WS #5 - Nutrition and Wellness Consultant

Tell Us About Yourself:

My name is Lora Silver and I am a personal nutrition and wellness coach who knows the effects of stress, anxiety, fast food, and emotional eating all too well from personal experience. I’ve been looking for better ways to neutralize stress and prioritize my self-care ever since. I coach private clients to renew their energy and design their own healthy lifestyle plan. I also bring preventive wellness education and facilitation to groups who want to boost morale, energy, and productivity in ways that reduce absenteeism and health care costs.

Why Did You Decide To Try Floating?:

I was very curious about floating - once I read someone’s description of floating, that there was a sensation of losing track of where your body ends and the water begins, I was fascinated and had to try it for myself.

Describe Your First Experience Floating:

I was nervous, and I spent most of that first time actively letting go and coaching myself through it. Sure enough, as I had read previously, at some point I realized that I felt fully submerged and could no longer detect the level of water surrounding me. I had the most strange (and fun!) sensation of floating or drifting at a fast pace to one side or another of the tub, but I’d reach out with my fingertips and find that I had hardly moved at all. It reminds me of the feeling I have after being in the pool all day, or being in moving current, and I feel lighter the rest of the day as a result. I walked out that day feeling more sensitive and attuned to the temperature of the air, the brightness of the sun, the pace of my breath.

The staff were fantastic at making me feel welcome and at ease - even though I was nervous to do something new like this, everything about Oakland Floats made me feel like I was having a spa day, and I loved that!

Has Your Float Experience Changed Since Your First Float?

I experienced deeper relaxation with each float. I even noticed my tongue relaxing at some point! I really learned to trust myself over the course of my floats, since the first time I was nervous about being isolated from all sights and sounds in a new situation like this. I made a point of giving myself whatever comforts I wanted at the time, such as using the earplugs or the neck pillow, and those little things really helped me to settle in and let go even further. I think many people will love the experience without using those at all, but for me I really appreciated having them.

Toward the end of my second float, I was pleasantly surprised by a spark of creative thoughts. I generated ideas on a couple questions that I had struggled with whenever I sat down to intentionally brainstorm on them.

Do You Feel Lasting Effects After Each Float?

Heightened self-awareness for sure, and more in touch and in tune with where I hold tension in my body, and how I know when I am relaxed and at ease both mentally and physically.

Do Float Sessions Impact Your Work, Habits or Hobbies?

The creativity I felt in the last two floats were really inspiring for me in my work!

How Would You Explain the Experience to Someone Who Hasn’t?

A float session is a great treat to give yourself if you’re looking to try something new that will give you a dedicated space to let go of tension and deeply relax. Oakland Floats has all the details down and all your questions answered, so there’s no need to be nervous, really! You can take advantage of the additional comforts like ear plugs or neck pillow, or not, and however you choose to set yourself up for your float, you’ll walk away learning something about yourself and more in touch with your body.

Anything in particular about Oakland Floats that you like?

Dacia’s welcome was gentle and thorough, and the accommodations are lovely. It feels like a spa day with all the thoughtful touches you would expect.

Lora Silver is a Holistic Health Coach providing custom designed coaching plans to help clients find ease, vitality, and joy into their lives by looking through the lens of food and health. Her website is www.lorasilver.com.