten a wonderful response and, we're getting a lot of bookings and my wife was very I think a little scared that we wouldn't get many bookings or that it would be very slow to start.

[00:04:01] And, obviously there's still room to grow, and get more people floating, but we've had a good amount of clients and it's been, just such a positive and beautiful response, with our. ouR offering there. And I hope that wasn't too cliche, oh, this is the guy that talks about float tanks and his rose and his thorn is float tanks.

[00:04:19] Right. 

[00:04:21] Cynthia: I'd imagine, it's a big part of your life. It's a big focus, especially getting it started. So that totally makes sense. 

[00:04:29] Ari: Yeah. Yeah. We yeah, we took a loan for it and we had. A good amount of our own investment, too. But it's, obviously any sort of business undertaking is a very You know, can be very stressful financially.

[00:04:41] So yeah, we're excited for the future and what it brings. 

[00:04:45] Cynthia: Yeah. And I know for you that investment felt, so important to you. It's something that you really believed in. Yeah. So I'm curious for you, your story. How did you discover float therapy and what really inspired you to bring this to Northeast Wellness?

[00:05:04] Ari: Sure. So my wife and I, we've been looking for a place to do a float tank business, I would say for three years and we never found the right spot or we just weren't in the right place to do it. We, I think we scouted like 30 different locations, in the years prior to partnering with Northeast wellness.

[00:05:28] And it was just never the right space, there's a lot of float tank centers that are built. I'm not trying to bash other float tank centers, but they don't build them in places where sound would naturally be mitigated. So I would go into certain buildings and I would think about okay, is this a good place to have my float tank center?

[00:05:49] And then I would put my ear to the wall and you would listen for vibrations and I could hear trucks and cars going by, right? So you have to think when you're floating in the water. You would hear those vibrations, so you would feel everything in the tank that is going on outside the building. If you're within half a mile of railroad tracks, instantly, you can't have a float tank center there, right?

[00:06:13] Because the vibrations from that, from the train would hit the building, right? so That, that's the past three years. Before that, what first got me interested in float tanks was, I would dart around between different modalities of wellness. I was, I wouldn't really call myself very educated in the space, but I would do meditation, yoga, because it made me feel good.

[00:06:39] Even though I didn't necessarily know that much about it, I immersed myself in it because it made me feel connected to myself and connected to the world. So that's where my first tread floats. I had that experience. My first float, it was a psychedelic experience.

[00:07:00] And it was absolutely mind blowing I felt bored during the session, and I was like, this isn't really doing much, and I don't really feel like I'm getting much benefit out of this. And then when I left the tank, and I was out in the world again, I felt more Present and more connected to the world around me than I had felt in the last year and everything was slowed down and I could see the individual branches of the tree as opposed to my brain just categorizing a tree and being like, Oh, that's a tree, right?

[00:07:37] I can see more depth in everything around me. And it just spawned this passion in me that floats is beautiful and it's a excellent modality that really has a lot of therapeutic benefits. I think all sorts of wellness categories have therapeutic benefits, but I just specialized on floats because I had that excellent experience and every time I float I have an excellent experience 

[00:08:07] Cynthia: it just reminds me almost of you don't know what you have till it's gone and so to be in a space where you're literally deprived of your senses and then you come out it's wow everything's extra. Yeah, and vivid. It's I know I had a not so pleasant experience with a float tank about 10 years ago.

[00:08:30] It was, a Groupon in Venice Beach, California, and it's shady hole in the wall. It was very industrial. They close this tank on you. And I had such a different experience at Northeast Wellness. So I'm so glad I got to come to the clinic, got to try one of your float tanks.

[00:08:50] And it was just. So beautiful. The tank itself. Can you tell us about the design of the float pods and what made you really choose these ones to have at the clinic? 

[00:09:02] Ari: Sure. Yeah, it looks like a spaceship or like an egg, doesn't it? Yeah. It looks like a womb too. Because it's it's just a bulbous space, in the, with an exterior.

[00:09:14] But, I scouted all sorts of different float tanks to choose the right one. And the first float tank, my wife and I, we actually took a road trip out to South Dakota, cause we wanted to like, see these float tanks firsthand that we were thinking about buying from this manufacturer.

[00:09:32] And he built his own float tanks and it was a room style where you go into the room and the float tank is just open air in the room. And I chose the pod style because If you're doing the open room style, I actually like that style of float tank because you can build a very big float area where multiple people can float at once.

[00:09:55] But it's difficult because the water just evaporates. So the room becomes very humid and very warm. And you almost have to keep the air temperature the same as the float temperature. Otherwise you get a lot of evaporation. The pods I chose are because they have a very big interior.

[00:10:17] You wouldn't guess it from the outside looking in, but once you get in there, it's very comfortable. And you can sit your butt down and you can sit up in the tank and your head doesn't touch the ceiling. So it's very spacious. When you're laying down, you can really reach your arms out and you don't touch the sides.

[00:10:37] That's really one of the things that I wanted to focus on when choosing a tank, because one of the really cool things that I learned about float tanks, I didn't do this back when I first started is you can move around in there and you can stretch and you can do yoga poses in the water when you're weightless.

[00:10:56] So having the right amount of space to do that is really, really a good choice. That's why I picked one where you had enough space to move around and everything. 

[00:11:06] Cynthia: Yeah. And I love too that there are options to add some color or add some sound for people who maybe aren't ready for the full sensory deprivation or just want a little bit of variance.

[00:11:22] So those are available and it's just such a beautiful ambient lighting. I just had that for a bit just to enjoy the light show and then turn it off. 

[00:11:30] Ari: Yeah. You're going to be our sound. Yeah, I'm thinking about commissioning Cynthia to to do our guided meditations for our tanks actually, so 

[00:11:43] Cynthia: yes, and that would be such a cool addition to have people have a little bit of guidance in, how to relax their body, really make this a meditative experience.

[00:11:53] Yeah, I can definitely see how some people might. Like you said, get bored 

[00:11:58] Ari: and yes I'm finding to that people meditate in so many different ways, meditation isn't about emptying your mind and having it be nothing, right? You can meditate. By thinking about stuff or meditation means different things to everyone.

[00:12:17] So it's, it'd be really nice to have varying options of complexity, where sure, you could choose silence. Sure. You could just choose a ambient noise or maybe a voice, that's guiding you and leading you along a pathway that, will help your journey. 

[00:12:36] Cynthia: Yeah. And I'm so glad we were able to, you were just sharing your vision of what would be next for the pods and just worked out.

[00:12:44] Ari: It was really funny cause I didn't even know that you were from the podcast, you were just there and I would just talk for 10 minutes and I was just like yeah, if psychedelic therapy ever becomes legal in Minnesota, I want to do that with the tanks.

[00:12:58] And I want to have psychologist or therapist assisted therapy sessions, in the tanks to focus on trauma recovery. And then you were like, Oh, by the way, I'm from the podcast. So it was pretty, pretty funny, actually. 

[00:13:11] Cynthia: You're like, Oh, I thought that voice sounded familiar.

[00:13:14] Ari: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:13:15] Advertisement: Ah, big breath in. Northeast Wellness is a community acupuncture and wellness clinic in northeast Minneapolis, offering affordable and accessible healthcare for all. Float therapy is the practice of floating in water with dense salt concentration in a sensory deprived environment. The water and air inside of the tank match skin temperature, while the insulated walls of the tank block all sound and light.

[00:13:41] This combination gives your body a deeply relaxing experience that encourages you to go into a peaceful meditative state. Float therapy isn't just a unique and fun experience, it can provide a range of health benefits like stress relief, migraine relief, increased quality of sleep, pain relief, and improved physical recovery.

[00:14:02] Learn more at northeast wellness, minneapolis. com. That's N E wellness M P L S. com. And get your first float for only 45. When you use code well connected.

[00:14:17] Cynthia: Let's talk a little bit about the science because I know that's also what you were really passionate about sharing just some of the things you've learned about the benefits of Floating. Yeah, so can you share what's going on neurologically For someone when they are deprived of their senses when there's no sight gravity temperature sound what's going on there?

[00:14:38] Ari: Sure. So there are so many studies. about the benefits of floating and what happens when you float.

[00:14:47] What they're finding in these studies is that floating is good for anxiety, depression, insomnia, a range of mental health benefits that you get from it. It's also good for the treatment of PTSD and part of the reason how this works or how it functions is that, our phones or social media or everything around us in our society.

[00:15:14] It overstimulates us. It gives us a dopamine response every time we look at our phones. Every time I get a notification on my phone I look forward to that. The social media algorithms train our brain to give us a dopamine response every time we look.

[00:15:33] And. What that does is it overuses it. It makes life feel dull around us. And I've personally experienced this where I'm sitting and looking at this beautiful sunset or something. And I'm like, I just, I'm just going to look at my phone, and I'm sure a lot of us have experienced that we just don't feel as connected the world.

[00:15:54] Or we don't feel connected to the things that we know we should feel connected to. And it's like a poison that the social media algorithms have hurt us in this regard. So when you're deprived of sound and deprived of light, it gives your brain a chance to process and to rebuild or retrain certain neural connections.

[00:16:20] Or just give him a break, just give him a break because from the time we wake up, it's our alarm. And then even when we're going to sleep. Most people watch TV or look at their phones as they're falling asleep, to have that break, it resets or it gives your brain a chance to rest and that rest.

[00:16:39] Is what gives you a more connected or more present feeling in your day to day life. That's what I experienced my first float. And that's what a lot of the science is finding. in Terms of trauma and PTSD processing and, why floating is good for that. It's because when there's nothing else to distract you or nothing else to focus on.

[00:17:04] It really gives you a place to process. It gives you a deep, safe place to process through, those types of emotions and those types of feelings. 

[00:17:18] Cynthia: Yeah. So being able to counter some of the dopamine hijacking processes in the world, but then also giving us that space to psychologically, energetically, probably even just process It's everything so that we can exit.

[00:17:40] Yes. Yes. Clean slate. Almost as we enter the world. 

[00:17:44] Ari: Yeah. 

[00:17:44] I personally, I think that's why a lot of, healing or wellness modalities, you have that experience, even a massage, you're still letting your brain go. But there's still stimuli, right? When I'm getting a massage, everyone has different experiences, the floating experience, the fact that there's no light, no sound, and that the water matches your skin temperature.

[00:18:09] So you don't feel anything. It just. You're in outer space and it's just your mind that can work through and process and it's beautiful. It's a beautiful experience. 

[00:18:22] Cynthia: I'm glad that you. been able to bring this i into NE Wellness how do you see integrating into what nor already doing and 

[00:18:35] Ari: already I'm a proponent and a bel Like, modalities when they're paired together, no matter what the modality, it increases the benefit of both.

[00:18:51] And part of my, experience with that is that, I went to a chiropractor for 10 years and I had issues with my neck and I never got better. And then I found this chiropractic clinic that did physical therapy. And massage and chiropractic all in one and they made you a treatment plan where it was multiple modalities mixed together and then I'm better, right? And, I found with my personal experience as a massage therapist I did that before I was in the float tanks is that when you give people exercises or things to do along with other types of healing modalities. It increases the benefit they actually get better because they're mixing, different types of modalities.

[00:19:38] So floating in particular if you think about, for example, pairing it with massage, right? If you float before a massage, you're going to go into that massage with your muscles much more relaxed. And you're going to get a much better benefit from that massage. The same in reverse. What if you were to get a massage and then float?

[00:20:03] After you get a massage, your blood, your circulation, it's moving better. Things are moving more in your system. Your muscles themselves are recovering. moving toxins, out of your body. If you can just relax and let everything unwind, you give yourself a chance to take in the benefits of that massage and let its body do its thing.

[00:20:27] One of the really cool things I like is that. A lot of people have trouble unwinding or letting their body relax in a massage. I'm that way. The first 20 minutes of a massage, it takes me a while before my body let's go. And then that's when the therapeutic benefit actually happens.

[00:20:48] So when you pair floating with other services, what you do is you can go into that massage. Just completely butter and completely melted. And then you can let that massage therapist just really have access to the deepest tendons and muscles and just do their thing. And it's extremely beneficial to pair, different modalities together.

[00:21:13] With floating, 

[00:21:15] Cynthia: I love that idea. And that just it's that concept of all the boats in the harbor rising, right? It all works together. Yeah. And gosh, in my own experience at Northeast Wellness, I know I kept noticing how challenging it was for me to trust. The water and to release my head. Yeah. I did not let go.

[00:21:41] And, thankfully because you told me like, hey, you can sit up in the tank and it's fine. I remember I actually sat up and did a couple of neck stretches. Yeah. And then I went back in and I was able to just convince myself and let my neck relax. Yeah. It was just a much more enjoyable enriching experience once I could truly surrender and 

[00:22:02] float.

[00:22:02] Yeah. 

[00:22:03] Ari: Yeah, the interesting thing about that is most people have forward head posture. I would say 60 to 70 percent of people in our society their shoulders are a bit too forward and their head is a bit too forward. And the reason for that is because we're on our computers all the time.

[00:22:21] We're using our neck muscles to lean forward to look at the screen and then our hands and keyboard are on the mouse. We're pushing our shoulders forward. So the reason a lot of times why your neck would feel uncomfortable when you float is because your body is showing you where you're tight or where you're posturally there's a little bit of dysfunction there.

[00:22:47] One thing I really like about floating actually Is sometimes I won't even know if there's a muscle that's tight in my body or I won't know that my neck is tight on one side, right? It's hard to tell because it's just a little bit, but if there's no gravity and you can really just relax every other muscle, you're like, oh, wait a minute.

[00:23:07] My head's coming to the side a little bit. It shows you where you're tight in your body.

[00:23:12] I'm going to do a one guided meditation that's focused on stretching and almost a yoga in the water while you're floating, it would be so beautiful to have to offer that experience to people. 

[00:23:24] Cynthia: Yes. I'm really excited and I love how You know, you sharing your vision and being able to just talk openly, then I was able to be like, Oh, I can do that.

[00:23:36] Ari: Yeah. 

[00:23:38] Cynthia: sO i'm excited for that and so that's something to look forward to Yeah, tanks at northeast wellness is a little bit of that guided support and movement and relaxation. 

[00:23:49] Advertisement: Well Connected exists to help you discover the practitioner that aligns with your values. We believe that finding the right fit should be simple and maybe even fun. When you visit wellconnectedtwincities. com, you can search for local practitioners by categories like chiropractic or herbalism, or you can search by condition or symptom in the directory to find practitioners of various healing modalities who can help.

[00:24:16] Discover over 100 local practitioners, browse articles, take classes, and listen to interviews by these very practitioners to learn who is the right fit for you. No matter what it is, we are here to help you say yes to the next stop on your healing journey.

[00:24:34] Cynthia: So let's say someone wants to try a float, how would they start, what's that process look like to have her session.

[00:24:44] Ari: The really challenging part about floating, I would say, is that a lot of people don't have a good first session. And the reason for that is because the brain has such a hard time integrating the experience of nothingness.

[00:25:04] That's why we have certain packages or deals where It's 10 for your second float, I want you to flow and I want you to try it but it's about getting people in their second or third time. Because have you ever heard the saying, or the study where Your brain doesn't fully let itself fall asleep if you're traveling.

[00:25:26] Only part of your brain lets go. So you never get the full restfulness or a full sleep your first time if you're abroad somewhere or in a new location. Because your brain it wants to feel safe and it wants to feel like it understands what's happening, around it.

[00:25:44] A lot of people go in, And they're like I couldn't handle it my brain couldn't accept the experience of nothingness. And the reason they can't do it is because it's new. Your brain doesn't want nothingness. So the first experience can be challenging, but it can also be beautiful because it's challenging, right? My first experience. If you if we draw back to it, I felt I wasn't getting anything out of it.

[00:26:10] When I was in the tank and then I left the tank and I was like, okay, I got a lot out of it, . So the first experience, I walk through and I meet with every client that comes in and I really give them a breakdown of everything that they can expect.

[00:26:26] I really want people to feel safe in the tanks too, because I know that being in float tanks, if there's nothing else that your brain can focus on, stuff can come up, trauma can come up, hard feelings can come up. I really try and give people a walkthrough of you're safe, you don't have to close the lid.

[00:26:47] There's varying levels of sensory deprivation, right? So many people hear float tank and they're like I'm worried about claustrophobia. I'm worried about being closed in. I don't, I'm worried about being in pitch black, but you don't have to start. With pitch black with the lid closed, you could leave the pod lid open, turn the lights off, and just shut your eyes, that in itself is a sensory deprivation experience.

[00:27:14] I'd want people to know that you can ease into it. And also that as you ease into it, it gets better, each float experiences, your brain integrates the experience more and learns to understand. How to integrate the experience into our consciousness.

[00:27:34] It becomes just easier to process and a better experience. 

[00:27:41] Cynthia: Yes, I know. I was actually just sharing with my mother in law that I did this float experience and she was like, oh my gosh, you're so brave. I would never be able to do that. Yeah. And I was like, this was actually a very beginner friendly.

[00:27:58] Experience with you walking through all the details all the options that you have to make it or less intense. I would highly recommend just from my own experience that this is a great place for beginners who just wanted to try and I know you had also mentioned in a part of your visioning for the space, there is that hallway where all the different rooms connect, but there's this beautiful, serene hallway with nice ambient lighting and you can even sit there to just contemplate what you went through, even journal if you want to bring a journal and just capture some of your takeaways.

[00:28:35] Because I know in my first experience in that little hole in the wall in Venice Beach, I know I was in a very fresh from a traumatic experience. And so when I went in there, it's that was what pervaded my experience. I was crying. But I got a lot out of it where I was able to walk away and realize, okay, I have these action steps I need to do to navigate this.

[00:29:00] And the second time around, 10 plus years later, I'm in a much better headspace and. I was able to almost play with the experience in a way I didn't expect. Yeah. I think you had even warned me every little touch or every little movement is going to feel really extreme because your brain is craving more.

[00:29:24] And so I remember I bumped off the side wall at one point. point and it did feel almost like I was being projected into space floating whoa. 

[00:29:31] Ari: Yeah, and even the slightest body movements, it feels like you're just swimming, or that the finger just bumping the ball.

[00:29:40] It is like an earthquake or a projection. You're letting go of the space station and just floating away. It's such a cool feeling. 

[00:29:48] Cynthia: It is. I think any experience that allows you to realize that your reality isn't Always real, that your sense of reality isn't the end all be all.

[00:30:00] I think that helps in so many ways, outside of the tank, out in the world, to realize the thoughts that your brain is, are creating don't actually mean that's what's happening. Yes. 

[00:30:12] Ari: Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry that your first experience wasn't that great. 

[00:30:18] Cynthia: It was what I needed at the time.

[00:30:20] Ari: Did they just did they just stick you in there without saying anything? They were just like, 

[00:30:24] Cynthia: zero context. It was like, here's the tank. You can come out whenever you want to. I'll I'll come in if you're over an hour. And I was like, all right, thanks. And I just went in there, had zero idea what to expect.

[00:30:35] Ari: Yeah. Yeah. Oh man, I'm really, yeah, I'm really cognizant and aware of making people aware of their safety because oh my gosh, how bad of an experience would it be to have a panic attack in there? Because when you're having a panic attack, you feel like the world is closing in on you.

[00:30:56] And then to look around and the lid is shut and you feel closed in, it could be really bad. So I really make an effort to make people aware that they're safe and they can open the door at any time and leave it open. I don't want people to have a bad experience in that regard.

[00:31:14] So I'm sorry that happened to you. It sounded like you found a way to work through it. And find a benefit from it, but it's still not great. 

[00:31:23] Cynthia: Yeah, and it's not like it was ever prompted to me, but I intuitively opened the tank up and let the light in and went back in to float to just with the air open and with the door open.

[00:31:35] So I was able to figure that out. And then I did leave with a really powerful action step that I needed to take in my life at that time. But I was like, okay, if that's all I was thinking about, then clearly something's not right here and I need to change something up. But yeah I, and I really felt that genuine

[00:31:56] care that you have for your clients. Yeah. And being a client myself in your space. So I appreciate your approach and just making sure people feel as, as comfortable and as safe as they can. 

[00:32:09] Ari: I appreciate you appreciating that . I I, yeah, I try and check in with every client afterwards and just really see and understand how their experience went.

[00:32:19] Like you mentioned, I do have that space down there for decompression, because when you're done with any sort of experience, I've never liked getting a wellness experience and then just two minutes later, I'm on a busy road, walking to my car and there's horns honking and it's just Yeah.

[00:32:37] Man, it would be nice. If I ever open another wellness clinic, I'm going to build a space just for decompression. And you can just sit in there as long as you want after your massage and just relax, and take in the benefits because

[00:32:53] it helps that experience. It helps the massage or it helps the float or the acupuncture and any sort of service you're getting if afterwards, you're not just in traffic again, right? If you can actually take in some of that benefit and man, that was my idea about building that sort of relaxation area down there.

[00:33:13] Cynthia: Yes, with the running water feature. Yeah. 

[00:33:17] Ari: It was, it's going to be the, the couch of reflection, right? So there's lights there that will reflect off this waterfall that's, trickling down the wall. So it will be, it will reflect, but it will also be a couch where you can reflect on your experience, right?

[00:33:32] So a little pun on words there, but I love it. 

[00:33:37] Cynthia: So let's say someone, is interested. They want to try this out. What would it look like to book a session? Is it a package? Is it one off? What does that process look like? 

[00:33:49] Ari: So I do first time float for 40, that's honestly, the lowest price of any float tank center, in the Minneapolis area.

[00:33:59] And I set my float tank sessions also to 90 minutes. There's some places that do 60 and 90 minute sessions. But the problem with that is that the filter systems for the float tanks are loud. So if you don't, keep them at the same times, you'll be floating. And then all of a sudden in the next room, the vibration will come over and it'd be like, and it would interrupt your float a little bit.

[00:34:23] That's why I like to set the sessions for 90. So we do yeah. 40, first time client. And then after that, sOmetimes it takes a couple floats before your brain can really integrate the experience and you can really get the benefit. I have a buy one, get one offer where it's two floats for 80.

[00:34:44] So again, then your next two floats would be 40, right? I think that's a good kind of intro and gives people the opportunity, if they want to, give it a chance without really committing that much. 

[00:34:59] Cynthia: Yeah, and for anyone listening if they're like, oh my gosh 90 minutes it's You have an hour probably to float because then the intro Ari walks you through everything and then also you're encouraged to shower get everything off your body before you go into the tank and then you've got time Afterwards you get woken up by this really gentle Music and then it's time to get out and take your shower afterwards because you're going to be covered in salt water.

[00:35:26] Ari: Yeah. You can get out of the float and just hang out in the room. And then go back in, right? So maybe if you're feeling a little, like it's too much, at the 30 minute mark pop out for five minutes, just take a break, go float again too.

[00:35:41] Yeah, you're right, Cynthia, in that there is some prep work and you're not necessarily maybe in 90, because you're showering and stuff, but, you can also just choose your own breaks and it's choose your own adventure. 

[00:35:54] Cynthia: Yes, I know I love that the just freedom because there's a bench you can sit on if you want to take a break out Of the water or you can just sit up in the tank.

[00:36:01] And Yeah, so it's there's a lot of flexibility, which is amazing. We've talked about the actual coming to the center, what that would look like. And then also some of the science, what's going on. If there was one takeaway that listeners left this conversation with, what would you hope that would be?

[00:36:22] Ari: So I would say that the takeaway would be that floating can be whatever you need out of the experience for you, right? Meditation.

[00:36:32] Like I had mentioned before can mean so many different things to people and you can get a benefit out of it in different ways. You can sit in silence or you can have a guided meditation and two people can have those different experiences and still get the same positive result. So the same is true from floating, right?

[00:36:56] You can go into this experience, feeling like You're wouldn't have a good experience because you're you claustrophobic, you could leave the lid open, leave the light on, right? There's so many different avenues or ways for you to float and get benefit out of it, that you're not excluded.

[00:37:15] You can get a benefit out of almost anything if you find a way to make it work for you. Floating is backed by real science. And that's why I chose this modality over other modalities. I could have done a tanning clinic, but I chose a float clinic because I really believe in the science behind floating and even if you feel like it's would be claustrophobic or not, are you scared of the dark? There's so many options or levels. That you don't have to start in the complete pitch black, sound, proof. I want you to know it's for you. tHat's the takeaway. It's for you. You. You as in the listener, right? I'm pointing out to the world.

[00:38:04] Cynthia: The collective you. Yes. Oh thank you so much, Ari. For really making this happen and, putting the floats together and being able to offer it to our community. Clearly this is something that, like you said, it's evidence based. It's experienced by you and me and, so many who know that it's had a positive influence in their life.

[00:38:28] Yeah, absolutely. And so I'm just grateful for your time today, just sharing all about float therapy. And I'm just grateful for your time today. 

[00:38:39] Ari: Yeah. Thank you so much for your time. I'm so glad I got to give you a good float experience. And I'm very excited for your guided meditations, once, once they get put together and there'll be an option in our tanks.

[00:38:51] Cynthia: Yes. Stay tuned. 

[00:38:54] Thank you so much for listening to the Well Connected Twin Cities podcast. Did you learn something new? Did you feel that spark of hope and excitement for what is possible? Because so much is possible. Tell us about it in a review on Apple podcast. Not only would we absolutely love hearing from you, but these reviews help our ratings and help other curious minds like you find this resource.

[00:39:20] We are always better together. Thank you again and see you next time.