Page 96 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

WELL
FREEDOM IN FLOATING
ISO FLOAT CENTER USES
BY MOLLY PRIDDY
WEIGHTLESSNESS AND SENSORY DEPRIVATION TO CALM THE MIND AND BODY
Upon entering the ISO Float Center, one is immediately struck with an all-encompass- ing feeling of warmth.
The air is heated and humid, comfortable for short sleeves and bare feet, and it smells of calming essential oils and dried flowers. It is quiet, despite its location in Whitefish’s bustling downtown, and the light is ambient and unobtrusive.
It’s comfortable and pleasant, and that’s all before meeting the equally tranquil Keith Gardner, the founder and owner of ISO Float, the Flathead’s only business offering an isolation flotation pod.
Gardner’s business offers floaters a sensory deprivation experience coupled with the rare opportunity to feel weightless. Clients use the pod to unwind, treat maladies like fibro- myalgia and multiple sclerosis, focus their minds, soothe aches, and more.
Clean cut and wearing sandals in February, Gardner is frank about his journey from chronic pain to owning an iso-pod. His lower back was in constant pain for nearly 15
years, and traditional means of mitigating his distress weren’t working.
“Three years ago, I sort of was at my wit’s end,” Gardner said, settling into the wall- length, pillow-covered bench in the waiting room. “I tried everything out there. I was completely dependent and almost addicted to painkillers.”
Understanding he was on the edge of a dangerous, slippery slope, Gardner struck out searching for alternative therapies, and stumbled upon a flotation tank in Bozeman.
One experience floating in the tank was all he needed to be convinced.
“It was like night and day for me,” he said. “I immediately saw reductions in my pain levels.”
Finding a solution to his chronic pain was an immense relief – “relief is absolutely what it is,” he said – and Gardner started making regular visits to Bozeman.
His own business ventures brought him to the Southwest Montana city on a consis- tent basis, but soon Gardner realized that his willingness to travel six hours, one way,
94 FLATHEAD LIVING | SPRING 2015
PHOTO BY GREG LINDSTROM