Ever since I broke my ankle four weeks ago most of my mental energy has been spent on healing as quickly as possible. Many times throughout every day I relax and direct positivity (and blood flow) to the injury. Heal, I say to myself. Let the bone grow stronger every moment. Let my bone knit together again. I really don’t think this meditation is all that crazy: Of course all the parts of my body are interconnected, so why can’t my brain encourage my fibula to repair itself?!
When I was pregnant with the twins last summer and about as uncomfortable and miserable as could be, I found immense relief in water. Stepping into a pool lightened the weight and cushioned my achy joints. This summer I found myself craving that kind of relief again, so I sought out the restorative properties of both water and Epsom salts at Float Sixty, a studio here in Chicago that offers small personal pools filled with 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts. Not only so the salts give buoyancy to the water (allowing a person to literally float on the surface), but they are a well-known treatment for a variety of ailments ranging from insomnia to arthritis to muscle aches.
At Float Sixty I was in complete control of my experience. I decided how I wanted to float and how I would spend my time in a pool a bit larger than a king size bed. I spent my 60 solo minutes really focusing on healing my ankle, directing positive energy to the injury. The muscles in my lower leg are stiff and withered – it will take time to regain strength after the bone heals – so with Yoga-like poses I slowly and carefully relaxed and stretched the muscles surrounding my ankle, and for the first time in nearly a month I had nearly full range of motion in my left foot! I am convinced the warm water and soothing salts really allowed my body to relax and repair.
Living in the middle of a big city with six kids means that I never ever ever EVER experience silence. But the peaceful experience at Float Sixty gave me an hour of complete quiet; all I heard was my heart beating and the water lapping. I didn’t know calm like this still existed in the world. Pure Zen.
I’m now craving my next float. It felt so good to feel comforted in a warm bath. We all deserve a holistic hug when life’s physical and emotional aches and pains come at us. Sometimes we all just need a break…
…just not in the ankle.
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