What is floating?
Victory Float Lounge has been open for just over 4 months now, and whenever I tell the people in my life about what Casey and I do for a living, I get one question:
Floating? What do you mean?
So we figured if there were ever an optimal inaugural blog post, this was it…what we’re doing here (and why you should get in on it too).
Here are the basics…
Victory Float Lounge is your Pittsburgh spot for sensory deprivation float tank therapy, optimized for everyone from the complete newbie to seasoned float veterans.
We are proud to offer three tanks in our space, so you can bring a friend (or two) and make it a date. Located in Lawrenceville, we’re surrounded by awesome cafes, bars, and restaurants, so there’s always somewhere to go after your float to unpack your experiences and further wind down.
We deliberately chose the Superior Float Tanks’ Deluxe Float Suites when building out our space, namely for their size and customizable nature.
What’s that all mean?
You’ll be floating in a 6.5’ x 7.5’ ROOM, with more than enough space to move around. Our ceilings are over 7’ high and covered with starlights that can be turned on and off during your float experience. To say these float rooms are expansive is an understatement. There’s so much space in there we’ve even introduced couples floats - two people in the pod at the same time - and even they still have enough room to float uninterrupted.
When I told my dad we were considering opening a float studio, he looked horrified. Apparently, he’d tried floating way back in the 80s and had, in his words, “the worst hour of my entire life.” Float tanks have been around since the 1950s and had their first period of popularity in the 70s and 80s, but the experience then was a little different than what we offer now. Mainly, you floated in tiny, coffin-like cabins, with little prep. For my dad, that wasn’t a great fit. He did get a chance to come float with us at Victory, and made it through his entire float with no worries about the walls closing in. This was a big win for me as a daughter.
And what are you floating IN?
Put simply, just under a foot of water and 1,500 POUNDS of epsom salts. I joke when people come in that even if you sink every time you try to swim, you will without a doubt float when you’re in these tanks. Once you lie back, you feel how effortless it all is. Those epsom salts hold you up, allowing you to defy gravity and take all the pressure off your aching joints. It also gives you a big old dose of magnesium, a mineral that 75% of Americans aren’t meeting their daily requirements. That’s part of why many of our clients say they get the best sleep after they come in to float - magnesium is a natural stress reliever.
And of course, sensory deprivation.
The float tank was designed to provide total sensory deprivation for users. Once inside the tank, you have the option to turn off all sound and all light. Once you get acclimated, you’ll feel as though you’re floating on nothing, in nothing - the water temperature matches your skin temperature, so you lose track of where you stop and the water starts. In a world where sensory overload is the norm, the tank is a welcome relief.
But let’s pay particular attention to one word above: options. Our tanks give you the option to keep the ambient light on, to keep the starlights on, and to keep the music playing throughout your time in the tank. They can be adjusted at any point by simply pressing a button. We’ve seen many clients new to floating that start by keeping just the starlights and music on, then trying starlights off on their second float, then dive into full sensory deprivation by their third float. And some people NEVER go full sensory deprivation. It’s whatever you want when you get in the tank.
Those are the basics!
One hour, no distractions, a better you.
Sound like something you want to try?
All you have to do is click here to book your first float.
And if you have any other questions, try reading our FAQ or give us a call at 412-450-0452.
We LOVE talking about floating.