The Float Zone is first official float center for pro football, Richmond VA

Float Zone is official float center for a pro football team!

Professional athletes are paid to perform at their peak which requires both their body and mind to be firing on all cylinders.  As a veteran sports chiropractor and float center owner who has worked with professional athletes for decades, I have been fascinated by the therapies and practices that are embraced at the highest levels of competition.  Many athletes are ahead of the curve employing certain recovery modalities that remain under the radar to a broader audience.   For example, nobody knew about cupping therapy (approximately 4000 years old) until photographers focused on Michael Phelps' bruise-like shoulder marks at the 2016 Summer Olympics.  

With respect to floating, or floatation therapy, people are also beginning to recognize its integration in the athletic world as a benefit to gain an extra edge.  Top athletes from around the world in a wide range of sports have begun to incorporate floating into their competitive wellness lifestyle.  The media has highlighted how championship athletes like Tom Brady and Steph Curry frequently float and credit floating as a winning aspect of their training and preparation.

Others, like myself who watch the trends of top athletes are paying attention and realizing that what applies to keeping pro athletes at the top of their game, also applies to me.  The local pro sports teams and athletes here in Richmond, Virginia have also found that they can use floating to leverage sports performance.  This includes aspects of sports psychology, such as the effects of travel, sleep, stress and anxiety reduction, self-confidence and the ability to use floating to visualize perfect technique - not to mention recovering from the tackles and hits on the field at practices and game time.

The Richmond Roughriders, a local professional arena football team currently in their inaugural 2017 season, embraced floating immediately as part of their on and off the field winning strategy.  Most of the players float on a regular basis to calm and sharpen their mind, to prepare for a game, and to rejuvenate after a game. The Roughriders consist of professional football players who have been college standouts and in some way are also associated with the other professional leagues such as the NFL and the CFL.  The Roughriders management and coaches have determined that floating is beneficial to the overall performance of their players. The Float Zone has been given the distinguished title of being the official float center for a professional football team.  Which begs the question: If professional athletes float, should you?

Floating involves an oversized fiberglass tank of various shapes and sizes, often with a hinged lid, that sits in a private room with a shower. Within the pod or tank, is 10” of skin temperature water (about 94 degrees) and saturated with 1000 pounds of Epsom Salt or Magnesium Sulfate salt. The salt is completely dissolved and the crystal clear water is ultra filtered between each float.  It’s like grandmothers remedy of taking an Epsom salt bath to relax your body, only about 800 times as much salt. As a result, you effortlessly float face up.  For about an hour, you soak up not only body benefits, but by totally unplugging and defying gravity, your brain and body rest and recharge. The float experience can be customized by leaving the light on or be in complete darkness, by leaving the lid open or closed, and by listening to music, guided meditation or be in complete silence.  Regardless of how you customize your float, you benefit just like the pros.

Outstanding Defensive back Maurice Thorne, with Float Zone staff member Grayson on left and co-owner Dr. David Berv on right, after another dominating game at the Richmond Coliseum.

Dr. David Berv, float zone co-owner, in between star pro football defensive backs Quentin Hayes and Terrence Warren after their float at The Float Zone.

Dr. Berv sandwiched by Quarterback Jimmy Laughrea (UCal Davis) on the right, defensive lineman Gerald Blackmon and wide receiver Justin Burke on the left. (For size comparison, Dr. Berv is 5'8", 165 pounds)

Jonathan Fisher, Roughriders professional football wide receiver after he enjoyed his float at The Float Zone.