Let me tell you a secret. In the heart of Leeds city centre, tucked away in an arcade at the bottom of Briggate, there is a whole world of tranquillity. It’s a luxurious spa offering the most amazing massage and facial treatments as well as a floatation tank.
Welcome to Dragonfly Skin! It’s a bone-fide hidden gem and I need to share it with you. This is a totally blissful escape from the stresses of daily life, in the heart of the city and a haven for self-care.
In today’s fast-paced world, finding time for ourselves, and a little self-care is essential for our overall well-being. What better way to relax and unwind than a session in a soothing floatation tank followed by a first-rate professional Swedish massage in luxurious surroundings?
The Floatation Tank
The idea behind floatation tanks is that the sensory deprivation of floating in the warm water in the dark, detached from all external stimuli, fosters a deep sense of relaxation. Muscle tensions ease, your heart rate slows down, and stress dissipates, creating an inner serenity.
Sounds wonderful, right?
Well, as a completely newbie, I had questions!
Q Would it feel claustrophobic?
A Turns out not, surprisingly!
Q Do I wear anything?
A I wore a bikini – no metal trims because of the mineral salts in the water.
Q What happens if I get stuck inside? (Don’t tell me you didn’t wonder!!)
A You can’t get stuck inside, the lid is lightweight and you can just push it open. There’s an emergency button if you run into difficulties.
The lovely Natalia gave me the guided tour of the room, full instructions about how to use the tank – shower first, use the ear plugs provided, how to get in and out – and I was ready to go!
The tank is partly filled with warm water containing lots of mineral salts that make it incredibly dense so that it is easy to float. At the same time it’s shallow enough that you are almost touching the bottom, which is quite reassuring. Once you’re in there, the relaxing music plays for 10 minutes allowing you to drift into a state of relaxation and then soothing silence.
Peace and Quiet
I approached this as an interesting experiment. I struggle with peace and quiet, my head is a jumble of thoughts and noises vying for attention all the time. Silence makes me itch, I sleep with a noise machine, I have a sound bar in my pillow, I don’t do quiet.
Would I cope? Would I be able to stay in the tank in silence for the full session?
I got off to a good start. The thick warm water was amazing, it was very womb-like (not that I remember, but how I’d imagine!) once the lid was closed it was easy to float and relax into the soothing sensations.
After those first 10 minutes of music were over, it was just me and the silence.
I’ll admit, I started to panic a little bit – all the usual stuff, running through my shopping list, wondering if the world had ended and I was the only person left floating about in a water tank, remembering that I hadn’t emptied the washing machine, pondering the ridiculous amount of loo roll that we get through as a family of five… All set to the competing ear worms of Low [Apple Bottom Jeans] and Mika’s Grace Kelly. I was not relaxing!
I put some effort in and with a bit of concentration and some yoga style meditative breathing I managed to relax a little, the water was at the perfect temperature and the floating sensation was genuinely wonderful.
I made it to about 30 minutes before I needed to raise the lid a little to let some cooler air in, but then I happily floated around until the music began again to signal the end of the session. I was very proud of myself.
I had a lovely soothing shower, rinsing all the salts from my skin – products, towels, robes, and slippers are all provided (even a hairdryer) – then it was across the hall to the treatment room for my Swedish massage with Barbora.
Swedish Massage
There are so many health benefits attributed to Swedish massage such as pain management, stress relief, even improved flexibility. There’s a reason they are so popular! Personally I was looking for something to relax my muscles and relieve the tension in my shoulders, from hunching over a keyboard every day.
The atmosphere in the treatment room is sophisticated luxury and Barbora was friendly and super professional. She allowed plenty of time for me to get ready and maintained my privacy – I know it sounds silly, but I always stress a little bit about floundering around on the massage bed trying to turn over without looking like a total numpty.
Barbora used warm almond oil to massage and soften my skin, it’s cruelty-free and no added chemicals, which is great as far as I’m concerned. Dragonfly Skin offer a wide range of massage therapies, from hot stones to warm bamboo, but if you are looking for an all-round full body massage, this is the one that I would suggest.
The best three words to describe the session would be ‘absolutely bloody marvellous!’
If you’re tempted by the idea of a floatation tank, this is the perfect set up, and for lovers of massage of any kind I would recommend Barbora without hesitation.
Leeds people, we are lucky to have this spa on our doorstep!
Treat yourself, you won’t regret it.
Dragonfly Skin are open Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday by appointment. Full details of all available treatments are on the website www.dragonflyskin.com
Reviewed and written (plus images) by Sally Bendall – @girlaboutleeds
Feature image courtesy of unsplash.com
