Pandemic Anxiety Self Care Checklist

By Mari Farthing

For many of us, the hardest part of this global pandemic we are in the midst of is feeling a lack of control. Our days went from a series of necessary tasks, errands, and outings to something wholly unfamiliar. Dealing with an invisible enemy in our homes, communities, and beyond can stoke the fire of anxiety and make just existing a difficult proposition.

I like my routines and I have found that having a well-being checklist of things to take care of every day is ultimately the best way to take care of myself. The best way to care for others is first to care for yourself, after all.

My Pandemic Anxiety Self Care Checklist

1. Tend to your basic needs. Take a shower, take vitamins, drink water, get enough sleep. Put loving energy in.

2. Tend to someone or something else. Hug your kids, walk your dog, play with your cat, water your plants. Put loving energy out.

3. Tend to your community. How can you be of service? Support local businesses. Order in or purchase gift cards. Help with food pantries. Help collect or make personal protective equipment. If you can’t, use your voice to encourage others.

4. Show gratitude. Tell people you appreciate them. Thank the person at the drive through window, the teller at your bank, the employee putting the groceries in your trunk, the nurse at the hospital—anyone out there leaving their house to help those who stay home. 

5. Reach beyond your own walls. Touch base with a friend or family member not living in your home. Check in with them to make sure they’re okay.

6. Tend to your spiritual self. Pray. Meditate. Sit on your front step and listen to the birds. Whatever your spirituality looks like, take care to invest in it daily.

7. Tend to your physical self. Get your heart rate up. Go for a walk. Cue up an exercise video. Play with your dog, your kids, do something active and break a little sweat. Our weird Oklahoma springtime weather gives us nice days mixed in with the random snow and storms—take advantage of those nice days and get out into the fresh air and the sunshine.

8. Do something that tomorrow you will appreciate. Prepare the coffee maker before you go to bed. Load your dishwasher. Put your self care list in a place you will see it when you wake up so you can start your day off on the right foot.

9. Treat yourself. Take time to be a couch potato or whatever it is that makes you feel indulgent, but give yourself limits. A day of binge-watching and carb-loading is fine but a week might be too much.

10. Practice gratitude. Like it or not, this is our life right now. But it will change, someday we will find normal again, maybe a little different than normal has looked in the past, but some semblance of normal will be there. Be thankful for the moments of grace, compassion, and love that you see every day. Record them and remember them and take heart that we will get through.

Self Care During Stressful Times

Self Care During Stressful Times

By Mari Farthing

Y’all, life is stressful right now.

Is that an understatement? Maybe a little bit.

Okay, maybe a lot.

And during stressful times it’s incredibly important to practice self care.

What do we mean by ‘self care’? These days we all seem to be invested in taking care of others, but self care means that we also invest in ourselves. Making sure that your whole self— mind, body, and spirit—is taken into consideration, and that you make choices each day to work toward that. Where to start?

• Can’t get outside? Get online. The internet has become an amazing playground of free museum tours, book readings, and musical performances. Oh, and turn off the news, at least for a few hours. It’s way too easy to spend an entire day watching news coverage of this pandemic and completely lose track of time (she says from personal experience). Avoid the wall to wall coverage.

• Find a silver lining. Don’t focus on negative, find positive stories or impacts and focus on those. Mr. Rodgers reminded us all to look to the helpers, focus on the positive. Be a helper! Support local small businesses when and if you can. Get take out from restaurants, buy gift certificates, invest in your community.

• Take your vitamins! Eat your greens! Comfort food and binge watching may be at the front of your mind during this time, but maybe every day shouldn’t be a ‘cheat day’ if you want to stay healthy. Don’t ditch your healthy regimen just because you’re stressed out—a poor diet and no exercise will make you feel worse. Instead, try to stick to the healthy routine you normally live by while remembering that cheat days are still okay in moderation.

• Go for a walk. Social distancing doesn’t mean staying in your home. It’s okay to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and move those legs. A walk (or a bike ride or a run) is a great way to get exercise and it’s also good for your spirit.

• Get inside your head. Meditate or pray. Get in touch with your higher power, the universe, that voice inside your head. Give yourself grace and reassurance.

• Get creative. Remember when you used to [write/paint/draw/decoupage everything/bake elaborate desserts/etc.]? Do that again! And if you’re not sure where to start, go online and search for ideas.

• While Float OKC is choosing to temporarily close for the rest of the month of March, in an effort to help flatten the curve and promote social distancing, the hope is to be back to business in April. At that time, come and float! The CDC released a statement that stated in part that “COVID-19 is not spread in water such as ‘float water.’” Our float pods have always been treated after each session with UV Light Sterilization, Ozone Purification, and Micron Filtration to keep you safe and your float session sanitary.

Five Questions About Floating

Five Questions about Floating

By Mari Farthing

Want to learn more about floating? We asked Melisa W. to share her honest opinions about floating. She’s floated about 20 times over the years and recommends floating to anyone looking for relaxation.

1. What first interested you in floating?
   I loved the idea of an hour to myself, of course, but also I thought it sounded like a fantastic way to disconnect from the whole world. At the time I worked on social media full time and the idea of shutting my phone down and entering a space where it was just me floating in the darkness for sixty whole minutes sounded like heaven to me!

1. Did anything surprise you about floating?
   That I could actually nap--and nap well!--in the water. Some of the best naps I've ever had in my life happened in the float tank.

1. Have you noticed positive health benefits (physical or mental) after floating?
   I was definitely more relaxed after floating, much like I feel after a massage. When I was floating semi-regularly it really helped me to feel less stressed out as well.

1. Describe your floating experience(s); what did you experience in the tank?
   Once I got in and closed the door, I'd turn off the light and focused on my breathing for a few minutes. Then I'd work on relaxing every part of my body from my toes upward. After that I would try to clear my brain by staring into the darkness and thinking about the water, and the dark. Soon, on most floats, I would drift off into sleep and sleep for about 45 minutes! Occasionally I would wake up a little bit and if needed I repeated my breathing/relaxing process.

1. What are your ideal conditions? Lights on or off, door open or closed, music on or off? Lights off, door closed, music off. I love the nothingness of it all.

Floatation Therapy: A 30-Second History

Floatation Therapy: A 30-Second History

By Mari Farthing

Back in 1957, at the Oklahoma City Veterans Association hospital, the first Flotation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) tank was constructed by Dr. Jay Shurley. Through research with Dr. John Lilly, Dr. Shurley studied the effects of sensory deprivation on the human brain. The initial thought was to test whether participants would fall asleep when all external stimuli was removed.

This first fully-immersive vertical tank was very confining—a participant would be fully immersed in fresh water, vertically, while wearing an opaque helmet fitted with tubes for breathing, reminiscent of what a strange science fiction spaceman would wear in a double feature movie. Because of this confining effect, the vertical tank was used most often for training moon-bound astronauts due to the anti-gravity effects of floating in the tank of water. Maybe that helmet was not so science fiction?

Even those early experiments in sensory deprivation yielded positive results. A study performed during these very early tests and published by Drs. Lilly and Shurley found that by minimizing external physical stimuli, a participant floating in a tank of water at 94.1 degrees Fahrenheit would achieve a point of “isothermicity”—where the barriers between the body and the water disappear. And rather than sleeping, participants would retain consciousness throughout the float session, experiencing a perceived reduction on stress.

A horizontal tank was developed in the 1970s in coordination with Dr. Lilly, and Epsom salts were added to the water to allow participants to float on the water, removing the need for the helmet. Experiments continued, but most participants also found these flotation tanks too confining, even with the positive outcomes of Flotation-REST.

And that was that, for many years—but now, with the advent of more spacious flotation tanks and pools, there has been a boom in floating and the popularity of Flotation-REST centers, allowing a broader range of participants to experience the benefits of floating.

Recent clinical research has been limited, but study results have shown that the benefits of flotation therapy include a reduction in stress-related conditions (such as anxiety, chronic tension headaches, and hypertension), and that Flotation-REST is an effective tool when used as part of a stress management program.

Norman Updates and We're Hiring!

Norman Updates!

Things are getting exciting in Norman!  The progress at our second location is coming right along and we are aiming for an early July launch!  As you can see, construction is coming right along and we have received our float tanks.  It will not be long until we are floating in the great city of Norman!   We also have an amazing surprise about the Norman location that we will be announcing very soon!  :)

We're Hiring!

In the meantime, we are looking for some awesome people to join our team.  We have openings for shift lead at our Norman and Edmond locations!  If you are interested, send an email to info@floatokc.com with a resume and cover letter to apply!  Also, if you know anyone looking, send them our way!

Position Description

We are seeking a warm, engaging and professional individual to be a Team Shift Lead.  This position will be responsible for ensuring Float OKC customers have the best possible experience while maintaining the organization and cleanliness of the facility.

Position Details

• Available 30+ hours per week

• Available nights and weekends

• Consistent light cleaning

• Preparing rooms for customers

• Introducing new customers to the float experience

• Utilizing booking software

• Washing and folding towels

• Performing opening and closing duties

Skills Required

• Great people skills

• Relaxing and calm demeanor

• Independent and self-motivated

• Organized

• Loves the concept of floating and self-care

 Send resumes and cover letters to info@floatokc.com

Along with the expansion to Norman, we will be doing a fundraiser to support OKC non-profit, Water4!  This is an organization that is near and dear to our hearts.  The fundraiser will include a float for donation day, a raffle and more! Stay tuned for details over the course of the next couple weeks!

We look forward to seeing everyone in Norman soon!

Neal, Owner

Special Announcement!

Hello, everyone!  

We hope that you have enjoyed the first two and a half years (almost!) of Float OKC’s existence.  As a staff, we are very proud to say that we have facilitated well over 10,000 float sessions!  We are firm believers that floating is helping to develop a healthier and more relaxed OKC!   

When we started, there were no other float tank centers in the state of Oklahoma.  Now, there are 5 open centers, a few more planned, and one amazing research facility studying the real benefits of floating!  Not too shabby!

With that said, we are proud to announce that WE have one of those planned float centers!  That’s right, we are expanding to Norman!  We are very excited and will have plenty of updates in the coming months!  Be on the lookout for a mid-summer grand opening!

I want to offer sincere thanks for helping us make OKC a little more relaxed! We are very happy to be expanding with our passionate community of regular floaters. This has been an amazing journey and we feel very lucky to have the opportunity to provide this amazing service to the OKC community There is just something about those powerful float tanks! 

We will see you in Norman soon!

Cheers!

Neal, Owner