Ever Been To A Salt Cave?

A while back, I remember catching a glimpse of a report on the news (or some other show) about salt caves. Honestly, the only thing I remembered from it was that they looked cool! Then last fall, I came across a sponsored or suggested post in my Facebook newsfeed about the SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave.  The memory of salt covered walls and floors was triggered and I figured I would look into a bit further.  At this point in time, I was dealing with my chronic illness and trying to find natural remedies to help with my gamut of symptoms, and I was interested in checking this out to see if it would give any relief. For me, part of living a happy, positive life, is to take care of my body in natural ways and reduce the amount of chemical and pharmaceutical ways of treating ailments……and this looked right up my alley!!

Upon checking out the website, I learned how salt caves have been widely used in Europe for decades, but they are relatively new to North America. I also learned about how salt is considered a cleansing tool and that they use a Halogenerator to disperse dry saline aerosol into the air for you to breathe in and for it to come in contact with your skin surface. This excerpt from their website REALLY caught my attention as to the benefits of Halotherapy………”our SaltWonder provides sessions of “halotherapy” (salt therapy) that benefits one’s health, mental and psychic well-being, as well as beauty. This procedure creates a curative effect on numerous breathing conditions and symptoms such as chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughs, wheezing, respiratory allergies, rhinitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, colds, influenza, smoke related cough (secondary smoke symptoms). The sessions of salt therapy significantly reduce stress, anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, enhance concentration capacity, bring feelings of freshness, relaxation and satisfaction. The simulated salt cave microclimate retards skin aging, smoothes out wrinkles, reduces inflammation and acne.” According to that, everyone could benefit from some time in the cave!!! I was sold…..I didn’t have any breathing issues, but I liked the idea of reducing stress, regulating sleep patterns, increasing concentration and the anti-aging!! At that point in time, there was only a large public room, which worked out fine, as my friend and I had it all to ourselves.  Have a look at the video below to give you an idea as to what the public room looks like.

After an hour in there, I felt soooooooooooo amazingly relaxed.  I couldn’t believe that I was actually able to sit still for that long, and actually I couldn’t believe that a whole hour had gone by. Some of you might be thinking……..how do I know that I was actually breathing in the salt air?  Well, I licked my arm afterwards, and I was definitely salty! So there was definitely lots of salt in the air! In the public room, there is a play area for kids, so this is a therapy for all ages.

Recently, I saw that the owner, Nuca Stoica, had built a private room where you lay on a heated bed of salt, so of course, I had to try that out. There is a lot of pain involved in my chronic illness, so the thought of laying on a heated bed of salt would definitely give me some increased relief, not to mention being a private room, you are able to expose more of your skin surface to the salt aerosol for even greater benefits. As you can see in my video

below……..this was such a relaxing experience!!

In expanding the benefits of going to the Salt Cave, Nuca has also invited people in to do some yoga, meditation and sound healing sessions within the cave. Keep an eye on the website for when those special events are available, On July 19^th, a Nebulization room has now been opened for an even more concentrated therapy in only 20 minutes. Check out this most recent interview that Nuca did with Shaw TV about the salt cave.

If you or a loved one suffers from any sort of breathing issue, skin inflammatory issues, or are in need of some relaxation, with anti-aging properties thrown in, give Nuca a call and book an introductory appointment in the cave……..you won’t be disappointed!! Right now Nuca has some summer specials going on, so definitely take advantage of those.  You can find them on his website or his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saltwonder

SPECIAL OFFER!!! Call Nuca and tell him that you read all

about his Salt Cave on my blog, and you will get a 45min session in the large public room for ONLY $19 (reg price $45)!!!

SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave
940 West 16th St.
North Vancouver, BC
604-971-5220
www.saltcavebc.com

True Happiness Can Only Be Achieved Through Death!

When I did a search to see if I could find anyone who talked about this, I came across some works of the Dalai Lama and the ‘Art of Happiness’. Where he stated that even though our happiness is influenced by what we have and what happens to us, the source of long term happiness in mental. Being that it is mental, the most effective way to seek happiness is by training our minds, which is a gradual, life-long process. “The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within, replacing previous negative conditioning or habituation with new positive conditioning. ... Through training we can change; we can transform ourselves." [page 43]

The ‘Death’ involved is the death of limiting beliefs, thought patterns, behaviours, things that we have always done in the past. We all have a certain method of operation that was developed along this journey of ‘growing up’. For the most part, it has served us well, as I assume that we are all (for the most part lol) well-adjusted members of society. We get dressed, go about our days, do some work, feed ourselves, have relationships, take care of our loved ones, provide for ourselves and compared to some areas of the world, we really have nothing to complain about. But are we truly Happy?

I like to people watch, whether I am in a restaurant, in the park, walking down the street, in the grocery store, on public transit or wherever…..Observation is one of my strongest skills (has been since I was a kid), and I like to watch how people conduct themselves and relate to those around them and I have to say……..the majority of the behaviour and interaction that I see is NOT that of a Happy society……..and I used to be right in the middle of all of that.

When you think about how the path of your life has been going up until this point, I can’t help but cue up Dr. Phil with his famous, “How’s that working out for ya?”…….when I actually took some time and looked at how things were going in my life and asked myself that question…….it wasn’t working out that great. Sure I had a career, I survived a failed marriage, I had friends, I had a decent relationship with my family members, I owned my own condo, paid my bills, did volunteer work……..but at the end of the day, when I came home at night, when I was truly honest with myself…….I wasn’t happy. I felt empty, alone, unfulfilled, desperate for change, but what? When I allowed myself to feel those feeling, then I would get that part of my mind nattering at me, “what are you complaining about? Look at all that you have! There are people around the world that would kill for what you have.” So I would feel guilty for thinking that way, and push it aside and continue with my regular M.O……..and I think that most of us get caught in that trap.

It took a catastrophic event for me to actually STOP and realize that I could not continue down this path that I was on……..and I truly hope that you don’t have to get to that point, as I wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone…….but I want to encourage you to take stock of your life. Put aside all the things that you have accomplished, all the material things that you have worked hard for and accumulated, all the ‘trappings’ of life and just look inwards……..what do you feel? Sit quietly, close your eyes and ask yourself, “what am I feeling?”…..and then just listen….What are the first words that pop into your head? Don’t force it….just let the words and emotions bubble up. Keep going until you feel empty…….maybe even set your phone to record as you say what each word is as it comes up, in case you really get on a roll! What were your predominate words? Were there words that came up several times? Did the words have emotions attached to them? After looking at that list, how do they reflect what is going on in your life? Does your emotional world match or is it at conflict with how you show up physically in the world?

If you cannot say that you are truly living a life of pure happiness, in EVERY aspect of your life, then I would suggest that maybe you want to take a look at that. Maybe you have some old thought patterns, limiting beliefs and behaviours that are ready to be put to rest.  Are you ready for those negative aspects that have been controlling how you show up in the world, to be put to ‘death’? Are you ready to see what life can be like after that ‘death’?

I have seen a lot of people say, “just BE Happy!”…….sure, you can put on a happy face, and act like everything is perfect……..but what does that prove? I did that for decades, and it nearly actually killed me. Living a life of integrity, where what I say, do and believe are all in alignment, is SO important to me now and I encourage you to do the same. Once we deal with all the mental and emotional “stuff” that has accumulated over the years, and do the work to release it, all that is left is Happiness…….as that is our true essence.

Over the last couple of years, I have done a lot of personal work on my own, and have had great results in changing how I think, believe and perceive the world, but I know that I have some deeper limiting thoughts and beliefs still holding me back, those programs that are constantly running in my mind and I am SO ready for them to go to their ‘deaths’. So over the next little while, I am looking forward to some mental and emotional ‘funerals’ happening, as I work with someone who is highly trained at helping people move past their ‘stuff’ and discovering their Excellence. I cannot wait to see what life will hold after these ‘deaths’ occur.

I am looking forward to the ‘rest of my life, being the BEST of my life!’