BY LOGAN CAMPBELL
The TAO Float Loft, which sits peacefully next to FlipDaddy’s off of Wooster Pike (7457 Wooster Pike), offers a surreal spa experience that gives customers a taste of the future.
Recently opened on December 15th, the TAO Float Loft provides a variety of relaxing treatments that aid your body physically and mentally. Included in these treatments are massages and an infrared sauna, which uses an invisible spectrum of light to warm the skin. But, the most popular treatment at the TAO Float Loft is the floating session (the treatment I chose).
The floatation therapy includes the Tao Pod, a large bath filled with 1,200 pounds of Epsom Salts, allowing users to float effortlessly.
“Floating is a zero-gravity setting, and your body has to realign itself with the setting. It gives you time to self-reflect and meditate. We like to call it a reset button for your body and your mind,” says a TAO employee I spoke with.
There are a series of benefits that come with floating, including anti-inflammation treatment and arthritis treatment, and a wide range of customers are coming in.
“We have a couple athletes come in, and we have other people ranging from all ages. A lot of older people come in to treat their arthritis–the Epsom Salts help treat that.”
As the spa nears its third month in business, more and more customers visit the spa to experience a floating session. “We are getting busier and busier every week,” the employee informed me.
Another form of therapy soon to be offered at the TAO Float Loft is cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy is a three minute cooling session where users sit in a cooling chamber that cools the temperature of your skin by nearly 50 degrees. By using cooled nitrogen, temperatures within the chamber will start at around -120 degrees, but users will be able to decrease the temperature based on their tolerance and recovery needed. The benefits include an increase in metabolism, focus, and blood circulation. The cooling chamber also lowers inflammation and alleviates joint pain.
According to the employee I spoke with, cryotherapy will be up and running by the end of the month.
The TAO Float Loft in Mariemont is the second of its kind, with another location in West Chester that has been open for over two years now.
After hearing good things about TAO Float, I had to see what it was all about.
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My Take:
When I entered the TAO Float Loft, I was greeted by two kind employees, who immediately offered me water and a place to sit. I sat on a very comfortable couch while drinking a cool glass of water while one of the employees prepared my TAO Pod. After about a ten-minute wait, they were ready to take me to the pod.
When I entered the room, the employee gave me a brief rundown on what to do and I was then on my own. I entered the pod, and I was surprised by the water temperature, which, according to the employee, was set at 95 degrees (similar to body temperature). Because the temperature of the water was so close to my body temperature, it felt neither cold or warm. I closed the lid and let the salts take over, allowing me to float comfortably.
When my hour-long float session officially began, ambient music began to play within the pod, and–despite the bizarre feeling–I began to relax my body. Within the pod is a dim blue light that surrounds it, and users can filter whether or not they want it on or off. For the first ten or so minutes, I kept it on, still getting acquainted with the space and feeling of the float. The pod is probably around seven feet in length and about six or so feet in width, so claustrophobia was not an issue.
The music continued to play, but after about ten minutes everything went silent, and by then my light was off and I attempted to clear all thoughts. Eventually, after about twenty-five minutes of floating, I began to doze off, reaching nearly a full state of relaxation. Once in a full state of relaxation, my body felt as if there was no water around me, and that I was just floating in mid-air.
After about 55 minutes of floating, the ambient music turned back on within my pod to serve as an alarm clock. After exiting the pod, I was covered in salt, but luckily a shower sits right next to the pod to wash off all the salts. I was still in a daze, and my body felt so loose, especially my back (which I have had problems with in the past). My mind was still in quite a relaxed state, and it stayed that way for several hours following my float session.
Overall, the floating session was definitely worth it, loosening up my body and my stress levels significantly. I would definitely go check it out.
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For information regarding therapy, prices, and memberships offered, check out TAO Float’s website.