Experience the Dead Sea at Gravity Spa

Gravity Spa in Beavercreek features a couple of ways to unwind: They offer massage sessions, flotation, and combinations of both services. But what is flotation?

Flotation occurs when the water is so super-salinated (that means it has such a high concentration of salt mixed into it) that a human will literally float on the surface of the water – just like on the Dead Sea (but without all those tourists and so forth). It’s even heated to body temperature so you don’t feel a difference between your skin and the water. It’s like no other experience – eventually you just float away into a deep meditation where your mind wanders and you’re able to achieve some serious relaxation.

I was pretty skeptical about flotation when I arrived at Gravity Spa. I thought for sure I would either drown or at least get salt water in my eyes but somehow neither of those things happened. When you arrive, they have you sign in and then talk you through the showering process. You have to shower first with an oil free soap that they provide to rid your body of oils from your body lotion, hair conditioner, etc. They explain how the music will start up once your session is over so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of time. After you float you will shower again to get the salt off of you.

So what happened when I floated? Before I had this experience the only knowledge I had of it was from the Simpsons (it’s the episode where Lisa and Homer float in separate pods and see the world through each others’ eyes – it was very sweet). I assumed that switching bodies wasn’t likely to happen, of course, but I falsely thought I would hate the experience and I actually loved it. I realized that we have so much sensory input at all times of day and night that it was so completely welcome to experience an hour where my mind only had itself to rely on. A lot of people talk about disconnecting from technology but flotation takes it a couple steps further helping you to disconnect from your senses.

Would you try flotation? Let me know what you think.