I remember the first time I saw a salt lamp. I was a young teenager and a friend had one at their house. At the time I thought they were just another lamp – a particular style or trend that some people liked.
Fast forward a couple decades and I came down with a bad case of chronic asthma. A friend introduced me to the concept of halotherapy when she invited me to go to a salt cave at a local wellness center. That’s where I first learned about all the wonderful benefits of halotherapy – also known as salt therapy.
What is halotherapy?
Simply put, halotherapy is inhaling air that is filled with tiny salt particles for the purpose of improving breathing.
History of halotherapy
Apparently people were visiting salt caves in the 12th century in Europe for their health benefits. In the 1800s, Polish salt miners were found to have fewer respiratory conditions, coughs, and colds that were common among the general population. Research today confirms that halotherapy is an effective adjunct therapy for asthma patients, and can help prolong the time between using medications.
How does salt help?
One of the best things about using salt and halotherapy on your health journey is it is a natural and safe treatment that doesn’t cause unwanted side effects. Salt is great at fighting inflammation, bacteria, and allergies, all while clearing out excessive mucus and boosting your immune system. Pretty amazing, right?
They also say halotherapy can help with skin issues as well, like rashes, eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, and more.
The salt cave I go to has this list of benefits on their website:
- Contains 84 trace minerals your body needs
- Improves mental health and brain health
- Increased absorption of nutrients to the body
- Kills viruses, bacteria, and microbes in the sinuses and lungs
- Improves allergies, asthma, and colds
- Decreases congestion
- Improves breathing
- Creates homeostasis in cells, inducing quick relaxation effects
- Improves sleep
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Reduces inflammation
- Neutralizes electromagnetic radiation of electronics
What to expect during halotherapy?
I haven’t tried all the methods, so I’ll just share from my experience. There is a wellness center near my home that offers many different holistic healing practices, including therapy, massage, sound baths, and halotherapy. They have a “salt cave”, which is a room filled with salt. The walls and ceiling are made of himalayan salt blocks, and the floor is covered with little salt particles, about the size of tiny rocks or big sand. They also have a halogenerator that they turn on during salt cave sessions which breaks down salt into tiny particles that circulate through the air in the room during the session.
A regular session involves about an hour of quiet, peaceful relaxation in the room. You can recline back in a zero gravity chair, practice a little yoga on the provided yoga mats, or even sit directly in the sand. Peaceful music plays in the background.
At this particular location, they have “kid sessions” in the salt cave and that’s what I usually do since I have a toddler with me at all times. It’s so fun! The session is cheap, and only 30 minutes, plus they provide little toys for the kids to play with like shovels and buckets.
My toddler and I sit in the salt and dig, spread, dump, and run our fingers through all the salt particles. The air is usually pretty salty with all the play going on. We love to bury our legs and feet in the salt, which is fun for my toddler, and also therapeutically beneficial to his skin and overall health. It’s great!
They always have a box of tissues and garbage can in there because the salt can get to work immediately at clearing out your mucus pathways. If your nose starts to run or you start to cough a little, that’s normal.
We like to attend these kid sessions on a regular basis just for fun and respiratory issue prevention. But when one of us is getting a cold or a bit stuffed, we are sure to go a couple times that week just to get a head start on healing and boosting our immune system.
At first we mostly went for fun, but the more I’ve learned about the health benefits, the more I make it a priority to go there. I’m also about to get my first salt lamp so we can start getting a little halotherapy at home, too.
What are your thoughts on halotherapy? Any experiences or tips you’d like to share? We’d all love to hear it.
Resources:
Halotherapy—An Ancient Natural Ally in the Management of Asthma: A Comprehensive Review – PMC
