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| Splash photos by Treva Lind |
Co-owners Jerrod Riggan left, and Eric Freels pose with a Dreampod, which is used for the floatation therapy central to the new Liberty Lake spa, Float Spokane.
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Keeping relaxation afloat
8/27/2015 11:58:06 AM
By Treva Lind
Splash Contributor
Imagine floating weightlessly in water within a quiet, spa-like setting.
Such relaxation is what's described for customers of a new Liberty Lake-based spa, Float Spokane, expected to open Sept. 1. Many users of floatation therapy in individual tanks tout its health benefits that range from reducing pain to relieving stress.
Float Spokane's space at 1334 N. Whitman Lane is being prepared for a launch by two couples who are co-owners, Jerrod and Jen Riggan, and Eric and Crystal Freels.
Jerrod Riggan and Eric Freels, friends since grade school, have researched floatation therapy's overall advantages, including recent studies on how it's being used to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder among other health issues.
The single-person tanks, also known as pods, are filled with highly-filtered, skin-temperature water and Epsom salt. People typically book an hour-long session in a pod to unplug.
"We're excited to do a business that will make a difference in people's lives," Freels said. "It's helping people with reducing stress, with relaxation. About one hour in a pod is equivalent to about four hours of really good sleep."
Athletes are using the therapy for post-injury recovery. Studies indicate some benefits for autistic children, Freels said, and for fibromyalgia pain relief.
Riggan admits he was a little unsure when he first tried floatation therapy, but that quickly dissolved.
"This may be a little different for people at first," Riggan said. "I was a little spooked the first time. But when I had my first session, I felt so completely relaxed. I felt like I had a 10-hour massage; it was amazing."
Other health-related information is posted on the spa's website, Floatspokane.com, or on its Facebook page. One study suggests float sessions decrease cortisol levels, Freels said. "That's a stress-related hormone the body releases."
Added Riggan, "We know stress can have a lot of detrimental effects on the body. With the magnesium in the pod, the body soaks some of that up. Lack of magnesium is a source of many health problems. It's great for your skin."
Epsom salt contributes to buoyancy and smooth skin, unlike an hour in the bath when fingers look like raisins, Freels said.
"You float like a cork," he said. "You just let the water do all the work. It takes away the effects of gravity and feels like floating in space. It's great for pregnancy, which puts lots of stresses on the body."
He first tried floatation therapy in Portland about a year and a half ago.
"I felt very relaxed and extremely alert and hungry," Freels said. "What I've read is that's a pretty normal experience. It almost has a way to kick-start your metabolism."
Float Spokane will open in about 2,100 square feet with four "pod" rooms, each having a Dreampod flotation tank that holds 215 gallons of water mixed with around 1,100 pounds of Epsom salt.
The owners plan hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Float Spokane is offering a $49 introductory one-hour session to first-time customers. After that, people can buy packages for visits of three-, five- or eight-float sessions.
A three-float package costs about $179, while a five-float purchase is roughly $280. Float Spokane also offers memberships as a lowest-price option.
"We're open to working on a custom package," Freels said, including business corporate packages.
With the pod's technology, the water for each session is repeatedly filtered and exceptionally clean, Riggan said. Small quantities of chlorine and hydrogen peroxide are added.
"The first question people ask is how clean are the pods," Riggan said, adding that the water's salt content is one sanitary level itself.
"We use a chlorine treatment and also UV lights, so it has three or four levels of protection after each float. Every drip of that water gets cycled three times through a filter which is 1 micron, smaller than a human hair."
Freels agreed. "That water is just pristine. It's clear, clean, safe."
Each pod offers soothing music for the first 10 to 15 minutes, to help people relax and clear the mind, and then typically rooms are kept silent. Some people like floating in their birthday suits, while others prefer a bathing suit, Freels said.
People turn off cell phones, part of removing interruptions or demands on the senses.
The owners say they selected Liberty Lake for Float Spokane as being near to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene while also serving clients here in a growing, thriving community.
While both couples have homes in Brewster, near Lake Chelan, usually one or more of them are in town to work on the opening. The owners said they'll be hands-on during early months of operation, and likely will hire three to five employees.
Freels and Riggan played college baseball together. Riggan went on to play professionally as a pitcher for the New York Mets and the Cleveland Indians, and also in Japan for two years.
Away from the business, Freels is employed helping manage a shipping dock for Gebbers Farms. He first talked to Riggan about the idea of float therapy business.
With today's noises and distractions, people find it more difficult to unplug, Riggan said. While hot tubs generally have noise because of the jets, floatation tanks are "absolutely silent and still," he added.
"You're not used to having noise all the time, but in the pod, it's just you and the water."
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For more
Float Spokane
1334 N. Whitman Lane
The relaxation spa, with state-of-the-art Dreampods, is scheduled to open Sept. 1. Projected hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
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