What We Do For Health, Part 1: The Salt Cave

In a turn of luck, I've recently had the opportunity to try a few different non-traditional care treatments. While runners can certainly benefit from a range of treatments, the same can be said for everyone. Life is stressful and can be hard on the body, and since it's the only one we get, we should be good to it.

Try something for me. Get up out of your chair and try to touch your toes. How does that feel?

Now, stand up straight, put your right hand over your head and reach as far to the left as you can and count to 15. Now switch arms and bend to your right. How did that feel?

Chances are you felt some tugging and tightness. Maybe you couldn't touch your toes. Maybe your back cracked or your neck felt heavy. Maybe it was the easiest thing you've done all day.

We tend to carry a lot of stress in our bodies, I know I certainly do, but we don't have to live in pain or feel mildly uncomfortable all the time. 

Fact: as I write this I have a tight knot in my neck that's making my head feel like a million pounds.

I'm always looking ways to lower stress, relax, stop my shoulder from hurting, and support my running, that will work consistently and hopefully last longer than a few hours.

When a local bike shop turned into a place called 5 Star Salt Caves, we were curious what it was all about. And then the Groupon offers started. So needless to say, we decided to give it a try.

Several different services are offered, but we went for the main attraction - the salt cave.

In addition to stimulating deep relaxation, Halotherapy (or sitting in salt) is the use of salt vapor to treat or prevent respiratory ailments and skin irritations, and to help combat headaches, dizziness, nausea, indigestion, and more.

What it's like:

In reality the cave is a room with several inches of pink Himalayan salt covering the floor, blocks of the salt covering the walls, several salt lamps placed throughout the room and the dark ceiling has strategically placed twinkle lights to resemble stars in the sky.

When we were led into the room we were directed to one of eight or so lounge chairs - more of the outdoor type than the lay-zee boy type - with a blanket and a small basket for personal items.

This is not a private treatment, nor does it involve any strenuous movement, so comfortable clothing is recommended and clean, white socks are required. All I can assume is that dirty, colored socks can change the color of the salt. But that's just a guess.

After everyone was settled in the lights were dimmed. Since phones aren't allowed and it's not a place to catch up on the latest gossip (silence is golden), the only option is to just lay there for 50 minutes and take a little nap if you'd like.

My take:
It takes a lot for my mind to slow down and for me to stop obsessing over my to-do list, so the music and twinkling "stars" were welcomed distractions. After a while I was able to switch my focus and relax a bit. While I may have fallen asleep for only a flash, the fifty minutes did go by more quickly than I expected, which I was thankful for, but also not quite ready to get back to my day.

I was really hoping that it would help clear my sinuses and relieve congestion, and while I was able to breathe freely after a few minutes, the effects quickly dissipated once we left.

Will I go back?
I think so. It seems like a type of experience that you have to experience a few times to get the full benefits of. If nothing else, it helped me relax and I was in a pretty good mood the rest of the day (although, the fact that it was also my birthday may have had something to do with that!). Five Star Salt Caves in Denver often has Groupon offers, so I'll try and take advantage of that again, as $35 for 50 minutes would be a bit expensive on a regular basis.

Sound off: If you've tried Halotherapy before, what did you think? * What's the oddest treatment you've tried to cure or prevent an illness or injury?

Five for Friday

1. This has been another crazy week at work. Some of it interesting, some of it just necessary. Long hours too, so I feel quite far removed from what’s happening in the outside world. One person I work closely with works from home, and the last few days I’ve been getting emails from her super late at night, like after 11pm. Sometimes I wish I could work from home, but then seeing that reminds me that it’s nice to have the separation between work and home. While I’ve been extra busy at work, I’ve been trying extra hard to disconnect from work once I leave. I owe it to myself and my husband.

2. If you read my training recap on Monday you’ll know that I’ve been having issues with stomach cramps post long-runs. Yesterday I even got them after running only 6 miles, which was an issue because I had to go to work and couldn’t curl up on the couch all day like I did last Sunday. I’ve tried eating different things the night before, the morning of, during and after. And still, cramps. I did a little research on RunnersWorld.com and they suggest not having dairy (unless it’s yogurt with live cultures), high fiber foods and cruciferous veggies within 24hrs of a long run. I’m going to try to make this work for my long run on Sunday, which is going to be 12miles. I really don’t want to spend the afternoon on the couch in pain. So, my question is, have you ever suffered from stomach cramps after a long run? How did you stop them and then keep them from happening again? Do you restrict any specific types of food before a long run?

3. I just read THIS article in the New York Times and it absolutely infuriates me. It’s all about the unnecessary tests doctors order and why they do it. Researchers surveyed primary care doctors around the country and of the 600 responses (a 70% response rate, which is huge), nearly half believed their patients received too much care. That means too many tests, too many prescriptions, too many procedures. And we all know that translates to super high medical costs. No wonder healthcare in this country is so out of control. I’ve had to deal with a lot of medical expenses over the last few years and every time I go to the doctor a battery of tests are performed. It drives me nuts that the doctors are saying they do them because we want them, or because it’ll be faster. Faster shouldn’t be the deciding factor – what’s right should be. I suggest you read this article and then question your doctor on every test they want to run and every medication or procedure they prescribe. Then go for a run, eat healthy foods and try your best to quit any unhealthy habits you’ve been trying to rid yourself of. We can’t control everything, but there are some things we can do to keep ourselves healthy and strong (and save some money at the same time).

4.  We have a family friend arriving tonight from DC and staying with us for the weekend. Actually, I baby sat for her and her little brother a few times many, many years ago. I’m a little nervous because I have not cleaned a thing and run a few errands. Thankfully she’s not leaving till after work and won’t be here till close to 11pm. She has some meetings on Saturday, but I feel bad since I have to go for my long run Sunday morning. I don’t want to ignore our guest – but thankfully she’s really low key and we’re planning brunch afterwards. As long as my stomach doesn’t keep me down. We haven’t seen each other in years so I’m really looking forward on catching up with her. She lives such an exciting life!

5. As exhausted as I am from work and training, I am really excited about one thing. Woody and I got tickets to fly to Denver and visit my awesome Aunt and Uncle in November!! They’ve probably been there for a decade now and we’ve never been out to visit them, so it’s about time. We also don’t see them often but I really respect them and appreciate their guidance about a lot of things, so it will be nice to spend a long weekend with them. Plus, we’re always up for exploring new cities.

• How do you change your diet before a long run or race?
• What do you have planned for this weekend?
• If you could get on a plane today and go anywhere, where would you go?

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Yesterday’s workout -

• 6mile run
• stretching

Today’s workout -

• stretching (rest day)