![Miss America pageant [Atlantic City Pageant], 1921](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4rk84Wf791qzz4fco1_1280.jpg)
That scene was a really, really tough scene to film. They didn’t tell me they were going to do this but Phil told Jon to hold on to my hand and not let it go. And then he did and I really sort of lost it… and I will say that every single one of those tears was actually absolutely real.
— Elisabeth Moss, Inside Episode 511
(Source: dreyfus, via rufustfirefly)
I just realized I never wrote about my float yesterday!
So, I arrived at the shop (spa?) just at 7am and the guy at the desk asked me if I was Breanne. I nodded and he led me to a room just to the right of reception. Right outside of the door he pointed to several bags of salt and said “This is how much salt is used in our tanks. It’s twice as buoyant as the Dead Sea.” Stepping inside the room, there was a little bench, shelf and shower on the far wall, and to my immediate right was the tank — dimly lit with a slightly eery blue light and filled with about a foot of water. He explained that I should shower before hand, then step into the center of the 7-foot tall tank and try to get comfortable. I could lay down with my arms bent at the elbows and hands pointed toward my feet, or have them in the same position with my arms above my head. Then, when I felt alright with my position and the overall sensation, I should shut the door to the tank and turn out the light.
He left me to it and I got ready. Getting into the tank was the strangest feeling. The water was just above room temperature and had a slightly silky feel to it. Admittedly, it burned a bit at first because I had some scratches on my ankles (should have used some of the petroleum jelly on the shelf to keep out the salt), but I was already feeling heavy and didn’t want to get out. I laid down and went for the hands-above-the-head approach. Feeling alright, I shut the door and clicked off the light.
The first 15 minutes or so, I felt like my thoughts were in rapid motion. I kept thinking of the strangest things and connected them to equally strange and random ideas (couldn’t tell you now what I was thinking of, though). I tried to relax and think about some projects I had, but I couldn’t focus. A little later, I think I fell asleep. Think, being the key word here because I’m not entirely sure. I felt a little jolt after spacing out, and I panicked a little bit. I reminded myself that I was okay, and tried again to relax. Weird shapes kept forming on the inside of my eyelids/in front of me, but I tried to ignore them, worried I’d see something too odd. I relaxed a bit more, and I felt like my body was doing somersaults at times. Of course, that was physically impossible, but it felt real. The next hour or so, I drifted in and out of sleep. Again, I think I did. At one point, I “woke up” and had to struggle to remember I wasn’t in my own bed. That’s how comfortable it was; My body felt like it had melted into the mattress. I only realized where I was when I shook my head and could hear the sounds of moving water through my ears. I fell back asleep and suddenly music began playing, quickly taking me out of my relaxation mode. An hour and a half had already passed. It went by so quickly.
I took my time getting out and, at the time, didn’t know how to fully articulate how I felt. (I still really don’t.) I was so relaxed and calm. The guy offered me a cup of tea, and while I wanted to chat with Chris about it (he met me at the shop after), I simply couldn’t. It was strange. But again, I was so calm that I didn’t mind. Later that day when I got home, I was extremely tired. I kept taking small naps and lazed around the house, but I felt good. Overall, I really liked it and I want to try again, maybe a bit longer next time. Maybe I can get a friend to go with me and I’ll have a better chance at explaining myself and the experience.
