A Body in Motion

Science tells us that a body in motion stays in motion. Even before Newton proved his third law, people have practiced yoga and tai chi to harness their power and maintain their vitality for thousands of years. These intentional movements link the body and the mind focusing and controlling movements that occur automatically throughout our daily motion. This connection and intentionality are at the core of our practices here at Float and perhaps nowhere more so than in the AcuaYogi Method®.

Debbie, Director and Founder of Float, developed the AcuaYogi Method® through years of experience and by modifying modalities and practices to meet individual needs. AcuaYogi is now our signature exercise program, which combines elements of yoga, swimming, aqua aerobics, and water polo. The combination of these elements produces a holistic exercise approach that will improve your balance, strength, flexibility, and focus. The method can be practiced by 3-year-olds and 90-something-year-olds alike and is perfectly tailored to meet treatment needs or personal goals. For younger participants, our instructors teach aquatic safety and swimming skills while incorporating AcuaYogi Method® techniques and movements to ensure healthy muscle development and alignment. Adult participants can expect our instructors to deliver dynamic and invigorating sessions, working with your breath and gently challenging your body.

By controlling the breath and the body, AcuaYogi improves your body alignment and the two-way communication between your brain and your body. Yogis learn to better interpret the feedback from their bodies and better use the mind to calm and relax it. In fact, an extended practice can develop new neural pathways, helping to dispel previous limitations, reinterpret pain signals, and cultivate a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing within your body.

With our AcuaYogi classes, you can get an amazing workout, without breaking a sweat. Our pools are temperature-controlled and encourage your muscles to relax without overheating. Training your body in water means the use of hydrostatic pressure (see our March blog post to know more!), which allows greater mobility and alleviates the pressure and impact that can aggravate injuries and prevent strength conditioning and healing. Our aquatic environment minimizes the risk of injuries, heals past injuries, and can work towards preventing future ones. As Viviana Collazo, a member of our 9am AcuaYogi group class puts it, “Floating in water and moving the body in it takes away all the rigidity and pain that my conditions produce. I have been in Float for several years practicing AcuaYogi and I have stopped using narcotics for my fibromyalgia pain!”.

Just because you aren’t sweating doesn’t mean you aren’t working. Hydrostatic pressure makes your submerged lungs work harder, encouraging your breathing muscles to strengthen and you’re your lungs to expand. Exercising in water can increase your cardiopulmonary capacity by up to 60%, helping your body to use oxygen to nourish and rebuild tissue more efficiently.

Join our group! Research shows that we are more likely to meet our exercise goals if we have friends exercising with us and holding our attendance accountable. Our community support will have you eager for the next class. Our group classes become a fun social environment and our compassionate instructors encourage spiritual wellness as well as your mental and physical progress. Not there yet? No worries! We offer a customized Aquatic Personal Training program that can help you gain independence and achieve your therapeutic goals. We will love to get you ready to join group classes and continue your holistic wellbeing and development journey.

If you still have doubts, don’t sweat it! Come visit Float at 1768 Glasgow Avenue in San Juan and see how our AcuaYogi groups can help you to get, and stay, in motion.

Royal Self-Care

So often our minds race forward, dragging our bodies along for the ride. We forget that it is our bodies that hold our minds and like our cars, our homes, or our loved ones, our bodies need care too. Self-care has become a buzzword in 2019 and often looks like neglecting your responsibilities, putting on your favorite pajamas, and staying in with indulgent junk food. While it is important to live a balanced life and allow yourself to be happy, how often does your self-care leave you feeling full, nourished, and enjoying lasting benefits? At Float, we believe that true self-care is when we care for ourselves body, mind, and spirit.

In our hectic world of constant connection, it is easy to find yourself burning out. Office work and technology hunch your shoulders forward and strain your eyes, often with the expectation that you are ready to work whenever, wherever. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to unplug and immerse yourself in deep inner peace? Our Royal Treatment program offers exactly that: an immersion to care for your whole self: body, mind, and and spirit. The Royal Treatment Program (PTR en español) is a personalized wellness experience in which you can enjoy the best of our Float community and treat yourself to the serenity you deserve. Your wellness package includes a variety of our signature modalities, from AcuaYogi Method® classes to exclusive passive aquatic therapies and yoga, all to support your personalized health and wellness goals.

Float Aqua Wellness Center is an oasis of well-being and our Royal Treatment Program members enjoy total attention during their monthly immersions. We begin with a comprehensive evaluation appointment where we will discuss your medical history and goals. We will create a plan to optimize your health and wellbeing and work together to choose the services that work best for you. Any underlying conditions or problem areas you wish to focus on will be explored.

 Our therapists will work with you one-on-one. As always, you will receive the personalized attention and support that distinguishes us throughout your immersion. Therapies include: Float-exclusive passive therapies, exercise classes, yoga, meditation, and coaching, all while enjoying members-only benefits that include complimentary smoothies, snacks, and teas. Our members receive tailored services that can seek to bring lasting peace, health, and wellness.

If you are facing a major life transition, deciding to address a long-standing condition or simply desire to be healed fully and deeply, no money is better spent than that investing it in yourself. Our Royal Treatment Program is ideal for those battling cancer or in remission, individuals with anxiety, depression or chronic stress, those with fibromyalgia or other autoimmune conditions that amplify pain, and people seeking a holistic and spiritual community to advance their efforts.

While in the program, you may meet our longstanding member Ivette Sotomayor, after all, she says she wished to live at Float! Ivette arrived at Float looking for ways to mitigate acute pain after chemotherapy and said “[the] Royal Treatment Program restored the quality of life to my days. I hardly take anything for the pain and my energy and wellbeing cannot be explained with words.”

How often do your time and money return upon the investment? How much more could you do with a balanced body and calmer mind in this coming month? Consider investing in yourself and becoming part of a community that will help you learn to let stress…Float away.

Come visit us at 1768 Glasgow Avenue in San Juan and embrace the royalty you truly, wholly are.

This is why we love water!

Water is Life. From gentle rains to salty waves, without water and its strange qualities, there would be no life on this planet. If water behaved like every other liquid and froze from the bottom up, Earth’s earliest life forms would have been frozen solid instead of insulated by floating sea ice. Water particles are so strongly attracted to themselves that they can defy gravity through capillary action. Plants depend on this quality to pull ground water up through their roots and to their green shoots and leaves.

 On this International Water Day, we at Float Therapies want to share with you the wonders of water!

 Water has several intrinsic properties which our therapists utilize to construct gentle, successful, and liberating therapeutic sessions.  Our therapists act as guides, expertly leading our clients through restorative exercises and allow water to act as the main therapist. The following properties of water simultaneously challenge and support the client’s body, building muscle strength with resistance while reducing the strain on your joints and tendons.

1.     Flotation:

Flotation is the key feature in our KinAqua Flow® therapy. To provide comfortable and effective flotation, we measure each client’s individual buoyancy. In water, we do not experience gravity, only the density of our body displacing water. This allows us to administer therapeutic stretches and postures to a multi-dimensional body, one capable of moving in any direction. In assisted flotation, our bodies behave as one unified mass, and this allows deep tissue release and muscle relaxation that cannot be achieved on land. The benefits of flotation include: up to a 90% reduction of body weight impact on muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments and the elimination of the feeling of excess weight and gravity reducing the sensation of pain.

2.     Tension Force

Flotation would not be possible without the surface tension force of water. This is due to the polarity and slight charge between particles of water. Because water likes to stick together, there is a tension created at the surface between the air particles above and the water particles below. This tension allows our therapists to hold the body in a state of absolute rest and this surface as an accessible platform for therapeutic exercises. This table-less approach is excellent for clients with little or painful neck mobility as well as clients with hypotonic muscle development. Water’s shapeless support benefits patients with spinal trauma, scoliosis, kyphosis or any other condition aggravated by resting on a rigid, flat surface.

3.     Temperature: 

Water has an uncommonly high specific heat, meaning that it requires a lot of energy to increase its temperature and it takes a long time to cool relative to our surrounding air. Because of this, water plays an important part of our internal temperature regulation. Many people know the healing powers of a hot bath or a long shower, and at Float we heat our therapeutic pools accordingly.

Being immersed in water near our body temperature can aid in relaxation, the distention and release of spasmodic muscle tissue, a reduction in inflammation and increased mobility in joints. Healing warm water can help regulate the communication of our central nervous system and relieve physical pain all while providing psychological comfort and a sense of security innate since our mother’s womb.

4.     Viscosity:

When we wave our hand through air or water, we push molecules towards each other and they create resistance. Air being a gas, the molecules are spread out and have plenty of room to expand into before having to push back in reaction to our motion. The molecules in water are more tightly packed and this creates greater tension in the form of drag. Walking in water often feels like slow motion because each movement pushes more molecules than we are used to when moving through air.

At Float, our practitioners use this resistance to assist in gentle spinal alignment, from the head and neck all the way down to the sacrum. This resistance contracts and releases muscles in a way that is organic and supported, water’s viscosity prohibits the rapid or jerky rotation that can damage the spine. Our therapists utilize slower motions with greater resistance, all thanks to water’s viscosity.

5.     Hydrostatic Force:

There are forces acting upon us all of the time. Most of us can recall a memorable or persistent awareness of gravity, but seldom think that the air around us creates pressure on our skin and internal systems. This can be easier to see when we are immersed in water, especially when diving deeper than 8 feet down. Hydrostatic force, the pressure of any fluid in a confined space, works inside of our bodies to deliver blood from our arteries to our body’s tissue. 

 As our lungs expand our chest cavities against the increased pressure the water provides, our respiratory system faces resistance and increases lung capacity over time. Meanwhile, the external pressure reduces the strain on our cardiovascular system, enabling us to vigorously challenge our bodies while offsetting our internal blood pressure. Aquatic therapists use this property of water to reduce the swelling of joints in clients who face limited land-based mobility.

As you can see, water is a unique gift and therapeutic tool our highly trained specialists use to tailor your conditioning and recovery. We at Float are thankful for power and life that water holds and shares with us.

What do you think? How do you show your gratitude towards water?Let us know in the comments below!

 We hope you join our Float Water Therapy Community! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter. We send content related to our modalities, classes, and events every month!

6 Reasons Why You Should Join the KinFloat Water Therapy Community

Float Water Therapy first opened its doors 11 years ago with the purpose of helping people reach a better quality of life through aquatic healing experiences. The founder, Debbie Torrellas, felt motivated towards building this community because of her own healing experience recovering from a false diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Lupus. Since then, she has dedicated her life to providing healing alternatives to empower the bodies, minds, and souls of others!

 In this blog-post we’ll explore the top 6 reasons why you should join the Float Water Therapy Community.

1. We help the body become free of pain and inflammation 

  We have treated thousands of clients and they have reported a sense of relief after just one session. Other results include: lower inflammation levels, transcendence in one’s life path, reduction or elimination of medication, and a better quality of life. There is no doubt that we have proven that liquid prosperity is possible!

 2. We’ve created a community based on empathy and an understanding of our client’s experiences; from physical to emotional pain and trauma

 We understand our community’s needs and reality and we know pain from experience, not only physical, but emotional as well. We provide a unique community support system where we our clients become family, burdens are shared, and healing occurs.

3. State-of-the-art facilities

 Our facilities include: two heated pools (one of them has a salt water generator), a yoga space, rest areas, and a therapeutic massage room. Our pools are cleaned by water specialists every month, passing bacterial tests to ensure your health and safety. When you’re here, you’re home.

 4. Expert facilitators

 At Float, you are in expert hands. Our facilitators are trained to work with clients with injury-specific complaints, traumas, and clinical conditions and have had a 95% success rate. From Aquatic Therapists to Yoga Instructors, the Float team is committed to taking your quality of life to the next level!

 5. We prepare students to achieve their goals at Aquatic Therapy University

 Apart from our aforementioned services, we are also a unique teaching center where we provide courses for students who want to acquire aquatic therapy training. Aquatic Therapy University is the only curriculum-structured, evidence-based, continuing education program for aquatic therapists in Puerto Rico. It offers a new vision of careers with a focus on alternative and complementary therapies that have been endorsed by doctors and health professionals. (Subscribe to our FLOAT ATU Newsletter for more information on courses, activities, and programs!)

 6. We provide exclusive therapies

Our signature services AcuaYogi® and KinAqua Flow® will surely leave you feeling relaxed and empowered! AcuaYogi® is a conscious and intelligent method of exercising that focuses on preserving body alignment, balance, and rhythmic breath to achieve specific goals. KinAqua Flow® is the application of CranialSacral Therapy applied in the water combined with Watsu movements. Some of the benefits of these methods are:

• Muscle toning

• Improved quality of life for many with chronic conditions

• Reduced pain, inflammation, and dependence on medication

• Increased self-esteem and sense of empowerment

• Improved total body alignment, balance, flexibility, and elasticity

• Ease joint pain and release joint tension

• Decreases neurological, physiological, and emotional stress

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below! We hope you join our Float Water Therapy Community!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter. We send content related to our modalities, classes, events, Float Water Therapy (in general) and Aquatic Therapy University every month!

Anuncian la construcción de centro de terapia acuática en San Juan

Por Mariela Fullana Acosta / mfullana@primerahora.com 09/02/2014 |02:47 p.m.

La alcadesa de San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, anunció este martes la construcción del primer Centro de Terapia Acuática para los niños y niñas de educación especial de la escuela Luis Palés Matos, conocida como La Esperanza.

 Este proyecto comenzará a construirse el próximo mes de noviembre y podría inaugurarse en verano de 2015 con una inversión inicial de sobre $700,000, según informó la alcaldesa en conferencia de prensa, celebrada en dicha escuela, ubicada en Puerto Nuevo.

 La primera ejecutiva municipal señaló que la construcción de este centro- que será diseñado por el arquitecto Nataniel Fuster- tendrá un costo final de $1.2 millones. La primera fase de la construcción será posible gracias a una asignación especial de $300,000 que otorgó la Cámara de Representantes, por gestión de su presidente, Jaime Perelló. El municipio aportará $400,000 y los restantes $500,000 provendrán del programa de adopción de escuelas Alianza Escolar.

Cruz Soto manifestó que con este proyecto "cumple" el compromiso que hizo con los padres y madres de los estudiantes de educación especial de la escuela La Esperanza, quienes le solicitaron la construcción de una piscina para las terapias de los niños y niñas.

"Lo que empezó como una piscina con un techo, se convierte hoy en realidad, gracias a la colaboración de muchos amigos y amigas. Hoy venimos aquí para anunciar la construcción del primer centro de terapia acuático para niños y niñas con necesidades especiales en todo Puerto Rico y es gracias a ustedes", expresó Cruz Soto, quien dijo que la subasta para la construcción del proyecto publicó este martes.

El Centro de Terapia Acuática incluirá dos piscinas terapéuticas: una para terapias individuales y otra donde podrá trabajar más de una terapista a la vez, para brindar terapias grupales. Además, ambas piscinas contarán con rampa para acceso de sillas de ruedas y un sistema de calefacción del agua. La estructura también tendrá áreas de duchas, baños, vestidores, área de espera, zonas verdes y de almacenaje.

 El Centro, que estará localizado en los terrenos del Municipio de San Juan, contiguos a la escuela La Esperanza, servirá a los estudiantes del plantel de lunes a viernes, pero los fines de semana podrán ser utilizado por otros niños y niñas con necesidades especiales del Municipio de San Juan.

 "Durante el fin de semana el municipio hará alianzas con otras organizaciones que atienden necesidades especiales para que esos niños puedan disfrutar de esas terapias en el fin de semana. En la semana, será totalmente de La Esperanza y en el fin de semana haremos lo que ustedes hacen todo los días que es regalar esperanza, pero a otros niños", agregó Cruz Soto.

La funcionaria anunció, además, que la escuela contará próximamente con una enfermera que pagará el Municipio, así como con aires acondicionados en los salones que hacen falta y nueve computadoras para el beneficio de toda la matrícula.  

Cruz Soto indicó que le gustaría desarrollar un centro similar al de la escuela, cerca del Natatorio, para ofrecer terapias para los adultos con necesidades especiales, pero advirtió que ese proyecto sería costoso y todavía no se han identificado fondos para encaminarlo.

 "Me gustaría que se construya una piscina de tamaño olímpico para que adultos que tengan algún tipo de reto físico puedan tomar las terapias, pero ese centro costaría entre $7 a $8 millones y estamos en la búsqueda de eso, porque la necesidad es mucha", expresó.

 La alcadesa, por otro lado, indicó que el Municipio de San Juan ha adoptado 14 escuelas como parte de su compromiso con la educación del país, al tiempo que sostuvo que seguirá trabajando para la mejoría en los planteles ubicados en la capital.

El presidente de la Cámara de Representante, quien estuvo presente en el evento, en tanto, por su parte, dijo que dicho cuerpo seguirá asignando fondos que ayuden a mejorar el sistema de educación especial del país, a la vez que insistió en la "descentralización" del sistema educativo.

 "Es importante poner esto en el contexto histórico, durante la semana pasada se ha hablando sobre el problema de infraestructura que hay en el Departamento de Educación y nosotros hemos sugerido que se descentralice el sistema y darle a los municipios la autonomía fiscal para no pasar por tantos pasos burocráticos. Que sirva esta gesta de la alcaldesa como un ejemplo directo que hay que descentralizar nuestro sistema educativo para que funcione", opinó Perelló al estimar que el problema del DE no es la falta de fondos sino su andamiaje.