Floating to find Inner Peace in Watkins Glen – Finger Lakes Times

WATKINS GLEN When Burdett resident Kathie Notarfonzo was having her first experience in a salt-water immersion float tank she thought how beneficial it could be for anyone willing to try it.

I did a float in Rochester and as I was in the warm water I thought This could help so many people mentally, physically and emotionally.

Nine months after that revelation, Notarfonzo and her family opened Inner Peace Floats in downtown Watkins Glen where people come in to float in one of the businesses two new salt-water immersion tanks, set up in private rooms.

Inner Peace took over the West 4th Street site formerly occupied by a popular quilt shop.

We still get a few long faces when people come in, expecting to see piles of yarn and fabric, she said.

But most of the people coming in are very happy that the business opened in September 2016.

When they leave they are also usually very relaxed after taking a float of one-hour or 90-minutes in a 200-gallon tank of water heated to 94 degrees and infused with approximately 1,000 lbs. of Epsom salts.

The salts make it possible to float without the slightest effort in a closed, quiet, darkened room. The water in the tanks is only 10 inches deep.

Notarfonzo says the benefits of the long soak are very individualized.

But I would say that nine out of every 10 people who try this say they benefit from it. Some very much so and come back for repeated visits.

One military veteran suffering from post-traumatic-stress-syndrome tried a session and said that he came out a new person, she says. He credited the float experience with helping him more than anything else he had tried.

Patrons shower in fresh water before getting to the tanks, and shower afterward in the rooms with the tanks. The cleanliness of the water is an Inner Peace priority.

Our entire business here is about health and wellness, she said. And the business is getting many repeat customers for all its services.

In addition to two rooms with the float tanks, Inner Peace also offers massages, massage therapy and integrated energy therapy.

Notarfonzo is also a yoga instructor.

Since opening, business has picked up gradually with up to a dozen or so people per week using the floatation rooms.

A 90-minute session is $75 and a 60-minute session is $65.

Some people go for shorter. It might be they cant get along with themselves for that long, Notarfonzo joked.

This spring patrons are also going to be able to eat specially prepared vegan meals, once a kitchen-remodeling project is completed.

Notarfonzos son Clayton who helps run the business along with her husband, Mark convinced her that offering food would be a nice addition.

Inner Peace Floats is open seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The phone number is (607) 535-6287.

Reservations are recommended for the floatation tanks.

But we try to be as accommodating as possible, she said. We have had people who want to come in at 2 a.m.

We open up if they need us.

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Floating to find Inner Peace in Watkins Glen - Finger Lakes Times