Dogfish Moon Sanctuary is a vision coming to life in Poulsbo, Washington.
We are raising money to fund our float rooms and soaking tubs, to complete the work that is otherwise funded and in process.
Overview:
Completely unique in the Pacific Northwest, Dogfish Moon offers an integrated team of therapists and healers, with bath house amenities to support biospiritual healing, and access to gorgeous gardens and protected land. We are housed in an original 1904 farmhouse and barns, on 77 acres of land bordered by streams on three sides, aquifer below, and big sky above. The farmhouse is being renovated into therapy offices, with an authentic Mongolian yurt in the outer field arriving in September as an additional ready-to-go treatment space. We are working with the Kitsap Conservation District to restore salmon habitat to Dogfish Creek, and we are dedicated to combining profits and donations to offer equity memberships and services free of charge to BIPOC. Our larger vision is to be a center for restoration and support that is a force for healing on all levels, from the relationships that build the business to the land and community that hold and support us.
Float Rooms & Soaking Tubs:
A float is a tub with saturated solution of Epsom salt, kept at skin temperature, and provides a light and sound reduced environment. This allows a person to float effortlessly without external stimuli for many purposes, including meditation, exploration, relaxation, mental restoration, physical therapy, and athletic recovery. Unlike self-contained pods and tanks, Ocean Float Rooms are completely open, with private changing and shower space, and are built into the structure of the building itself. They are well heated, ventilated, cleaned, and filtered, with adjustable lights, sounds, and communication for the user.
Health & Safety:
Floating has been around commercially for over 40 years, and as of 2016 there were over 1,000,000 floats run every year in North America. Even with such a large sample size, there has never been a reported case of illness linked to float tank use. This is due to a combination of factors. A powerful, quiet magnetic-drive pump with high capacity filtration system drains, filters, and refills the salt solution a minimum of 4 times between users. Sterilization is automatic. The salt itself also makes the solution a hostile environment for most micro-organisms, and studies have shown that common pathogens don’t seem to thrive in the solution, with many naturally lowering over time. In addition, users don’t interact with the solution as they would with the water in a pool or hot tub. As a result, floating itself is a very low-risk activity: there is a very predictable bather load, people shower before and after each float, children don’t normally use float tanks, and, perhaps most importantly, users don’t swallow the solution, eliminating a very large source of aquatic health risk.
(More information and sources available from https://www.floattanksolutions.com/product/about-float-tanks-an-introductory-guide/ and https://www.oceanfloatrooms.com/)
The relaxing and therapeutic benefits of saltwater soaking tubs are more familiar to us. Imagine combining your Functional Wellness, Massage, Psychotherapy, Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Reiki, or other bodywork with a quiet soak in our outdoor tubs, or just stopping by regularly for warmth, de-stressing, and reflection.
The ocean float room/s will be housed in our renovated barn, just off the main farmhouse’s therapeutic offices. The soaking tubs will be installed behind the barn, in a private landscaped garden area under the open sky.
Who we are:
Frances Malone ARNP, PhD has been a nurse, clinician and researcher for 30 years, during which she has cultivated a vision of a healing center that includes grounding and engagement with nature, brings all of our senses to our healing, and shifts awareness of our daily lived experiences.
Kaeti Gugiu, MA, MFT has seen firsthand, through her healing journey and over 10 years as a psychotherapist, the profound need for healing spaces that offer access to multiple modalities (physical, mental, spiritual, ecological) and can do so in a trauma-informed way.
Bree Oriard BA, AHC, AMBT is an Ayurvedic practitioner and body worker who, 10 years ago, envisioned a healing space for humans and the land, and has since been on a personal journey to bring that to life in a collaborative environment incorporating both ancient and modern healing practices.
Crystal Brescia, MS, OTR/L is a seeker of heartfelt beauty and new experience, and is grateful for her good fortune in finding the sanctuary of DogFishMoon. She endeavors to connect, heal and dream, while laying root and cultivating sacred space with others.
We have each spent years cobbling together access to these kinds of resources for ourselves and our clients, as well as accruing the skills and experience necessary to build and administer a center like this. The opportunity to build it together in Kitsap County is a dream come true - the kind of place we want to work, and the kind of place we need in our lives. Rooting in earth and trees, cleansing in water, heat and sacred time, and the expansive elements of breeze and sky and movement all come together at DogFish Moon Sanctuary.
The land and construction needed to begin offering services is all financed and work is underway!
We are thrilled and delighted to raise funds for the physical centerpieces of the sanctuary, and we can't wait to settle them in place and welcome you into the Sanctuary.
Your donations support a generous vision for what is possible (and urgently needed) in Kitsap County, and we hold them with deep gratitude.
Financial Breakdown:
1 Ocean Float room, fully equipped and installed: $44,500
Necessary to provide floats in a beautiful, private, impeccably-maintained space.
Our original total included cost for 2 soaking tubs, but we have removed that do to the exciting opportunity to work directly with Ocean Float Rooms to develop the very first outdoor, open air salt float pool! This frees us up to focus our crowdfunding on the indoor float pool. See our update for details!
