Salt Cave Yoga

• Cave made entirely of salt
• Halotherapy has special benefits
• Practitioners says it helps with sleep

If you're starting to tire from all this holiday season snow and cold, you might ponder a little Himalayan escape.

A unique venue and a local instructor promise improved wellness with a combination of yoga… and lots of salt.

Behind a large, sliding wooden door in Room + Pillar Spa is a special room where every surface is covered in thousands of pounds of Himalayan salt.

“The first time I ever walked in this cave I actually started crying. There is a beautiful vibration in this cave,” Aleena McKinnon told Kelowna10. She’s the owner of Buddha Beats yoga and has been an instructor for 10 years.

The walls are stacked with salt-made bricks while salty pebbles line the floor. Even the lights shine through translucent salt.

To create a relaxing atmosphere, warm light and gentle music fill the cave. The lights can be dimmed revealing sparkles on the ceiling mimicking stars.

Buddha Beats offers yoga classes at various venues across Kelowna, from wineries to music venues. After forming a friendship with Room + Pillar’s owner, McKinnon began teaching inside the salt cave.

Many of the yoga in the salt cave events have sold out.

“The biggest thing that I’m getting from people is, they’re saying they’re going home and they’re sleeping like they’ve never slept before,” McKinnon said , while sitting on a pillow in the salt cave.

“I think there are huge benefits in this room, and I think the yoga and the salt just complement each other.”

Salt therapy is also called halotherapy. It was discovered in the 1800’s thanks to Polish salt miners who had far less respiratory illnesses than other miners. They were considered in unusually good health despite their working conditions.

Because of the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory nature of salt, Halotherapy promises health benefits for the respiratory tract as well as for skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, etc.

The salt cave utilizes a machine called a halogenerator to grind up pharmaceutical-grade salt and releases it into the air for inhalation.

The humidity is also controlled in the room to keep the salt as dry as possible for optimal absorption into the body.

McKinnon says that because of the small size of the room and the relaxing nature of the spa, the practices are more gentle than vigorous. Open to all skill levels, these events are very beginner friendly.

Due to the popularity, McKinnon plans to schedule more Yoga in a Salt Cave events in the future at Room + Pillar.