An oasis lies tucked away in Waxhaw Professional Park, off of Providence Rd in Waxhaw.  Float Carolina offers an escape to relaxation and REST (restricted environmental stimulation therapy) with their float pods and salt room. Co-owner, Jack Weaverling of Rock Hill, SC, started floating several years ago.  He had read about it online but couldn’t find a local place that had a pod, so he eventually traveled to Asheville and was able to try one there.  He really enjoyed it but couldn’t figure out how it made him feel better.  He continued traveling to different areas with float centers to do more research.  One day, he was in a tank and he had a light bulb moment.  While he was good at his current job, it wasn’t what came naturally to him.  He knew that instead he wanted to help people.  He wrote his vision in his journal and gave himself a deadline.  By that date, he had blueprints for Float Carolina and had met two other people who agreed that “People need floating, they just don’t know it yet”.  Justen Hansen of Charlotte, and Eric Hamrick of Spartanburg, SC had the same drive and passion as Weaverling and were a natural fit as they built Float Carolina together.

Floating offers many different benefits.  It can help you to relax and let go of muscle tension and provide pain relief including joint and back pain.  It can assist in meditation and help relieve the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.  There are clinical trials currently being conducted to study these effects.  Some people fall asleep in the pods and when they wake up, feeling as if they slept for several hours.  The float pods and room can also help create focus and inspire creativity.  The salt room can help alleviate the symptoms of asthma, sinus problems, eczema, and other skin issues.  Salt has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and spending one hour in the salt room is very similar to several days at the beach.

A float pod is a self-contained saltwater tank that is approximately five feet by eight feet and eleven inches deep.  Each pod contains approximately 250 gallons of water and 1,000lbs of Epsom Salt with color changing lights that can turn off to surround you in complete darkness. The float room is similar to the float pod but doesn’t have a closed top, instead it is about the size of a nice walk-in closet that is tall enough to stand in except the entire floor is a tub.  This may be the preferred option for first-time floaters or people with claustrophobia.  The float room features a starlit ceiling and in-tub lighting that can be controlled by the floater.  Each floater is required to shower before and after floating in the in-room shower and soap, shampoo, and conditioner are all provided.  Float pods are built by a hot tub manufacturer and feature heavy-duty filtration with double filters and a UV sanitizer as well as adding ozone and bromine to the water to help oxygenate it and sanitize it.  The salt room features three Himalayan Salt mosaic walls that are eight feet high by two feet wide with 1,100 lbs of salt on the floor and a Halo Generator that grinds salt up so finely that you can’t see it but can taste it in the air.  Float Carolina also offers a place for people to dry their hair and fix their makeup before they leave.

First-time floater, Cody Herbert of Waxhaw, came to visit Float Carolina after his mom signed him up for a session in the float room.  He says, “It was amazing as a relaxation tool.  I’m ready to go home and sleep some more.  I’ve been trying to find something to help me relax.  I’m eager to try the full pod next time.  One of the craziest things was my head was going a thousand miles a minute.  I could feel myself slowing down and I could feel my heartbeat.  I could see doing this once a week. “

The salt room sessions are 45 minutes each while a float session is approximately 60 minutes long with five minutes before and after for showering.  The float pods and float room each feature calming music for the first five minutes to help you begin to relax.  The lights and music will automatically turn back on to let you know when your time is up.  After you wash off the salt, Float Carolina has a relaxation room to allow their guests to enjoy their post-float glow with hot tea and water as well as a diffuser and low-level lighting.

Float Carolina – 105 Waxhaw Professional Park Drive, Waxhaw, NC 28173; 704-243-0081; floatcarolina.com