Floating Into the New Year

Wendy Skaalerud is the owner of Inngi Float Spa in Highlands Ranch, along with her husband, Erik. They also own Capital Lending Solutions. Wendy and Erik were co-owners and operating mangers of seven Orangetheory Fitness studios in the Colorado region. She participates in multiple philanthropic ventures including her own Give Well Foundation.

WHAT IS YOUR OWN HEALTH AND WELLNESS JOURNEY THAT BROUGHT YOU TO OPENING INNGI FLOAT SPA?

I have always been an entrepreneur. When I was in my 20’s, I opened multiple restaurants. While I learned a great deal, including getting a PhD in Customer Service, I never felt a connection to living a healthy lifestyle. I personally did not take the time to eat, sleep, work out or meditate in a way that supported a strong and sustainable body and mind. At a particularly low point, I realized if I did not make my physical and mental health a priority, I would never thrive. Once married, my husband and I decided to be intentional about the businesses we created, how they impacted our health and more importantly how they supported the health of our community. We opened a small business lending company, Capital Lending Solutions. We were driven to help other entrepreneurs realize their dreams while creating thousands of job opportunities as a by-product. Through CLS we were exposed to an unknown concept called Orangetheory Fitness. We were blown away at the concept. The idea of bringing a workout that provided results to the masses was beyond our dreams. We opened the third studio in the country and developed a region of 30 studios in Colorado before selling in August of 2018. Post-sale, we found ourselves searching for other concepts that would provide wellness to our community. And we came upon Inngi.

WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR HEALTH + WELLNESS GEARED TOWARD CREATING NEW DAILY PRACTICES IN THE NEW YEAR?

As a society, we have become completely overstimulated. This creates a sense of disconnect with other humans, a sense of anxiety, a desensitization to the value of human interaction, a feeling of isolation and loneliness, and a physical and mental overload that does not support our growth, connection and overall happiness. A couple of suggestions:

1. Don’t commit to too much change at once. Pick one thing at a time and take small actions each day to achieve your goals. We can’t do everything at once. When we try to focus our energies on multiple goals we achieve none. When laser-focused on one at a time, we are more likely to be successful. Make your list, start with one, move to the next when you are ready.

2. Be still. Find a way to be still at least once per day. Whether meditating, floating, or sitting on a park bench with zero agenda, make 15 to 30 minutes of your day a time for absolutely nothing.

3. Self-care. An overused word for sure. However, it is incredibly accurate and clear that if we do not take care of ourselves, we certainly are not productive for others. It is the old adage, if the cup is empty you have nothing to give. Self-care means to make time in your day to do something that fills your mind, heart or spirit. Read, pray, educate, mentor, massage, float, meditation, fitness, nutrition, human connection, touch, stillness, friendship, love, grace, play, laugh, grow.

4. The most important advice I can give to support your goals in the new year. For every goal you set for yourself, help one other person meet his or her goal. One small gesture of kindness every day is scientifically proven to create more happiness and health in our own world.

WHY SHOULD FLOAT BE PART OF EVERYONE’S SELF-CARE ROUTINE?

Float has been around since the 1940’s. It was originally created in an effort to remove stimuli from experiments involving humans. Floating became popular as many of the test subjects wanted to continue floating after the experimentation because of the enjoyment they received from the restorative practice. My husband was exposed to floating by a friend of his mother’s when he was in junior high school. The friend was a neurosurgeon and a tri-athlete, both of which were physically and mentally demanding and floating was his way to bring balance to a very demanding life path. Today we see high-level stress as an active part of everyone’s day; however, we can embrace the stress and thrive in that environment when we have a practice like floating as it enables you to reset and return to life re-energized. We wanted to bring balance and longevity to our clients and felt this was an excellent way to serve that need.

WHAT DOES HEALTHY MEAN TO YOU?

It means your physical and mental health are a priority. It means we care enough about ourselves and what we want to be for others to search for activities that give us strength, hope and endless amounts of energy! Healthy means you are open to getting comfortable being uncomfortable in order to grow.