I came here because of a Groupon, but I'd initially heard about True Rest from a Facebook? ad a year or so ago. I'd looked into it, been intrigued, then never went (you know how it goes).
Ran the Ragnar Del Sol last weekend so was hoping to schedule this float near that to see if it helped with soreness.
So we finally went yesterday.
Very...interesting.
We were told ahead of time to bring a towel, or you could rent for $3.
We got there, filled out a short form and watched an instructional video.
I'd already prepared by reading the other Yelp reviews, so I knew a little what to expect.
First thing when your session begins, is you take a shower (there's one in each flotation room) with provided shampoo and body wash. Stick your wax earplugs in before your shower so they mold better without water droplets getting in the way.
Once you get in, I highly suggest not touching your face! When I climbed in and lay in the water, I kept feeling like there was as drop of water in my eyebrow from the shower that was about to run down into my eye. I managed not to touch it, and I continued getting those sensations of something on my face off and on throughout my float, which was moderately distracting.
The instructional video suggests counting your breathing to try not to let your mind wander too much. So I tried a lot of deep breathing from yoga.
I had a bit of a headache and then my stomach started to feel a little iffy, which I wasn't sure if it was from floating itself (and the video says you might feel a little nauseous), or the ginormous coffee I'd had a bit earlier or the fistful of vitamins I swallowed on the way to my float... But I just tried to relax and breath through it and I noticed it would go away and return, but overall not too bad.
They do say that most people have a hard time relaxing their head and neck because we just don't trust that the water will support us and I'd read the reviews about some people saying their neck becomes sore from all the head-lifting.. The video suggests clasping your hands behind your head/neck, but I found that it took work to KEEP my hands clasped or else they'd just slide apart and float down.
Being a Chiropractor, I'd say I'm a little more cognizant of that my body is doing and I very purposefully tried to relax my neck, yet still felt like something wasn't letting go...
I did ok keeping the lid to my pod closed the whole time, It perhaps felt a little stuffy, but not unbearable.
Music plays for first 10 minutes, shuts off and then turns back on for the last 5 letting you know it's ending. The video suggests stretching for the last few minutes. So I reach to grab my leg while laying down, to stretch my hamstrings, but I throw myself off balance. SO then I try doing a symmetrical happy baby pose, which also throws me off balance except this time I almost tip over. I jolt to prevent from going under and proceed to splash my entire face with super salty water! UNpleasant! I reach for the little squirty fresh water bottle inside the tank and spray my face and hands, but it really didn't do much. They tell you to try not to move to trick your brain into relaxing. The couple times toward the end that I did move my legs a bit, I noticed my knees were stiff from being still the whole time! Last night I noticed my upper traps and neck and lower back were a little sore and I don;t know if it's from my floating position or from doing push-ups that morning which I've not done in ages...
My time is up, I climb out and get back in the shower. I just had my hair highlighted the day before so now I'm wishing for Conditioner,but alas, there is none.
They do have a room in the back with hair dryers and lotion and deodorant (but no spray in conditioner??)
As far as relaxation goes, I'd rather have a massage or go to a nice Yahweh Yoga class.
This place is 25 miles from my home in central phoenix but I'd give it another shot.
They'd get one more star from me if there was conditioner :)