What Is Salt Yoga and why it became so trendy?
Imagine entering a yoga class, and instead of the usual mats on a shiny floor, you find yourself standing on six inches of Himalayan salt. Rock salt bricks line the walls, and salt crystal lamps light the shadows. When you breathe in, you inhale pure, aerated salt flowing through a ventilator. What is this place? Ellen Patrick taught yoga for 35 years and then developed Salty Yoga, which combines the established benefits of yoga with salt therapy. She believes exposure to pure salt and salty air can balance out the heart chakra and help with respiratory problems.
The history of salt therapy
Salty Yoga might be relatively new, but salt therapy, known officially as halotherapy, is ancient. The earliest record comes from Poland in the 12th century and describes how people would bathe in mineral waters. Healers would also prescribe breathing in the salty air and sitting in salt caves. Both Europe and the Middle East practiced halotherapy. In later centuries, people noticed that miners working in salt caves were surprisingly healthy. They never got respiratory diseases, and their skin always looked flawless. In 1839, a doctor and businessman decided to capitalize on his research into the salt caves and open a health resort in Poland.
In the 1960’s, the world’s first underground Allergy Treatment Spa opened in Poland as a result of decades of research and observation of “salted” underground environments. Visitors sought treatment for respiratory conditions and other health problems. The spa became so popular that other salt mines and caves were opened to the public throughout Europe and the USSR. In the 1980’s, scientists created the first halotherapy device, which disperses salt particles into the air. When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the rest of the world became interested in salt therapy.
Benefits of salt yoga
Why would you choose salt therapy? Although modern scientific studies have yet to prove all of the health claims, believers say the therapy improves the immune system, allergies, skin conditions, and colds. Salt has been studied with cystic fibrosis patients; inhaling vapor infused with salt helped their breathing. The Senior Scientific Advisor to the American Lung Association, Dr. Edelman, believes that inhaling fine salt particles could be drawing water into the body’s airways. This thins out mucus, which is often the root of breathing troubles.
Salt has fourfold powers: it’s antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory. Ellen Patrick says another benefit can be found in the negative ions in salt counteracting the positive ions from computers, cell phones, and other electronics. People become more balanced.
Are kids who receive salt treatment safe?
Not only is salt therapy a natural treatment that is highly recommended, but it is also safe for children. In actuality, children respond particularly well to treatment for asthma, bronchitis, and hay fever. There aren’t any possible negative side effects. Children of any age can benefit from the treatment. It’s interesting to note that kids react to therapy quicker than adults do. Children can engage with other kids, read books, and play with toys during a salt therapy session.
What is salt yoga like?
Salt therapy involves just sitting and breathing in the salty air, but salt yoga has a bit more movement. Following a short meditation, Ellen Patrick will go through chest-opening poses with her class. This improves breathing. After an hour of gentle yoga, the class ends with another meditation. Relaxation and deep breathing is the ultimate goal.
If you’re interested in regular salt therapy minus yoga, you have options. The Williamsburg Salt Spa in Virginia is one of the oldest salt caves in the United States. The founder imports 15 tons of Himalayan and Polish salt to create the environment. In North Carolina, Asheville’s Salt Cave & Salt Spa envelops you in 20 tons of salt rock crystals. In these spa settings, you’ll sit back in a comfortable chair – often a massage chair – and just breathe.
When is it best to avoid salt therapy?
Halotherapy is acknowledged as a secure and efficient wellness technique for both restorative and preventive medical care. It does not provide a cure and is not a medical treatment! People with contagious infections, fever, open wounds, cancer, severe hypertension, mental disorders, and active tuberculosis should not have halotherapy. Because the dry salt therapy’s detoxification process may conflict with the chemotherapy, salt therapy is not recommended during chemotherapy. Halotherapy should not be used by pregnant women without first seeing their physician. Anyone experiencing severe health issues should consult a doctor and receive the necessary care.