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Wellness Spa Snapshot R lit i t Reality is temporarily il suspended for clients at The Float Shoppe. The Float Shoppe in Portland, Oregon, has given urbanites an unexpected shut-down valve from the stressors of city life. When it comes to Portland���s trendiest shopping district, Northwest 23rd Avenue, an oasis isn���t the ���rst thing that comes to mind. Yet clients ���ock to the busy area to experience The Float Shoppe (���oatshoppe.com) where, within this restored 1904 Victorian home, they stretch out in one of three ���otation tanks and hit the pause button on the sound and bustle of the city streets below. Co-owners Sandra Calm and Dylan Schmidt opened the spa in 2011 after they discovered the power of the ���oat���Sandra to ease her back pain from a nursing job, and Dylan to reduce muscle soreness from mixed martial arts practice. At ���rst, most of their clients were ���bromyalgia sufferers who would ���nd their pains ease for days after just one 90-minute ���oat, but the spa's base has since expanded. The shop uses weekly advertising in local alternatives and social media to draw attention to its services. ���Now we get athletes who want to recover faster from their workouts, and moms and daughters having a spa day,��� Schmidt says. ���It���s incredible how appealing the ���oat is to so many demographics.��� The shop offers two enclosed ���oatation chambers���one offering a total sensory deprivation experience, and one open-air tank for those who prefer more space. Over the months, Calm and Schmidt have expanded their wellness offerings to include deep-tissue and Swedish massage, acupuncture and, more recently, hypnosis."When combined with a ���oat beforehand, the relaxation and health bene���ts of each treatment are intensi���ed," Schmidt explains. Wellness packages at The Float Shoppe are top sellers���especially the massage-plus-���oat experiences. But Schmidt has also been impressed by the sales mileage of The Spacewalk package: a 90-minute ���oat, 90-minute massage and acupuncture session for $185. Monthly ���oat packages, which offer deals from one per month for $51, to up to eight ���oats a month for $246, also keep the client base drifting back for more. ���Andrea Damewood THE FLOAT SHOPPE Opened: December 2011 Size: 2,000 square feet Facility: 6 treatment rooms, 2 ���otation chambers Staff: 9 Signature services: Floats (90 min./$60), massage (60 min./$70���can combine with ���oats), acupuncture (variable times and prices), hypnotherapy Mission: "To provide pause to the people of Portland" TREATMENT CLOSEUP Massage and Float (150-180 min./$115-$135) In a dimly lit room, the client eases into a warm ���otation tank holding no more than a foot of hyper-salinated water. The goal for the guest is to drift into a theta wave-based state of relaxation, as muscle pain and toxins are released. As the ���oat comes to an end, ���oaters are gently roused by soft music piped into the room. A warm shower rinses away any salt residue. After the ���oat, the client chooses between a 60- and a 90-minute aromatherapy massage using essential oils and Swedish or deep-tissue techniques. ���Adding massage to the ���oat means that the client���s muscles are already loose and relaxed, allowing the massage therapist to work immediately on trouble spots and go very deep, rather than have to use the ���rst portion of the massage just to relax the client,��� says co-owner Dylan Schmidt. ���Couple that with the fact that the ���otation has removed the client���s sense of touch for 90 minutes, and a massage therapist���s hands are like magic working on the body.��� dayspamagazine.com | MARCH 2013 41