I’d heard whispers of salt rooms before and suspected their purpose might be to address skin and respiratory conditions.
Still, not having ever really struggled too much with either affliction, I wasn’t entirely sure and had delved no further.
When a new salt room opened in Shepparton recently, my curiosity was piqued.
I reached out to Katrina Bell, the co-owner with Travis Laby, of new wellness centre LaBell Wellness, where the salt room exists, to learn more about it.
She invited me to try it for myself so I could feel its effects, rather than having her simply explain them to me.
The nurse of 27 years and now a qualified Bowen therapist believes there is a place for both modern medicine and natural therapies to treat the vast array of conditions humans are challenged with.
But where she knows it can help, Ms Bell will always champion the latter first, which is why she’s so passionate about her new business.
She invites me in to her warm and calm, freshly-renovated space and takes me through a Bowen therapy session first.
It’s a form of massage therapy to realign the body without rough manipulation.
She uses gentle movements to release tension and reports feeling an instant release of such in my back and quads. I do, too.
The session is dignified and relaxing. I didn’t have to remove any clothing or steel myself for any pain that might result from intense manipulation.
I could’ve quite easily fallen asleep during the session.
After, I take a drink of water and head straight into the room quite literally filled with salt next door.
I take my shoes off and step onto what feels like a private beach.
But the surface is pure pharmaceutical-grade salt, not a mix of sand, salt and sharp shells you would find along the coast.
We’ve all heard people say they need a dose of ocean air to cure them, or that saltwater on their skin was just the medicine they needed.
Of course, the nearest ocean beach to the Goulburn Valley is some way away and too cold to swim in most of the year anyway.
As I take a seat on a chair, Ms Bell explains what will happen during my time inside.
She tells me I may start to cough; my nose may start to run. To get the best benefits, I should breathe deeply. She described the experience as being like a scrubbing brush for your insides.
Then she dims the lights, closes the door, leaving me alone and starts up her machine — called a halogenerator — which grinds pure pharmaceutical salt (99 per cent sodium chloride crystals) into fine particles suitable for inhalation and fans a fine mist of salted air into the room.
As I sit in a subtle haze of salt swirling around me, entering and exfoliating my airways, I feel my sinuses begin to clear as my nose starts running.
I had placed my feet on a footstool and reclined so that I could relax, maybe even snooze, aware that’s the only time I truly take deep breaths without needing to remind myself to.
But soon I realise my feet are bare and the floor is salt for a reason. The respiratory system wasn’t supposed to be the only benefactor of the therapy.
I place my feet on the salt and curl my toes so that any inflammation or skin conditions might be positively affected by the contact. I enjoy the sensation, it’s also quite soothing.
I can smell the salt; taste it; feel it.
With hayfever season upon us, I wondered if it would help support my sinuses throughout. Ms Bell tells me she’s confident it will.
She also tells me later, that in addition, the positive respiratory and dermatological outcomes, halotherapy can help improve sleep, reduce stress, anxiety and depression, and enhance circulation, immunity, endurance and recovery.
Quite a powerful set of soothing skills salt has in its cache, if that’s the case.
I take a sip of my water and taste the salty residue on my lips. It’s not at all unpleasant.
The room has four comfy chairs with cushions, a blanket for if you get cold, three large salt lamps, two footstools if you’d prefer to keep your feet off the salt beneath, and a child’s table and chair set.
This room isn’t just for individuals. The entire family can come and have a simultaneous session.
Those benefits transcend pure gratitude from a time-poor bunch and extend into benefits completely unrelated to the physical health benefits salt can deliver.
One, you stop still and relax; a skill many of us have forgotten.
Two, you get some quality time with your whole family at once in a confined space.
It’s twofold healing; physical and mental wellbeing.
An adult session in here is usually 45 minutes, but we’re sampling 30.
It only took 15 minutes for me to start sniffling and coughing. It’s working. And it’s not uncomfortable. It feels purifying.
My respiratory system is getting some maintenance with some concentrated salt air sans the sea scenery and I only had to travel five minutes from home and find a spare few minutes, conveniently after hours, for self-care.
Instant results cannot be denied.
While for serious conditions further medical intervention might be what’s needed, it’s nice to have an alternative therapy to try before a chemical fix or a risky procedure.