Tara Steinbach opens what looks like a giant white egg. It’s so large that she could step inside it and lie down, which she has done many times. As she cracks open the lid, a little steam escapes, rather than yolk, and along with it, the surreal glow of a blue light. The pod is a float tank or what Tara calls a sensory reduction tank, and the few inches of water within are packed with so many Epsom salts that once you climb inside, and lie on your back, you automatically float.
Tara is the owner of Floatique Rest Centre, where clients can purchase 90 minutes of complete solitude. Once the lid swings closed, and the lights turn off, clients are given a break from the day-to-day bustle that Tara says causes stress and potential health problems for many of her clients.
“There’s urgency to everything. You get a text, you think you need to respond right away; you get an email, and you have to respond right away. So, it’s just really beneficial and relaxing to be able to shut that all off. And it’s difficult in your everyday life to break away from those things,” says Tara, who opened her business in July of 2014.