MILLIE Sponsor Spotlight: Floating Shanti

In an effort to strengthen the relationships between transient military families and the local communities that serve them — MILLIE is offers businesses the opportunity to sponsor our installation guides. Our goal is to help families get rooted in their local communities as quickly as possible, and our sponsors are helping make that happen!

This blog series features profiles of MILLIE sponsors. We want you to know who these businesses are, and why they’ve chosen to support military families in this way! They’re our neighbors, friends, and colleagues — but most of all, they support our mission of Bringing Military Families Home!

Sponsor: Floating Shanti, Fayetteville, NC

Founder/CEO: Nicole Walcott

Military Communities Served: Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, & Camp Mackall, North Carolina

Personal Military Affiliation: I’m a veteran and was a military spouse until my husband got out of the Army to join the Fayetteville Police Department. Floating Shanti is a certified Service-disabled Veteran Owned business.

Mission: We are a holistic wellness company, focused on building resilience, restoring energy, reducing stress and relieving chronic pain affecting the mind and body.

Tell us a little about your business.

Floating Shanti represents the emerging health delivery model which combines traditional medicine with proven alternative therapies.

Clients can relax and renew, experiencing the healing effects of floatation therapy, reflexology or reiki session. Our calm, soothing environment will make you think of a spa, but Floating Shanti is more than a massage and a yoga class.

We are the first floatation center approved by Cumberland County. Located in downtown Fayetteville, we offer Corporate Wellness programs, Mindfulness4Munchkins and partner with Yoga for First Responders. Our wellness community includes businesses, municipalities, schools and childcare centers.

We are the only wellness center in Fayetteville with a physician on staff. We don’t just talk about wellness — our medical director is helping to redefine how health care is received. People with chronic pain, PTSD, depression, anxiety and stress-related symptoms can find help here.

Floating Shanti is centered around providing pain relief without prescription. Floatation therapy is a zero gravity experience, allowing discs and joints to decompress, muscles to relax, magnesium to be replenished. Just one hour of being completely unplugged is so restorative to the brain and the body.

That’s what we believe holistic wellness is — the undeniable connection between mental and physical well-being.

How are you serving the military community?

Our services benefit active duty military and veterans alike. Alternative therapies can complement traditional medicine, physical therapy and offer pain relief without prescription.

We’re certified as a Service Disabled Veteran Owned business, so there’s no question that our business understands the sacrifices military members and their families make.

We offer pricing considerations for Corporate Wellness programs at military-centered non-profit organizations and veteran owned businesses.

Floatation therapy, therapeutic massage, yoga, reflexology, and reiki sessions all share a common denominator: They reduce the physical and emotional symptoms of stress.

Military service demands tremendous resilience — our therapies offer a chance to revitalize and restore energy, confidence and strength.

Floating Shanti has a particular interest in supporting military spouses. We believe they are an underserved segment of the service, whose sacrifice often gets lost.

Moving is exhausting and disorienting. Loneliness becomes the new normal. Deployments can trigger depression and anxiety. Stress-related symptoms aren’t just in your head — they can cripple the body. Headaches, backaches, IBS, insomnia and fatigue are common symptoms.

When Floating Shanti opens in December, we’ll be rolling out a special program to specifically support military spouses.

What drives you to serve the military population?

My husband and I were dual military. As a service disabled veteran, I have a deeply personal understanding of what military life demands.

But when I concluded my service, I found myself in a new and unfamiliar role…..military spouse. I quickly realized that the programs and support offered to me while on active duty were not as easy to come by as a spouse.

Though my husband is no longer active duty, I haven’t forgotten how hard a spouse’s role can be.

How did you hear about MILLIE and what prompted you to become a sponsor?

I met Kellie Artis at the park. Our kids were playing and we started chatting! That’s what I love about Fayetteville — we’re a small town full of people committed to helping military families.

I knew MILLIE was a perfect fit for Floating Shanti. Their services are so targeted to helping military spouses manage the never-ending details of the latest assignment.

I want active military and their families to know Floating Shanti is here to help manage stress and relieve chronic pain. You’re part of our community now.

Anything else you’d like MILLIE fans to know about you or your company?

It’s important that people understand our commitment to their well-being. We don’t cut corners, we don’t over-promise. We provide evidence-based alternative therapies that have been successfully applied for decades — sometimes centuries.

We’ve invested in an on-staff physician to be our Medical Director to build a research-driven approach. Dr. Caban positions our services as complementary to traditional medicine. We want to offer real options for chronic pain management, anxiety and fatigue that don’t involve prescriptions.

Floating Shanti has support for the whole family too. Ask your childcare provider or school about our Mindfulness4Munchkins program. If they haven’t joined yet, they can stop by our website or give us a call.

To learn more about Floating Shanti, link up with them here, and be sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram!

If you are interested in becoming a MILLIE Sponsor, visit our sponsorship page! We currently cover over 70 installations on the site and have a variety of opportunities to get your business in front of our audience!

MILLIE is an online community and digital marketplace that connects members of the military and their families with specialized knowledge and trusted resource providers to remove the stress and anxiety of PCSing. Check out MILLIE’s Installation and Neighborhood Guides, our network of Veteran and military spouse Realtors, and Scout, our on-demand task service composed of military spouses.