38. Try acupuncture, cryotherapy or floating (or all three!)
Self-care is one of those terms that’s thrown about a lot and means something a little different for everyone. To me, it just means taking the time to do something for you. It doesn’t have to be deep or cleansing or anything like that…watching Schitt’s Creek is self-care, dangit! So is reading a romance novel, taking a nap, doing yoga and whatever else makes you feel at peace with yourself for a bit.
While self-care can be as simple as listening to your favorite 80s hits on the drive home, I’m always interested in trying out new ways to relax, heal and clear my mind. Enter the above item from my 40 by 40 list. Acupuncture, cryotherapy and floating are all available here in CoMo, so I did my research and found some spots. I decided to just try cryotherapy and floating (for now!) and somehow ended up with my appointments on back-to-back days.
First, I headed to Element Cryotherapy. This spot has been open for a few years and says:
Our non-invasive and painless cold therapy improves your wellbeing through decreased inflammation, increased performance, rapid muscle recovery, mood/mental clarity, weight loss, and pain relief.
The young lady (yes, I’m now old enough to use the term young lady) who I worked with was outstanding. She got me checked in, waiver signed and back to the cryo room. So how do you receive this cryotherapy, you ask? Well, it involves climbing into this:
But first, there is some preparation. You start by getting nekkie. Next, you get to don some wonderful fluffy slippers and wool mittens because your fingers and toes can’t handle what you’re about to go through. Last, you pull on your robe (or in my case hold it in front of you like a weird towel) and shuffle to the above metal tube thing. The incredibly kind person assisting holds the door open and you hop in (I needed a stool) and then they raise you up so just your head is sticking out of the top. I was going to ask her to take a photo of me but I figured she had been through enough. I handed her my robe and we were off!
At that point, it starts getting really cold, really fast. A seasoned user of cryotherapy typically goes for three minutes to temps of -250 degrees. As a rookie, I made it for two minutes and got down to about -225 degrees. I climbed out of the chamber and shuffled back to the changing room. I felt like a damn champion.
Verdict: All told, I was in and out of Element in about 15 minutes. They make the process super easy and comfortable. I can’t say that I felt instant effects, but I can absolutely see how for muscle recovery, inflammation and pain, this would be outstanding. I was surface cold all the way home but never felt like I was deep, shivering cold. I did notice later that evening that there was a noticeable energy boost that I do attribute to the cryo because I’m usually not exactly bouncing around on a Thursday evening.
Would I try it again: I had to think about it for a few days, but yes! I can especially see it being useful if you’re training for something specific or if you’re experiencing some body aches. If you’re experiencing joint or muscle pain in one part of your body, they can even do targeted cold therapy for those areas. Plus, the experience is overall fun and makes you feel like you accomplished something getting so freaking cold.
The next day, I was super psyched for my appointment at Clarity Float Spa. I was excited about this as a chance to unplug and sink into my feelings for an hour. One of my biggest pre-concerns was claustrophobia, so I had reserved the “Dream Cabin” as opposed to the “Pod” option. Why floating? Clarity says on their site:
Floating has been clinically proven to provide a wide range of health benefits and relieve many ailments — especially stress, muscle tension, and pain. One study conducted in 2018 demonstrated floating regularly to be an effective method to relieve anxiety and depression, accompanied by “significant increases in serenity, relaxation, happiness and overall well-being.”
I imagined emerging from the float refreshed, rested, content with the deep thinking I had achieved. Instead, here’s what happened…
Upon arrival (again, an extremely nice young lady was my guide), I got checked in, waived and shown around the room containing my Dream Cabin. You shower both before and after floating, which was delightful under the rain shower showerhead the room was rocking. Once again, somehow, my self-care attempt had involved me being nekkie. I was ready. I climbed into my glowing cabin…
First, it’s important to note that the reason you float in a float spa is that the water is packed with salt. Like, a thousand pounds of salt. Second, you must know that the water is shallow. Less than a foot deep. So you climb in and kinda slide down into this shallow pool of very salty water. The first effect? You find any open cuts or scrapes on your person. They are immediately identified for you via contact with said water. However, once that first shock leaves, the water is right about at your skin temperature and the cabin is large, with a door you can leave propped open.
I decided to go full tilt to begin. I pulled that door closed behind me, I laid back, and I turned the lights off. This was perhaps a mistake. I was trying to adjust to the whole concept of floating AND telling myself I needed to be relaxing and it all kind of clashed. The nice thing about floating is you can change things up with the lights, the door and your location. So, for a few minutes, I hopped out of the spa, gathered my thoughts and set up my phone to play a podcast while I got used to being in the float space. This was definitely a helpful step. After about 20 minutes of listening, I turned it back off and spent the rest of my time floating with the light on, door propped. I will admit to getting out of the float spa about ten minutes before my float was set to end.
Verdict: I still don’t think I’ve completely decided if I liked floating or not. In anticipating the float, it felt like it would be simple, but it felt…complicated? It’s definitely something you have to get used to, and that maybe feels like it’s taking away from the whole self-care and relaxing concept. I did enjoy it more as a settled in, but there was more of a “learning curve” than I expected. However, that night, I think the magnesium I absorbed did its job because I passed out and slept like a rock and woke up feeling more refreshed than I have in quite some time.
Would I try it again: The jury is still kind of out of this one, but I do feel like I should give floating another try. If I do go again, there are a few things I’ll do differently. First, I will use the provided earplugs. I don’t love the feeling of water in my ears (and I knew this!), but I still eschewed them. I also will wear clothes that will be easier to get back into after the post-spa shower. I had on something that basically sucked the relaxation out of me as I struggled back into it while still kinda wet and in a very humid room. Plus, I feel like now that I know what to expect, I would likely spend another session more relaxed than I did this one.
So that’s a recap of my attempt to find new self-care options. I likely will stick with my naps, books and kitty snuggling for the most part, but it’s always fun to branch out and try something you haven’t had the chance to experience. Now it’s your turn to tell me…what’s your favorite form of self-care?