SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — It's dark. Pitch black to be more specific. There are no corners to feel for and every movement makes a splash.
I wondered, "Was this how Pinocchio felt when that whale swallowed him up?"
But rather than being intimidating, it was ... oddly ... relaxing. I suppose that's the point of a sensory deprivation pod filled with so much saltwater one's body has no choice but to float.
The luke-warm, body temperature water was a shock to me after having first sweated in an infrared cocoon for 30 minutes and then taking a hot shower. But it wasn't long before I slipped away into meditative breathing and (maybe) even nodding off.
An hour later, binaural beats - auditory illusions that occur when you hear different frequency sounds which can help with meditation, wellness, relaxation and more - were playing to wake me out of my stupor.
I hopped out of the tank and immediately into a shower to wash all of the salt off my body. Once dried off and dressed, it finally sank in - I felt less anxious and uncomfortable than I had before I went into the tank.
FIRST-TIMER
When Mélanie Dufour used an isopod float tank, also known as a sensory deprivation tank, it was the first time she felt like she could relax.
After years on duty as an RCMP officer, she said it was the first time she didn't have to watch her back.
"Whenever I had time off I'd go deflate. It was a time to debrief with ourselves."
In 2014, while looking for a massage therapist, Dufour was introduced to floating.
"It allowed me to let everything go. It was euphoric. Any time I came out of the north, I'd make sure to go for a float."
"I went into a super deep sleep. It felt like a high.
"Knowing what I know now, it was because I had worked myself into such a state of high stress that came from work and traumatic stress. But in the tank, I felt safe. It felt like a big hug."
These days, Dufour often goes for a float when she struggles with something.
"If I need an answer to something I'll take time and go into a deep meditation and then go float and try to work it out while I'm in the tank."
Because it's played such a significant role in her recovery from PTSD, and continues to help with her mental health, Dufour wanted to start a business around it.
Enter The Recovery Studio, the second business Dufour has opened on P.E.I.
"Out of lemons, I made lemonade... But this isn't a spa and it's not a training facility. It's that space in between. More of a pre-hab than a rehab."
Dufour says she's looked at the business from her personal experience.
"Everything here are things that have helped me. I know the value this resource can add to peoples' lives. I know there is a need for it."
At the Recovery Studio, located in the downstairs of Glow Juicery (Dufour's other business), clients have access to the deprivation tank, an infrared therapy cocoon, compression therapy, meditation space, infrared sauna blanket, life coaching, reiki healing and much more.
Right now the business is up and running but she hopes to have a grand opening launch on Jan. 11.
"We're offering a safe space for people to come and recover. You don't have to look outside of yourself to be better, it's about the way you think.
"I'm trying to be the person (for others) I needed when I was going through my storm because I didn't have anything."
The Recovery Studio offers:
- Float tank (sensory deprevation)
- Infrared light therapy
- Infrared sauna blanket
- Compression sleeves
- Meditation space
- Reiki healing
- Life coaching
- Mindfulness and wellness coaching
THE (HOT) COCOON
It's not often an assignment includes laying in a pod that looks like something out of Star Trek or some other sci-fi television show; but as Dufour said – when life gives you lemons...
Before getting into the pod, one must go in their birthday suit and don a "sexy" (Dufour's words, not mine) plastic suit. Once suited up and made to feel like someone who's about to handle hazardous materials, you carefully slide into the pod and lower the top. The only thing sticking out of the pod is your head.
"There are two hand holes here, so you can control the settings and turn on the face fans if you feel too hot. You can also scroll through meditations and inspirations too," said Dufour, before turning on the beats and shutting the door. With that, only the hum of the cocoon vibrations and the binaural beats were there to keep me company.
Marketed as a weight-loss tool, the Cocoon Wellness Pro is also helpful for relaxation, inflammation and pain management.
"Everything here is about releasing toxins, pain management and relaxation," she explained.
LOSING MY SENSES
After the pod, I made my way to the shower before going into the sensory deprivation tank. The contraption reminded me of a blue whale (though it's white in colour) by the way the opening bowed and the body curved. Inside was about one foot, or a bit more, of water saturated with Epsom salt to give you the floating in the Dead Sea effect. On the left, there's a light switch. On the right, the panic button.
"I'm not going to drown right?" I asked cautiously.
"No. And I don't know if you can, based on the amount of salt that's in the water. And there's a pool noodle here if you want to use it to support your neck," offered one of Dufour's employees.
Before I got in, Dufour told me the tank is supposed to bring about the feeling of being in the womb. With the lid closed, light and sound are blocked out. All you're left with is yourself.
Something is unnerving about not having the sense of sight when you're so used to it.
Opting to turn on a blue inside light, I put the pool noodle under my neck and floated along. I felt absolutely weightless. Unable to keep my legs in the water as I would in a regular bath.
"Am I supposed to be doing something? How am I supposed to feel? Am I going to be bored in five minutes?" I asked myself.
Within a few moments the beats had stopped and I was left in silence. So, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The small cuts on my body made by kitten claws and crafting tools stung in the water, but I tried not to focus on the feeling, rather paying attention to my breath.
At some point, I'm sure I was falling asleep as I'd startle and splash the water about. Just before the hour-mark, I woke up.
"Interesting," I thought.
With that, the beats started again signalling my time was up.
My body felt looser, the air tasted salty and my mind was quiet.
Dufour was the first face I'd see after my float, "So... How was it?"
"I can see how it would help. I certainly feel better now than when I came here."
"If only she knew," I thought. The constant fear that something was going to happen or the senseless worrying had subsided. The anxious tingles that feel like painful pins and needles and racing heart rate I had before the pod and float had been occupying my attention.
Now, they were gone.
For more information:
- Website: therecoverystudio.ca
- Facebook: The Recovery Studio PEI
- Instagram: @therecoverystudi0
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 1-902-436-5105
