Floating at ThinkOne

I had a float today at a new place for me- ThinkOne The Behavior Design Specialists. My friend Faith gave me a Groupon for my birthday back in September. It was one of those things where I kept meaning to schedule it and kept putting it off. Then earlier this week she sent me an email reminder that the Groupon was going to expire. Whoopsie! (I've been watching a lot of Screen Rant Pitch Meetings lately. If you haven't seen them, give them a try. I think they're funny.) 

There were a couple of reasons for my procrastination. One, this place seems a little out there. Check out ThinkOne's Website and form your own opinion. Two, there's this Covid thing going around and being in a pod breathing humid air for an hour kinda seemed like risky behavior. 

But the risk of losing the whole thing to the expiration date made me finally take action despite my hesitations.

Let's go back all the way to the beginning for a moment. I had my first float in 2017. It was a birthday present from my new husband, Dan. We went to a place called Astral Float Spa in Parker. Dan knew it was something I'd been wanting to try for a long time. My friend, Kevan, owns a float tank business in Fort Worth and was peer pressuring me to try floating. 

I've heard other people's reservations about floating, and I probably had the same ones.

"I can't float." or "I'll just sink." This is impossible. Because science. There is so much salt in the tank it's hard to NOT float. 

"I'm claustrophobic." I'm not claustrophobic in other situations, but I was still concerned about being in a tiny dark box full of water. I've since read that even people with claustrophobia can experience deep relaxation in the float tank. And the experience is totally your own. If you wanted to leave the door cracked because that makes you feel safer, that's your choice.

When I think about it now, maybe my biggest concern was "What am I going to do alone with myself for a whole hour with no distractions?" That's the real fear. Like maybe I'll get tired of myself and be bored for 50 minutes. 

That first float was amazing. My second float was okay. The third float was really good. And this float would be my fourth. I'm a little bit behind par to average one float a year. I wish it was more. But, life.

So, I called up this ThinkOne place and made a reservation. The lady I talked to on the phone had no concerns that the Groupon was going to be expired by the time I got my float. Super chill, very laid back. 

Little did I know that the weather was going to be a high of 3 and a low of -6. No shit. I was not looking forward to being wet out in those temperatures. But I had a reservation and needed to use this Groupon if it killed me. 

When I arrived I was greeted by a young boy, in his middle school years I'd guess. He wasn't wearing a mask, but kids usually don't, right? Wrong. Turns out this place exists in a covid-doesn't-exist bubble. No one consistently wore a mask. Dr. P had a neck gaiter that he would pull up over his nose and mouth occasionally. Customers coming and going had no masks and another woman who seemed to work there didn't wear a mask. The kid turned out to be one of Dr. P's sons and another son popped up later, so maybe the woman was his wife? No one really introduced themselves so I don't really know. 

After a short bit of paperwork I got to see the float room, and get started. There wasn't a private shower that I was used to with other float locations. But there was an outside door that was shut while I showered off that provided privacy as I dashed from the restroom back to the float room, and then a door to the float room that I could close once I was in there. I almost forgot to close it to be honest. 

The room was dark with mainly the light from the tank illuminating the room. There was a small salt lamp on a table to the side too. That table was right next to the BioMat. I'd never heard of a BioMat but it's a mat, filled with amethyst crystals, that heats up. Dr. P suggested I could use it after my float but then said someone was booked right after me so nevermind. Whoopsie! Also once I turned on the lights I noticed the mat had questionable stains on it. It was probably for the best.

I decided to leave my Fitbit on for this float to track it as a yoga workout. My only regret about that is that I have a glow in the dark band that seemed really bright in the darkness of the tank. I'm happy with my hammock shaped heart rate graph.

The float itself was really nice and relaxing. Something slimy floating in the water touched my hand toward the beginning of the float and that really got my heart racing, but I settled down and tried to put it out of my mind and it didn't touch me again. To be fair, everything, including my skin, feels slimy in the float tank, and the bit of floating debris ended up being a piece of an earplug. I think. 

I saw a review on Groupon after my float questioning the cleanliness of this place. I'm not a huge germaphobe, but it is really nice when you spend time naked in a place that looks, smells, and feels super sterile. Ya know?

After the float I felt a little rushed. Dr. P said some people don't rinse off after a float to enjoy the befenits of the minerals on their skin. So, I took that suggestion. I tried to brush my hair, and that didn't work. I was at least fully dressed and mostly ready when he knocked on the door. I grabbed all my stuff and finished gathering myself in the lobby. I also had to bundle up to go back out into that frigid weather. 

While I was out in the lobby another one of the doctor's sons showed up, in shorts. He sent his son to clean up the float tank room for the next guest. I have two teenage son. That, to me, explains the level of cleanliness.

My float-floaty. The floaty in my float.

All in all, this was a nice experience. ThinkOne is not providing a spa experience. They value the recovery aspect of a good float. Their website, in my opinion, is all over the place. Like, what service don't they provide? I inexplicably felt very relaxed and at ease there, even with the lack of introductions and face masks. Maybe it was just the mood I was in. I'd probably visit there again if it were free or really cheap.   

The float room with the lights on. (I love that art on the wall.) Notice there's no place to hang your towel nearby. I had to dash over to the left of this photo where there was a bench with my towel on it. In retrospect I guess I could have just left it on the floor next to the pod. I guess.

A bit behind the curtain

maybe skipping the rinse off wasn't such a great idea. ew.