It had been a particularly stressful few weeks for me, beginning with the decision to purchase a new home smack dab in the middle of the holidays and during the worst mortgage rate hike in recent memory. Who does that? But I digress. 

While we were excited to move, I quickly began to feel that ominous onset of depleting energy that comes from weeks of jaw clenching, tongue biting and contract signing (if you know, you know). Then, like a literal beacon in the night, while driving down Johnston Street in Lafayette one evening, I saw the soft glow from a storefront window: Lafayette Salt Cave. 

After a quick online search, I discovered the salt cave is actually a salt room: a quiet, low-lit meditation space where you can receive dry salt therapy and other centering experiences. 

Centering? Therapy? Yes, please. A simple reservation process and I was all set for three unique experiences that would take me from frazzled to fantastic just in time for Christmas. 

Sound Bath

While I have participated in sound baths in the past, I’ve never attended one while sitting in a pile of pink himalayan salt rock. I arrived 15 minutes early that evening in hopes of learning more about what I was about to experience, and Salt Cave owner Marta Wallace Ellinger was on hand to greet me with a warm smile and invite me to join her in the seating area of the lobby. With her feet resting on top of a himalayan salt lamp, she told me how she discovered dry salt therapy during a trip to Asheville with a friend. She, like many who hear about Lafayette Salt Cave, didn’t know what to expect but quickly discovered the calming effects and healing properties of the experience. Although she’s a special education teacher at Lafayette’s Prairie Elementary School, she knew immediately that she wanted to bring this experience to Louisiana, and in 2019 opened her doors. Now, her salt cave is the largest in Acadiana, attracting locals and tourists to experience first-hand the benefits. She offers dry salt therapy, massages, infra-red therapy booth sessions, sound baths, breathwork sessions, and a growing menu of other healing and relaxing services. 

After a few more attendees arived for sound therapy – several were regulars and a few, like me, were first-timers – we moved into the outer area of the salt room and removed our shoes. A few of us didn’t have socks, so we plucked a clean pair out of a basket, grabbed a few silk blankets and made our way through a set of painted double doors. 

As I followed the group, stretching my neck to get a first glimpse of the room, I felt the energy shift as soon as I crossed the threshold. I struggled to take it all in. The low lighting is softly punctuated by pink salt lamps of different sizes and shapes – on the floor, on the shelves, in the fireplace. In the middle of the room was a large area of rock salt – a sandbox for meditative hopefuls – where bolsters and pillows awaited attendees (five in all that evening). 

In front, seated on the floor and surrounded by her instruments, was our sound therapy guide for the evening Lissee Spiller. She warmly invited us to sit directly on the sand and place the delicate blankets over our legs and shoulders. I quickly discovered why there were blankets and socks at all: while the rock salt feels much like sitting in the sand – so much so, nearly everyone instinctively ran their fingers through it like they were on the beaches of the Gulf Coast – it was, nevertheless, chilly to the touch.

We began with some breathwork and stretching, a gentle invitation to transition to the space and energy that we were about to experience. We then each laid on our backs, our heads cradled on a pillow and legs draped over a bolster. Our bodies melted into the rock salt. After a short guided meditation by Spiller, we began our journey through sound. At her fingertips were bowls that sang, drums that rolled like thunder, a gong that beckoned us to center ourselves. 

I don’t know how much time passed, but I think in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. During that time, I felt a spectrum of emotions, pendulating between utter calm and did I leave the oven on. I was sometimes aware of those around me and felt the strong collective energy of the room, but mostly I was centered within. At one point I shed a tear – about what, I do not know. I suspect it was buried somewhere deep, but with Lissee’s guidance, I left it somewhere in the salt. 

Reiki Massage

I emerged from the sound bath feeling dreamy, but oddly grounded, and returned the next day for a 90-minute massage with Hannah Comeaux. After warm greetings, she ushered me into an adjoining room, where the massage would take place. We spoke a bit about problem areas – my leg was out of whack from a stumble I took while loading blasted boxes for the move – and discussed my level of tolerance for pressure. My level: bring it!

I’ve had dozens of massages in my life, ranging from meh to whoo boy, and I could tell Hannah was a pro. She talked about this muscle and that tendon connected by these nerves, which all work together well, until they don’t. I was at complete ease with her and looked forward to the next hour and a half. 

She left the room for a short time and returned once I’d situated myself on the table. After an initial assessment of my back and shoulder muscles, Hannah asked if I’d ever had cupping therapy. I hadn’t but knew it as an ancient technique using suction cups to, for example, alleviate pain in certain areas. I was open to whatever she wanted to throw my way, so she proceeded. 

Other than a fantastic 90 minutes of therapy, one of the aspects that made this experience so lovely is that Hannah offers to treat you with whatever means she has in her portfolio, with no add-on charges. She simply wants to put your body back in balance and will customize her services to make that happen. There was the cupping, deep tissue massaging, smoothing out bunched up muscles, stretching, and intermittent Reiki – something I’d never had before. Reiki is an energy healing practice that aims to reduce stress in parts of your body, connect your energy centers and promote relaxation. I knew when Hannah was performing this technique throughout the session when I literally felt my flow and energy balance out. It was one of the best massages I’ve ever had. 

Dry Salt Therapy

Time in the salt room is usually reserved in one-hour sessions, but I booked my time (30 minutes) as an add-on to my massage. I later learned the salt room can be reserved for private sessions or in group sessions, as part of a package or as a stand-alone. On this day, I would be by myself.

Of all the experiences at the Salt Cave, this one would be the most unfamiliar to me. Although I’d already been in the salt room the evening before for the sound bath, everything else would be a first-time experience for me. After the familiar trip to the outer area to remove my shoes and get my socks and silk blankets (I suggest bringing a light jacket, as well), I entered the salt room to find my place. Hannah, who had led me there, invited me to use the room however I like – sit in one of the zero-gravity chairs, lay directly on the salt, sit and meditate, gaze into the salt lamps, or walk around. I did a little of each. 

The purpose of time in the salt room, I learned, is simply to inhale tiny particles of healing salt (similar breathing in the salt air at the beach for a week). Hannah explained that I would hear the intermittent humming of the grinder, but would not be able to see the salt particles in the air – although the particles from past sessions were evident on the surfaces in the room. Hannah filled the grinder with pharmaceutical-grade rock salt and left me to my solitude.   

While the sound bath and the massage were intentionally relaxing activities, time in the salt cave is what you make of it. The grinding of the machine is quite loud. I made a mental note to bring my ear plugs next time, and later found out they can provide you with a pair on request. Also, the humming of the machine is constant, but the grinding (the louder part) kicks on every 8 minutes or so, jolting you out of whatever meditative state you managed to fall into. In any case, I inhaled deeply, as instructed, and moved about the room – first the chair, then walking, then sitting in the salt, running my fingers through it and seeing designs in my mind’s eye. 

As my time in the salt cave came to a close, I found myself repeating what I’d done at the end of my sound bath and massage: mentally checking my calendar, planning my next visit to the Lafayette Salt Cave.

I’ll Be Zen for Christmas

10 Ways to Avoid Holiday Stress

1. Picture your perfect Christmas, then get happy with good enough.
2. Learn to say “no” even to the most persuasive people. 
3. Do more of what makes you happy and delegate what doesn’t.
4. Assess whether your traditions are fun or just making you crazy.
5. Put the device down and interact with actual humans.
6. Accept that some of your relatives are nuts.
7. Schedule purposeful down time throughout the month. 
8. Get spiritual and remember the season.
9. Watch what you eat and avoid things you know will make you feel terrible.
10. Avoid the rush and get things done early in the month.