Summary
Host Matt Meyer visits Ascend Float Spa to interview co-owners Katrina and Carl about their journey into the float therapy business and the healing properties of floating. Matt, who is an enthusiast of cold exposure and sauna therapy, draws parallels between these modalities and floating as tools for finding truth and removing external stressors. He records the episode from his own sauna at 140 degrees, connecting the themes of heat exposure, cold exposure, and sensory deprivation as pathways to what he calls "mushin" (mind no mind) in Japanese. Katrina, a nurse with experience in community and intensive care nursing, describes her first float as a personal healing experience that combined mind, body, and spirit in an hour of nothing. This holistic experience inspired her to offer float therapy to her community. Carl came from 23 years in television and internet delivery before discovering floating. His journey began after a single good float experience led him to research float tank business models, and a series of serendipitous connections -- including a float industry contact calling him the day after he downloaded a document about float tanks, then coincidentally being in the same city -- cemented his path. The episode references John C. Lilly, the medical doctor who brought flotation from the laboratory to the masses, and discusses the growing body of scientific research supporting floating. Matt frames floating alongside cold exposure and sauna as "ceremonies" that shut out external stressors and create pathways to reduced stress and trauma relief. The conversation emphasizes the law of attraction and how like-minded people in the wellness space seem to find each other through coincidental connections.
Key Points
- Floating, cold exposure, and sauna are all tools for achieving a no-mind state that reduces stress and helps process trauma
- A nurse found that her first float experience combined mind, body, and spirit healing in just one hour, inspiring her to open a float spa
- John C. Lilly was the medical doctor who pioneered bringing flotation from scientific laboratories to the general public
- Float therapy is described as an all-natural therapy that requires nothing but getting in the tank and surrendering to the experience
- Serendipitous connections are common in the float industry, with practitioners reporting meaningful coincidences that guided them into the business
- Controlled breathing in stressful environments (cold water, heat, sensory deprivation) trains the ability to reach a meditative state
- The float tank creates a unique environment by shutting out all external stressors including phones, screens, and social pressure
Key Moments
Float tanks as a truth-finding tool alongside cold and heat exposure
Host Matt Meyer draws a parallel between float tanks, cold exposure, and sauna as tools for finding truth by shutting out external stressors. All three modalities force you into a present-moment state where stress and trauma can be processed.
"The truth comes when you can shut out all of these external, you know, all these external stressors that we have nowadays, you know, the TV and the phone, and we just cannot turn that off. So these tools like floating and cold and heat exposure, I think..."
A nurse's first float healed mind, body, and spirit in an hour of nothing
Katrina, a nurse and co-owner of Ascend Float Spa, describes how her first personal float during a difficult time provided holistic healing of mind, body, and spirit in a single hour, which inspired her to bring float therapy to her community.
"When you get in that cold water, the same could be said for lots of other ceremonies. I'm actually recording this in my sauna right now. It's 140 degrees. A little different type of stressor than the cold. You know, when you get into the cold, you have no choice but to breathe and to control your breathing. And it is a super trained ride to being in that no-mind state."
Water is five times denser than the Dead Sea with 1200 pounds of magnesium salts
Carl explains that float tanks use 1200 pounds of magnesium salts in 200 gallons of water, making it about five times more dense than the Dead Sea. Everyone floats like a cork regardless of body type, and the brain naturally slips into theta state.
"it's about five times more dense than the Dead Sea. And so people, you have no option but to float like a cork. Like there's no skill required. I don't care what kind of body style or condition you're in or not. Size, weight, shape, height. You float on top of the water like a cork. I mean, to visualize it, you could say you could put an egg on the water and an egg will float. I mean, you float on it."
Buffalo Bills NFL team installed a float tank at their stadium
Matt reveals that a float tank was installed at the Buffalo Bills stadium for professional athletes, confirming that if professional sports teams use floating for performance and recovery, everyday people can benefit from it too.
"And we had a few in Buffalo and I started floating myself and then we actually, we put a float tank in at the stadium for the Bills. And that's a couple years ago, that's when I knew a lot of these modalities, cryo and float. And I was like, if the professionals can use them, we know it helps performance. I was like, I love that the everyday person can get into it and do what they wanna do. And that's been amazing to see more and more people have the ability to use these tools"
