Go With the Float

Go With the Float in Easthampton pairs float therapy with sauna in the Pioneer Valley, western Massachusetts.

Float therapy — restricted environmental stimulation therapy, or REST — uses a tank of water saturated with Epsom salt so the body floats without effort. Held at skin temperature in darkness and silence, the tank removes almost all sensory input. Practitioners use it for pain, anxiety and sleep as much as for relaxation, and the research is more substantial than the practice’s reputation suggests.

Pairing it with sauna makes a session with a genuine arc. The sauna is demanding, cardiovascular and hot; the float is the opposite in every respect. Doing one then the other is more complete than either alone.

Easthampton sits below Northampton in the Connecticut River valley, a former mill town that has become one of the more interesting small communities in western Massachusetts — a substantial arts population, converted mill buildings, and Mount Tom rising directly behind it.

Floats must be booked ahead, since each tank serves one person at a time. Sauna availability may be more flexible.