Durango Floatation Therapy is floating a new idea to residents looking for a relaxing and meditative experience.
Co-owners Kevin Kephart and Kyle Cataldo say that floating in an epsom salt bath inside a tank that isolates customers from all light, sound and sensations helps achieve deep meditation, faster recovery from muscle soreness and mental clarity.
“It seems like the mind’s eye is allowed to open up,” Kephart said.
They discovered the therapy being used in bigger cities and believed the benefits would appeal to Durango residents.
It’s a young and growing industry across the nation. In 2014, a survey found 56 floatation centers. In 2016, the same survey found 170 existing centers and 247 prospective centers, according to Float Tank Solutions, a Portland, Oregon, float tank company that offers business plans and assistance to new float tank businesses.
After more than a year of work, the two opened Durango Floatation Therapy in December along north Main Avenue.
Clients pay for a session in a 4-foot by 8-foot tank filled with 10 inches of skin-temperature water and 900 pounds of epsom salt.
Floating naked beneath a tent – which helps keep out all light and sounds – gives clients a sense of weightlessness.
“You, in a sense, get to escape gravity for the duration of the float, which is very relaxing,” Kephart said.
The tank has its own room with a shower, so clients have plenty of privacy.
The center opened in the same office as a massage therapist because the two treatments are complementary and can be scheduled back-to-back.
While claustrophobia may be a concern for some, the tank can help people overcome this issue, he said.
Some people report experiencing hallucinations in sensory deprivation tanks, but neither Kephart or Cataldo have ever had visual hallucinations.
Rather, thoughts can become vivid and colorful, Kephart said.
Like other secondary therapies, such as massage, it takes more than one session to see all the benefits, Cataldo said. He said multiple sessions also help clients relax more quickly, Cataldo said.
If the business is successful, the two would like to expand into a larger space with more than one tank.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
To schedule a float
All float sessions are by appointment and can be scheduled at www.floatdurango.com.
A 45-minute float is $50, and there are various packages available.
