<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:10887 -2147483648 8 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:ArialMT; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-alt:Arial; mso-font-charset:77; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia-Italic; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-alt:Georgia; mso-font-charset:77; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:auto; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} —Who knew? Salt really can be good for you — provided you are not eating it.
Salt caves, basically caves where everything top to bottom is halite, AKA rock salt, are well known for their healing powers, so much so that in Zipaquirá in Colombia and Wieliczka in Poland whole churches were carved out of salt. When not being tussled over as a currency (where do you think the word “salary” comes from?), chanted over as a component of magic against the undead, used as a handy alternative to bullets (ow!), or hoarded as a food preservative, that white stuff next to the pepper is commonly used as a curative. Go fig.
I got a 101 on it all at the Saltana Cave Spa up in Connecticut, where the European traditions and health benefits of a salt cave are served up to an American audience. While not a naturally-occurring salt cave, boy, does it get close: Everything, even the dang fireplace, is either made of Himalayan salt or is covered in it. Unlike sea salt, rock salt comes in an array of colors, and Saltana judiciously uses crystals hued pink and tan for maximum tranquilizing effect. The salt is underfoot and the crystals are embedded in the walls, catching the soft, pink light. Think of it Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, but in rose.
Now for the big words. To come to Saltana is to get a combo of “speleotherapy,” better known as salt cave therapy, and “halotherapy,” an inhaled salt vapor treatment treating respiratory ailments, skin irritations and the mental blahs. It is the same principle behind rock salt candleholders: as the salt is heated, it produces a dry saline aerosol vapor chock-full of negative ions, which are widely regarded as cures to reduce stress, headaches, and lethargy. Get enough of them and you start to feel giddy.
Saltana goes way beyond a candleholder. Along with salt, the air of the spa chamber is drenched in a Periodic Chart of elements including calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, iodine, bromine, copper, selenium, and iron (the same stuff, by the way, you get with those Dead Sea salt-mud wraps). It sounds pretty meta, but halotherapy really is a “thing.” I did my research, and found a 2006 study in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing how inhaling hypertonic saline improved lung function in cystic fibrosis sufferers. The European Respiratory Journal found that inhaling vaporous salt temporarily improved smoking-related symptoms such as coughing and mucus production. Maybe there’s something to this…
Headed up to New England? Give the Saltana Cave Spa a whirl. Go to saltanacave.com for more info.
Steele Luxury Travel
