A Float Like No Other at The Float Lounge

Almost a decade ago Rosanne Ramirez was stressed out and working in the fast-paced world of high end real estate. She was tired, fussy, and couldn’t meditate if her life depended on it.

That’s when she was introduced to floating in Epsom Salt float tanks by a friend who was a wellness practitioner. Having always been an athlete, she was used to bathing in six pounds of Epsom Salt to soothe and rehabilitate sore muscles, but when she realized actual float tanks contained 1,000 pounds of the magnesium-rich salt, she knew she had to try.

She hunted one down in San Diego via a friend and sure enough, after just one session her stress was gone and her whole attitude had changed. “I felt super high for a week, nothing bothered me,” remembers Ramirez. After five days though, she could feel her anxiety creeping back, and knew it was time for round two. It was this next float that changed her life forever.

While laying in the blacked-out pod, submersed with powerful body-healing salt, one side of the brain telling the other to relax, she realized she needed to open a studio to bring float tanks to the masses.

By her third session the plan was already underway.

Today, float tanks are popping up in big cities everywhere, but back then they were few and far between. She and her spiritual husband/business partner, Jeff Brion, who at the time was her kinesiologist, selected a location in Laguna Beach and The Float Lounge officially opened in 2012.

Conveniently located off of PCH, The Float Lounge is one of a handful of float studios in Southern California now, but is the only one that is all-holistic. Everything is as green certified as possible, from the green cork back flooring to green certified paint to green glue in the walls. The filtered water that’s used for showers which you take before and after your float, is the same water that’s used in the tanks — free of chemicals, pH balancers, and natural enzymes.

Ramirez, who mans the shop most days, now lives a calm, present, and balanced life. “Floating really taught me how to train my brain to meditate; I can meditate anywhere now,” she says.

Once inside the tank, one is met with complete darkness while floating in 10 inches of room temperature Epsom Salt water. Because of all the salt the body is buoyant, so if one falls asleep (and you should!) it poses no danger. Patrons have the option to listen to light music but Ramirez says most of her clients prefer to float in silence. “Floating takes out all stimulation, light, sounds, and distractions, helping to reset the brain chemistry. It’s quieting the left brain hemisphere so the right brain can come more into balance and harmony — that’s why people feel so good after they float.”

Indeed, The Float Lounge counts professional athletes, stressed out business people, creatives, and tired mom’s as clients. “We have 10-year-olds and 82-year-olds. Anyone can float. It’s for everyone,” Ramirez says with a smile.

The benefits of floating are not just mental, but also physical. Great for inflammation, it often brings in athletes who use it to rehabilitate sore muscles after workouts as well as those who have just been in an accident or underwent surgery. Avid travelers are also some of The Float Lounge’s most regular clients. Just one hour in the tank is equivalent to four hours of deep sleep, so if you have a night of tossing and turning you know where to go.

In a world where we are constantly inundated with information, sound, and noise, quieting down the mind and taking out distractions pushes you into the most natural, comfortable state, akin to being in a womb. While you float you’re suspended, protected, safe, warm, and weightless.

“It’s a beautiful feeling,” Ramirez admits. “And you get some good feedback in there. You can hear your truth.”

Lindsay DeLong is the Managing Editor of The Fullest and Laguna Beach Living. She would like to replace her bed with a float tank. Do people do that yet? Get in touch with her at lindsay@lagunabeachliving.com.

Photos by: Grant Puckett.

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