It all started two years ago with a 90-minute float session in Somerville. At the time, there was only one float center servicing the entire Boston area, but after experiencing the incredible benefits of float therapy, Angie Sa’Ponte and her son, Alexander, were convinced that more people needed access to the modality. So, last February, the two opened Cloud 9 Float & Wellness, in Jamaica Plain, providing Bostonians with float therapy, infrared saunas, pulse electromagnetic field (PEMF) services and a niacin detox program.

“We find that this is true health care in that our incentive is in the right place; we want you to stay healthy,” explains Cloud 9 Co-Founder Alexander Sa’Ponte. He goes on to explain that at Cloud 9, “We are tackling the source of the health issue rather than just relieving the symptoms. We help restore the body to a more optimal state and allow the body to heal itself.”

At Cloud 9, dealing with those health issues comes in a variety of forms. Its feature service is flotation therapy in which customers enter a sensory deprivation tank filled with salt water and float for either 60 or 90 minutes. The pods are filled with more than 800 pounds of Epsom salts which allow customers to float effortlessly, creating the feeling of weightlessness and allowing for complete muscle relaxation. Understood simply, the float tank is a space for meditation and relaxation where people find clarity and much needed rest. Conversely, float tanks are also used to increase creativity and mental function, to diminish chronic pain, relieve muscle tightness and help alleviate anxiety. “If someone, for some reason, doesn’t have a good float, we will offer them another float for free, their money back, or another service to try,” promises Sa’Ponte.

Cloud 9 also offers far infrared saunas which, unlike other saunas, use infrared heat, not hot air, to heat the body. Infrared heat kills unhealthy bacteria, viruses and parasites while facilitating the removal of toxins from the body with each drop of sweat. So even though it is significantly cooler (140 degrees compared to 200 degrees in a normal sauna), individuals actually sweat three times more and detox 20 percent of toxins (compared to only 3 percent in a regular sauna).

PEMF replicates the Earth’s magnetic field to return cells to a healthy state, energizing their voltage for their optimal function. “PEMF is an immune system booster,” explains Sa’Ponte. “It also helps fractures heal in one-third of the time. An 87-year-old man with a broken arm shocked doctors when he was fully healed in three weeks, which is unheard of at that age.” He further reminds us that “PEMF energizes all the cells in the body including those responsible for bone repair or protecting the body from infections. We tune up the body and let it heal itself.”

They even offer a niacin detox program that uses vitamin B3 paired with a PEMF session to release the toxins stored in the bloodstream. From there, clients enter the infrared sauna to sweat out most of the toxins and finish off with activated charcoal that acts as a binder for heavy metals to attach to and be removed naturally.

The common thread among all services offered at Cloud 9 is that they help tackle the source of health issues by removing stress and toxins from the body. “We are restoring proper bodily function, working at the cellular level and tackling health issues at the source, which is going to give you a lot of benefits,” says Sa’Ponte. “Benefits you won’t get from your typical pharmaceuticals. We truly want to make people feel better, and people can sense that. That’s why they love coming here.”

Cloud 9 Float & Wellness is located at 162 South St., Jamaica Plain.  For more information, call 617-942-2644 or visit Cloud9Boston.com.

Sam Somera is a student at Syracuse University and editorial intern for Natural Awakenings Boston.