Interview with Dr. Tait Medina of Oto Float
SOAK IN THE POWER OF STILLNESS
It's been 6-month point since I took the helm at Oto Float. Tait went above and beyond in preparing me: we spent March side-by-side as she taught me the art and science of running a float therapy center. In April she quite literally stepped out of her shoes and left them here for me! For the next few months, my primary intention/goal became "Preserve the excellence". At last, this first goal has been accomplished and I'm ready to fold in the other aspects of my expertise.
An Unplanned Business
Some of you know that purchasing a float center was an unplanned business for me. My dream had long been to open a school for self care, offering yoga, meditation, bodywork and other tools for mental and physical wellness, but when I learned that Oto was for sale, that dream became bigger and better. While all of these tools are incredibly powerful and synergistic, many people don't know how to best use them. I am very excited to introduce new offerings this fall as well as share with you some special offers to support your self care practice.
Practice
Practice, by definition, requires repetition of an activity, again and again, over time. No one masters an activity on their first attempt. Last week, for example, I floated a dear friend for his first time. When he came out on the other side and I asked him how it went, he reported a very positive experience. But when I asked him if he thought he'd do it again, he said, "Oh, I don't know... I just couldn't shut off my brain."
Aha. He couldn't shut off his brain. There's the rub.
The things that are hard for us, those are the things we generally need to confront vs avoid, whether it's exercise, eating healthfully, practicing good sleep hygiene, or quieting the mind (or writing this letter!). Just as bodywork will help calm the nervous system and help work out your physical kinks to enjoy a more fruitful float,Yoga will help settle your mind. Those of us who struggle to shut off the brain, or control the "monkey mind," the "citta vritti" as it's called in yoga, are not going to succeed without practice. The Yoga Sutras are teachings or guidelines of how to live a meaningful life. The second of these states: “Yogas citta vritti nirodhah,” which can be translated to, “Yoga is/requires the cessation of the compulsive functioning of the mind.” This teaching stresses the importance of cultivating the ability to control one's thinking and thought patterns and being able to recognize that the mind isn't always allowing you to see what the truth actually is. This practice allows us to see things as they really are, versus how they may appear.
To see the new offerings which will provide a more powerful experience both in an out of the float tank, click here.