Walk in, float out.
Walking into Cloud9 Float Club is a relaxing experience in itself. Warm and soft, the atmosphere promotes relaxation as soon as you walk through the door; whether you’re there for a float or just to buy someone a voucher.
I heard about Cloud9 from my business partner Sara who said I just needed to head along. I’d heard about floatation therapy before, but never considered going along myself. I have always been useless at meditation, so felt like floating just wouldn’t be for me. However, Sara has an opinion I highly respect, so when she said it was something she thought I would benefit from, I decided to give it a go.
So what is floatation therapy?
Well it’s best summed up in this funky little video, but basically you hop into a Float Pod for an hour with complete sensory deprivation. The aim is for you to not completely clear your mind, but focus your thoughts and come out with a sense of calm. Each float is completely different. The Float Pod is filled with water that has had over 400kg of Epsom Salts in it, so you float half out of the water. The pod is warm, comfortable and HUGE.
Naturally I can’t speak for any other float clubs, but I can say that Cloud9 is amazing. They have kind, attentive staff, a beautifully decorated premise and every detail has been considered. Each float room is tailored to your needs whether it’s water temperature, room temperature or music.
Each float room contains a float pod, beautiful shower stocked with all natural Sukin products from haircare to skin care, a toilet, towels and a robe.
I was lucky enough to be gifted the opportunity to do the Dose program at Cloud9 Float Club, which is a stress and anxiety program. Since I lead a fairly busy life, and have battled with bouts of anxiety over the years, I thought this program would be perfect for me. It was also a great way to test out a service I could recommend to my high stress clients.
I really enjoyed the Dose program. It involved reading a program card before I went in to each float which gives you a place to focus your thoughts. Each time you feel yourself wondering, you remind yourself of the card and get back to the questions it has. I came out of the program feeling far more in control of my thoughts and like I no longer sweat the small stuff a lot. I’m a classic over-thinker and can get really wrapped up in thoughts, so it was nice to feel in control.
The Dose program was 2 floats a week for 4 weeks. I found it hard to fit them in as you kind of had to block out a good 1.5-2 hours of your day so ended up taking around 6 weeks to complete it as some weeks I could only fit one in.
Before you float, you must shower, cleanse and wash your hair to make sure you’re as clean as possible. The pods purify 3.5 times after each person uses it, so they’re incredibly hygienic. Yes – you DO float naked. 😉
Each float is so incredibly different. My first float was fantastic – I was able to relax, after the initial weirdness of the different kind of water floating than your body is used to, and much to my surprise, the time passed quickly. I’ll admit that an hour seemed like such a long time to float in pitch black (you can leave the lights on if you want!), but I didn’t feel like I was in there forever either. It also wasn’t a claustorophic environment at all either. A lot of my followers said that they wouldn’t cope – but it is such a large pod I truly didn’t feel claustrophobic at all.
Most people say their second float is better. I went after a business meeting however and from the moment I got into the pod, my mind would not shut up! I still had moments where I relaxed and still got something out of it.
My third float was definitely my best. I went after a workout, and was so relaxed I almost fell asleep! In fact, I think I may have for a short while. When I came to around 20-30 minutes later, I was still ultra relaxed and focused entirely on my session objective.
You’re given a journal and at the end of each session there’s often a task there for you to journal about. At the end you keep the journal. I loved being able to read the progress from start to finish.
Each of my floats were completely different. I definitely felt like I got huge amounts out of it, and I would certainly float again. I tried them at different times of the day to see what suited me best too. I did an evening one once and loved it. I would try to book them for evening time slot again when I go back. And I will go back! I loved the experience.
After your float, you shower once more and then head back out into the lobby where you can use their sukin products to tone and moisturise, or even blow dry and straighten your hair. I recommend taking super comfy clothes to put on after to continue the relaxation experience!
All in all, I loved the floating experience as you can tell. It was something completely different and gave me a different outlook on meditation style therapy. I found the dose program beneficial for stress and anxiety. I urge everyone to give it a try if they’re interested! For those of you who are Christchurch based, Cloud9 Float Club will not let you down. I’m looking forward to my next visit. Check out my tips on floating below.
My Tips to Make Your Float Experience Easier:
- Try to go straight after a workout – don’t bother showering as you have to shower there anyway, I just find that going straight after a workout provided the most relaxing float. They’re also great for recovery!
- Don’t drink too much water before you go in! Nothing ruins a float quite like having to get out to use the bathroom halfway through. It’s kind of like waking up before your alarm!
- Epsom Salt can be incredibly drying on your hair. I took a hair masque to apply after each session.
- If you’re like me and find ear plugs irritating, don’t forget to wash out your ears after each float. I let the water run straight into my ears for a good 30 seconds each ear, and never had any issues. If you forget this step, you’ll get epsom salts crystallising in your ears which is more annoying than anything.
- Make sure you go when you feel like you don’t have anything pressing on after. I can guarantee you’ll spend the whole float thinking about other ways you could be spending your time. But trust me – you need that relax time!
Please note: this blog post is my own opinion. It was not paid for or endorsed in anyway by Cloud9 Float Club. I did receive free membership to their dose program, however this blog post was entirely my own idea after many followers expressed interest in a review!
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