For Christina Murphy, some days are better than others.
After being diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in 2009, she has had good days and bad days, riding with the ebb and flow of her symptoms. She’s tried acupuncture, Chinese herbals, antibiotics, prescription-grade supplements, and seeing a Lyme-literate doctor. Her insurance didn’t cover the Lyme-literate doctor. A friend had told her about a float center about 40 minutes from her home, but the stars never aligned properly for Christina to drive all that way.
In late 2016, she heard that a float center, Float Frederick, was opening near her home (The float center changed its name to Light Side Floats on Nov. 1, 2017). “It’s right on my way home from work,” she said, so she anxiously waited for it to open.
Since her first float, Christina has been a loyal bi-monthly customer at Light Side Floats, and she credits her floating regimen, when alternated with acupuncture, essential oils, and supplements, for helping to keep the symptoms of her Lyme at bay.
The high concentrations of magnesium and potassium in the Epsom salts used in the float cabins help ease some of the symptoms she experiences. Additionally, she says the sensory deprivation helps her mind calm and her body relax, which she feels aids in her overall healing. Christina has experienced better sleep and increased energy levels since she started floating, extra little side perks to the decrease in her Lyme symptoms.
Christina is passionate about making sure the public has information on Lyme disease – prevention, detection of symptoms, how to get tested, and where to seek treatment – and created a non-profit called Can Do With Lyme LLC. She is a twice-certified health coach, once from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and once from Elymenate. Floating, she says, can be beneficial to those suffering from Lyme disease, as well as a host of other maladies.
“Having floating in my repertoire has been really helpful,” she said. “When you’re going in to float, you cut off all outside stimuli from the brain. If you take all outside stimuli from the brain, you’re pretty much giving your brain a chance to heal.
“When that starts, then everything else can follow.”
