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photos by Kelsey Wetzel
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photos by Kelsey Wetzel
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photos by Kelsey Wetzel
Many first-timers at Marigold wellness collective in Wadsworth are hesitant about floating in a dark, quiet room. But the solitude and silence return them to how they began.
“It takes you back to homeostasis, to the way you were meant to feel. It’s a very soothing, comforting dream,” says owner Melissa Farnsworth. “Once you get past that initial anxious feeling of, I’m just still with my breath, here with my thoughts, it feels like coming home to yourself.”
To let go, Farnsworth recommends floating. Kept a few degrees above normal body temperature — around 94 degrees — each of the four open float pools contains 24 50-pound bags of Epsom salt, making a float within them more buoyant than in the Dead Sea. The salt’s magnesium assists with slowing your nervous system and reducing inflammation, stress and pain. Floating also helps with anxiety, sleep, immunity and more. Envelop yourself in serenity with an absence of sound and complete darkness (or dim lights, if you wish).
“You can get to that space of more creativity, more peace and more calm,” Farnsworth says. “The stress load on your body is lifted.”
To focus, Farnsworth recommends the fire and ice experience. Over the course of an hour, rotate between plunging into a 48-degree pool and sitting in a 140-degree infrared sauna — intermittently showering off. The infrared panels directly heat your body — giving you the benefits of sunlight and heat without harmful ultraviolet rays. The benefits of cold plunging include improved mental resilience and energy, reduced inflammation and pain and a metabolism boost — while the sauna’s benefits include detoxification, improved circulation, clearer, tighter skin and pain relief.
“It can be euphoric, awakening everything inside of you,” Farnsworth says. “You challenge yourself a little bit more each time. That’s what builds resilience. A lot of therapists will use it to help people through trauma, depression and anxiety because it’s retraining your brain.”
The collective features 16 women-owned businesses, including a spa, salon, the gluten-free 24 Karrot Kitchen, chiropractic care, acupuncture and holistic medicine. Marigold’s impact is noticeable — one client with Lyme disease had so much pain in his legs that he had to use a walker to reach the float pools through a ground-level back door. Now, he’s moving with more ease.
“We got to watch him heal. He comes to float,” she says. “He comes right in the front door and walks right down the steps!”
Gift cards available, 1348 Sharon Copley Road, Wadsworth, 330-485-6054, marigoldsharon.com
