When Lia’s not working her laundry magic or leading meditations in the salt cave, she can usually be found digging in a garden, rearranging a room or sewing the layered wardrobe of her dreams.
Search Results for ""
As far back as 1795, records show that the area of Asheville NC was regarded as a place to come to heal oneself. The native Americans used this area as a neutral ground for their sick and took advantage of this area around the hot springs. The climate was regarded as optimal due to its temperature, barometric pressure, and clean mountain air. These ideals were measured by a physician who wanted to find the best place for his patients to recuperate. From the late 1800’s to the 1930’s Asheville rose in prominence as a curative place for tuberculosis. Boarding houses with large open front porches were abundant, just look around the beautiful historic Montford district.
History
In the 1870’s Dr. H.P. Gatchell, one of the pioneers treating TB patients, published a pamphlet promoting the advantage of the Asheville climate for health seekers. As a result numerous sanitariums were built in Asheville specifically for the treatment of contagious conditions. It is no wonder that Asheville today has people coming to for specialized treatments as well as searching for the holistic approach to wellness.
Mission and St. Josephs hospital are a prime medical center for Western North Carolina. And over the years have begun to incorporate a holistic program for health and wellness. Asheville itself is considered to be “the New Age Mecca of the east”. Based on the history of Asheville and its present day attraction for holistic healing, Asheville Salt Cave, after doing a great deal of research, chose Asheville as the ideal place to share this amazing treatment.
Salt Therapies
Salt therapy has been well known and documented in Europe for centuries. It is only within the last 10 years that this form of natural healing has been brought to the United States. Many salt spa’s build their rooms with a halogenerator(dry salt), which blows fine dry salt particles through a metal machine to infuse the air.
Asheville Salt Cave’s chose the more natural approach when building their space, it is called speleotherapy, using a water method to deliver the treatment. Salt and water are what we are made up of, it is where life begins. Speleotherapy is the most natural way to receive this type of therapy and is the genlest for your body to absorb and process.
Our Mission
Our goal is help those suffering from various respiratory illness, such as bronchitis, sinusitis, asthma, hay-fever, pneumonia, and many more with a drug free solution which is free from side effects. We focus on the source of the problem rather then suppressing the symptoms. However we make no medical claims and recommend that all medical conditions be treated by a physician. We have built our nature-inspired salt cave to be as similar as possible to the microclimate of naturally occurring salt caves. We have imported 20 tons of Salt from Poland, the Himalaya mountains, dead sea and Celtic sea salt to pull in all four corners of the earth. Our two salt water features regenerate the salt air just like a salt cave found in nature. We hope you will join us to experience this special place for rest and healing.
We offer both private and community salt cave sessions. We also offer a variety of healing massage therapy spa services. Such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, hot stone massage, energy work, reflexology, and body scrubs.
Purposely left blank.
All life forms on this planet come from the ocean. The water of the ocean is a natural sole (concentrated salt & water solution, pronounced so-lay). We can observe this process in the growth of the fetus in the womb. The amniotic fluid in the womb is 1% water and salt solution – the sole. The word sole is directly connected to the word “soul”.
Life is equal to energy. Lack of energy causes disease. Suppressing symptoms does not heal the root of the symptom. An energy deficit creates a chaotic state within our bodies. If we use medications solely to suppress the symptoms we are experiencing we will not find the cause of the illness nor will we be able to balance our systems.
Water is the pillar of all life forms.
It is the beginning and the end of our life cycle. Water is not only important for our physical body, but it is also responsible for our thought processes, feelings and moods. If we drink enough water our body can eliminate toxins much quicker.
Salt is equally as important to our bodies as is water.
We could not survive without water and salt. They are equal partners. Natural crystal salt contains all the minerals and trace elements found in our body. Even the most simple process in our body, requires salt. Salt is a core essential nutrient that is fundamental for keeping us alive. The minerals found in natural salt crystals are available in such small particles that they can be absorbed easily by our cells. Salt is a vital source of life.
Allopathic medicine has recognized the healing properties of salt since the late 1800’s.
Our Nature Inspired Salt Cave
The water which is found in the two water features of our Salt Cave is called Sole and is a highly concentrated solution of water and salt. These two salt water features along with a constant temperature and constant humidity help to create the unique micro climate that mimics that of a naturally occurring salt cave.
When one experiences a salt cave session, ones body takes in the micro climate via respiration and through the skin. Our cave is made up of 20 tons of natural salt rocks which contain resonant vibrations .
It is not just the purity of air in the salt cave that has a healing effect, but also its resonant vibrations, that activate our self-healing and self-regulating powers.
In contrast, “salt rooms”, where salty air is blown in through a ventilation system without the balancing gentle effect of the water element, have become increasingly popular in our country. These are relatively quick and inexpensive to build by comparison. They do not produce the delicate micro climate of a nature inspired salt cave nor does the coarse salt on the walls produce any resonant vibrations in a large enough quantity to produce any medical benefit to our bodies.
To learn more
For more about the amazing combination of salt and water in our bodies and how they regulate and allow our body to heal itself read Water & Salt: The Essence of Life by Dr. Barbara Hendel and Peter Ferreira.
You can find this book, along with many other salt inspired books in our Salt Apothecary located in Downtown Asheville. We also offer a variety of massage therapy spa services. Such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, hot stone massage, energy work, reflexology, and body scrubs.
Most of us rarely leave the house without our phone these days. And it seems we are opting for text conversations over calls more and more. Being continually attached to our smart phones in this way can exacerbate certain inflammatory conditions, such as tendinitis. Tendonitis is the inflammation of tendons, the attachments between bone and muscle, and can be directly linked to overuse/repetitive motions of the hands and/or fingers. Tendonitis causes wrist pain, aching, numbness, and loss of strength. It can make you quite uncomfortable, and small tasks may seem hard to complete. However, this should not be confused with carpal tunnel syndrome, although swelling from tendonitis can cause carpal tunnel.
And just because your thumb seems to be doing all the work doesn’t mean the discomfort is confined to the hand. Often, since everything is connected in our bodies, these repetitive hand motions can lead to pain in the wrist and up the forearm.
If you start to notice a discomfort or pain in your wrists from texting too much, there are a few things you can do to help alleviate that pain and promote healing.
Rest
Obviously, put your phone down! Think of pain as your body’s way of giving an initial warning that something needs attention. Taking extended periods of time to rest throughout the day is necessary in order to help alleviate the pain, reduce any swelling, and promote healing. And by taking breaks, you’re reducing the chances of this nagging pain developing into a serious problem.
Ice
Place ice on the area twice a day for 10 minutes. Ice is very helpful for reducing inflammation and pain.
Wrist Brace
Often the support of a brace can help alleviate pain, while forcing you to use your thumb/hand thoughtfully and ergonomically, which aids the healing process.
Wrist Stretches
Going through a few simple exercises daily can alleviate some of the pain and keep your wrist and hand working properly.
Gentle Massage
Gentle massage along the entire arm and hand can assist with loosening tight muscles, increasing blood flow to the affected area, and increasing range of motion.
Our wellness services in our Downtown Asheville location include salt therapy and massage therapy services, such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, and energy healing. We also offer special events inside the salt cave where you can learn and experience a variety healing and wellness modalities including Sound Healings, Reiki Blessings, and Wisdom Circles.
We grow up sitting in classrooms with uncomfortable desks and overworked teachers from the time we are 4yrs old and are expected to absorb all the information thrown at us. As we get older we begin to realize that we all learn differently. Some of us visual learners, some audio and many of us are tactile learners.
I believe knowledge is powerful and getting out of our box is a very important way to gain wisdom, no matter how you learn.
These past couple of weeks I took learning outside the typical classroom and book setting and travelled overseas to the Uk, Paris and Amsterdam to expand my horizons of running a full circle wellness center. I am a tactile learner, I learn best with experiencing. So that is exactly what I did. I explored spas, natural products, and unique treatments from some very special places.
World Spa & Wellness Conference
I continued my education by participating in the World Spa and Wellness conference, held in London. I sat in rooms filled with some of the the top leaders in the industry. Participants ranged from those who run top spas and wellness centers around the world to those growing their own small businesses, to businesses interested in building their product brands and every other level of the industry.
The Future of Healthcare
We engaged in deep and meaningful conversation about how we are each a huge impact on the future of healthcare.
From our own microcosm communities, to the world at large: discussing how people view their health and how we can empower the public to take control over their health to live full and healthy lives.
Wellness Communities
We discussed the ideas of wellness communities as a whole, to building community and a sustainable culture, and how to make these much needed wellness services affordable for all people. We shared ways to manage and reflect wellness within our own community and ways to bring those benefits to our employees, creating a lifestyle that reflects harmony and balance for all. We shared what tools have and have not worked for our different business models, as well as how to implement those into our own creations.
Continue to Learn
Education is such a powerful tool and one should never stop learning. I encourage you to get out of your box and continue to learn something new. Weather it’s to expand your career knowledge, learn about a craft you have been interested in , or maybe even something as simple as trying a new recipe for dinner. Expand your mind. Expand yourself. Continue to learn.
Our wellness services in our Downtown Asheville location include salt therapy and massage therapy services, such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, and energy healing. We also offer special events inside the salt cave where you can learn and experience a variety healing and wellness modalities including Sound Healings, Reiki Blessings, and Wisdom Circles.
My head just throbbed….. I started out the morning with a terrible headache! I dabbed a bit of peppermint essential oil on my temples and BAM My head felt better, my sinuses cleared, and my mind felt awake and alive!
Peppermint oil may be the most versatile Essential Oil in the world, along with Lavender.
Peppermint is one of the oldest European herbs used for medicinal purposes, historical accounts date its use to ancient Chinese and Japanese folk medicine. It is mentioned in Greek mythology and has been found in several Egyptian pyramids.
Peppermint is anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-microbial, carminative (digestive processes), analgesic, and can help control appetite too!
Get ready to start harnessing the natural health benefits of peppermint.
Natural Muscle Ache Remedy and Painkiller
Peppermint essential oil is a very effective natural painkiller and muscle relaxant. It is especially helpful in soothing an aching back, sore muscles, and melting away a tension headache. You can also use it for joint therapy, when your joints get achy, applying some peppermint oil mixed with lavender oil and a carrier oil to cool muscles like an ice bath, but help you to stay warm and dry.
Sinus Care
Inhaling diffused peppermint oil can oftentimes immediately unclog your sinuses and offer relief to scratchy throats. Peppermint acts as an expectorant and may provide relief for colds, cough, sinusitis, asthma, and bronchitis. Peppermint oil is highly effective at relaxing muscles in your nasal passages and can help clear out the muck and pollen during allergy season. Diffusing peppermint along with clove oil and eucalyptus oil can also reduce allergy symptoms.
Naturally Reduce Food Cravings
Inhaling peppermint essential oil can stave off the munchies and can help you feel full faster. It can also help ease an upset tummy from overeating.
All Natural Energizer and Memory Enhancement
It will perk you up on long road trips, in school, at work, or any other time you need to “burn the midnight oil.” For those with chronic fatigue syndrome, peppermint oil may improve focus and concentration. Diffuse peppermint when studying for a test to aid memory, inhale peppermint during a test to improve concentration. Its a great non-toxic alternative to dangerous energy drinks, just take a few whiffs of peppermint.
DIY Shampoo Improvement
Add 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil to your regular morning shampoo and conditioner to stimulate the scalp, energize your mind, and wake up! Because it is a powerful antiseptic, peppermint can also help remove dandruff and lice.
Anit-Itch
Whether you’re battling a rash or poison ivy, applying some peppermint oil mixed with lavender oil and a carrier oil, like coconut oil, it is certain to cool and soothe any itch.
Natural Fever Reducer
Because of peppermint oil’s cooling effects, it is an excellent all natural treatment to bring down a fever, especially in children. Simply mix peppermint oil with coconut oil and rub it on a child’s neck and on the bottom of their feet to help stabilize a fever instead of aspirin or other drugs.
Peppermint essential oil blends well with many other oils.
Some to consider are Oregano, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Pine, Cypress, Frankincense, and Rosemary. Peppermint adds a sweetness to blends that wake you up, while smelling clean, cool, and heavenly!
Please don’t get Peppermint essential oil near your eyes or any sensitive areas with mucus membranes. It will sting!
Also, if you are pregnant, nursing, have heart issues, etc., please seek advice from a medical doctor before using any essential oil.
Always test your sensitivity to an essential oil before using in large amounts. Apply a tiny drop to a small patch of skin to make sure you have no adverse reactions. People with extra sensitive skin tend to benefit from using a carrier oil.
All of our massage therapy services in our Downtown Asheville location, such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, and foot massage, include the option to add on essential oils.
About a year ago I was doing some research on different uses for salt around the world. I stumbled across a random image of a sumo wrestler throwing salt into the ring, and I was immediately intrigued. Turns out this is an ancient cultural spiritual ritual over 1000 years old.
Sumo originated as a ceremony to show respect to the Shinto deities (Shinto is an indigenous religion of Japan). The wrestlers perform a wide variety of specific rituals derived from Shinto practice.
Facing the audience, they clap their hands and stomp their legs to drive away evil spirits.
Stepping out of the ring into their respective corners, each wrestler is given a ladleful of water, the chikara-mizu (“power water”), with which he rinses out his mouth. Then both step back into the ring, squat facing each other, clap their hands and spread them wide – showing that they have no weapons. Returning to their corners, they each then pick up a handful of salt. The sumo wrestlers throw salt into the ring to get rid of evil spirits and purify the ring before the match. They also pray for a safe game.
Added bonus – the salt acts as an excellent disinfectant for their scratches! Ritual meets utility.
Salt can be used as a natural disinfectant in many ways. Our downtown Asheville salt market and spa offers neti pots, salt boo boo stones, and sole water jars for purchase – all of which have disinfectant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti fungal properties.
It is with great excitement and delight that we are finally able to share with you that the Travel Channel did a little feature on us! We have had to keep quiet about this for some time now, but they released the video earlier this week and we can now share it with you all! A big thank you everyone who helped out on the day of filming – staff, friends, family, community – filming salt cave therapy sessions, special events, and massage therapy in our downtown Asheville location.
Beyond grateful for you all!
If you only use one essential oil, Lavender is it! It is often referred to as the Grandmother of all oils. The Latin name of lavender is Lavare, which means “to wash”, due to its particularly pleasant floral aroma. It is so vast and versatile in all its healing properties, and most commonly known for its relaxing effects on the body and mind. The health benefits of lavender EO include its ability to eliminate nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect the scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory issues.
Here are some great ways I like to use Lavender essential oil to benefit my health:
Calming Effects of Lavender Essential Oil
Rub 2-3 drops of lavender oil in your cupped palms, use the inhalation method to draw the scent all the way into your amygdala gland (the emotional warehouse) in your brain to calm the mind. Then, rub on the feet, temples, wrists (or anywhere) for an immediate calming effect on the body.
Lavender Essential Oil for Bee sting / Insect bites
Lavender essential oil is potent for many types of bugs like mosquitoes, midges, and moths. Apply some lavender oil on the exposed skin when outside to prevent these irritating bites . Put a drop of Lavender oil on a bee sting or insect bite to stop itching reduce swelling.
Minor burns reduced with Lavender
Put 2-3 drops Lavender oil on a minor burn to decrease pain. I recently did this after I spilled scorching hot tea on my hand and luckily had my lavender with me. Result: NO redness, swelling or pain. NO sign of any burn.
Soothing Eczema / Dermatitis with Lavender
Mix several drops of Lavender oil with a carrier oil (coconut, jojoba, etc) and use topically on eczema and dermatitis. A dear friend of mine who suffers from severe eczema swears by this method.
Natural Sleep Remedy with Lavender
Place a few drops of Lavender oil on a tissue and tuck it in your pillowcase before bedtime. To heighten the experience I love adding a few drops of this potent oil to my bath ritual at night as I am winding down in the evening.
Lavender Relieves Aches and Pains
Lavender essential oil is known as an excellent remedy for various types of pains including those caused by sore and tense muscles, rheumatism, sprains and spasms. A study done on post operative patients showing that combining lavender essential oil vapor into the oxygen significantly reduced the amount of pain experienced, versus those patients only revived with oxygen after a major surgery.
Carrying a bottle of lavender EO around with you is like having your own personal first aid kit, perfume and stress reducer.
*Always test your sensitivity to an essential oil before using in large amounts. Apply a tiny drop to a small patch of skin to make sure you have no adverse reactions. People with extra sensitive skin tend to benefit from using a carrier oil.
All of our massage therapy services, such as couples massage, therapeutic massage, and foot massage, include the option to add on essential oils.
One of the most magical places on the earth can be found in Turkey. It is called Pamukkale or Cotton Castle. The name refers to the surface of the glistening, snow-white limestone, shaped by salt minerals and calcium-rich springs. As the concentrated waters drip slowly down the vast mountainside, mineral-rich waters foam and collect in terraces, spilling over cascades of stalactites into milky pools. Legend has it that the formations are solidified cotton (the area’s principal crop) that giants left out to dry.
Pamukkale in Turkey is still considered one of the healthiest and most mysterious places in the world. Deep in the earth beneath the city lies a vast source of water that is heated by volcanic lava. As a result, the water dissolves into white calcium and minerals, and then once saturated, it appears on the surface of the earth where it bursts forth and runs down a steep hillside. The end result is a form of calcium cascades frozen in stone.
As most mysterious places in the world, Pamukkale has a strong legend that makes this place even more intriguing. People believe that back in the days, there was a young Turkish girl that no one wanted to marry because she was very plain. The sad girl tried to end her life by throwing herself off a ledge. She fell into a natural pool and survived the fall. The water in the pool turned her into a radiant girl who caught the attention of the Turkish lord Denizli while he was passing by the place. He fell in love with the girl instantly and decided to marry her. People nowadays believe that in addition to the health benefits, the rocks in Pamukkale can make you more beautiful.
There are 17 natural springs in Pamukkale with temperatures ranging from 35 degrees to 100 degrees.
Pamukkale is considered a natural health spa thanks to the many benefits it provides for its visitors. The salt water provides remedy against asthma and rheumatism. Additionally, the water can bring benefits to the skin and eyes, help with recovery from high blood pressure, kidney stones, stroke, physical exhaustion, circulatory issues, digestive maladies, chronic disorders and nutritional disorders.
This one is sure to visit on the list of magical salt places on the earth. Continue to follow as I share of more salty places!
Our Energy Ball Salt Stones have many uses and benefits. As with the BooBoo stones, they can be stored in your freezer or warmed up for easing muscle pain. They can be used as a natural deodorant or they are great for bumps and bruises. Their round shape makes them excellent for holding in your palm as a meditation tool. They are also lovely placed in an Abundance Bowl style salt lamp.
Each stone is about 2 inches round, one per each purchase.
Specs:
- Pure Pink Himalayan Salt
- Individual round 2″ stone
Add flavor and 84 essential elements/minerals to any dish with our edible Pink Himalayan salt. This coarse salt comes ready to use in a ceramic grinder.
Ingredients:
Pure Coarse Pink Himalayan Salt