By Allison Freeman
Allison Freeman Associates
Professional Writing, Editing & Public Relations
78 Radtke Road
Randolph, NJ 07869
Phone: (973) 769-6614
First NJ Salt Wellness Center Helps New Jerseyans Breathe Better
For Information, contact Allison Freeman at Allison Freeman Associates at [email protected] or (973) 769-6614.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Imagine spending 45 minutes in a room with 4,000 pounds of salt.
Close your eyes and feel the difference in your breathing. When you open your eyes, you may be surprised that you are not at a fancy spa in Switzerland, but enjoying a 45-minute session at the Respira Salt Wellness Center in Berkeley Heights, the first center of its kind in New Jersey.
The experience is part of an innovative new treatment called Halotherapy, which helps adults and children with asthma and other allergy, chronic respiratory and skin conditions like eczema. People no longer have to travel a distance for this treatment, which is commonly practiced in Israel and Europe. They can just drive to Berkeley Heights! Natural sea salt is all over the walls and floor and even in the air you breathe in Respira’s three treatment rooms, the result of a state-of-the-art halogenerator which produces a fine dry mist of salt into the air.
Husband and wife Tal and Etya Novik of Berkeley Heights opened the center on May 30 after learning about the centers in Israel and visiting some in the U.S. and Canada. "In Europe and Israel, people are more open to natural ways of treating illnesses and we had heard that many people were going to salt rooms for respiratory ailments," Etya Novik said. "Our youngest daughter has asthma and the idea that there was a natural, drug-free way to help her breathing seemed too good to be true.
"After doing a lot of research, hearing several firsthand testimonials, and experiencing it for ourselves, we decided that New Jerseyans could benefit from salt room therapy because the rate of asthma, allergies and other respiratory diseases is very high in our state and so many people are looking for natural ways to heal," Etya Novik said.
For an adult salt therapy treatment, a patient spends 45 minutes in the room, which features natural sea salt coating on the walls, soft lighting and relaxing music. The two adult treatment rooms have zero gravity recliner chairs and coarse sea salt on the floors, which Novik said recreates the mood, atmosphere and appearance of the original salt caves. People find the treatment relaxing and beneficial to their health because the salt improves the ease of their breathing. Some adults bring a book to read, chat with a friend or just close their eyes and listen to the music.
"The salt-filled room provides a negative ion environment (like the seashore or a waterfall), contributes to well being, promotes relaxation and increases the efficiency of healing," Novik said. "The particles of salt in the air are so small, only 1 to 5 micrometers, and are able to travel into the deepest and smallest parts of the lungs and sinuses."
The children’s treatment room, which resembles a big sandbox with lots of toys, offers the perfect respite for kids with asthma or respiratory problems with its beach-like salt floor and children’s furniture.
The Novik’s daughter, 8-year-old Tamar, receives treatment in the center’s special children’s room for her asthma, her mother said. “One of Respira’s rooms is specifically designed for infants and children,” Novik said. “Kids play in the salt just like they do with sand on the beach. They don’t even realize they’re getting a treatment while they are drawing, playing with toys, and listening to music.”
Children are more prone to breathing problems because their respiratory systems do not fully develop until age nine. They also have narrow nasal pages and are at higher risk of picking up viruses. “The good news is that children respond quickly to salt room treatments, which are 100% drug-free and non-invasive,” said Novik. “Salt therapy helps reduce inflammation, open clogged passageways, loosen up congestion, and kill germs and bacteria.”
The Halotherapy does not replace traditional therapies or medications recommended for the treatment of asthma, but rather can help reduce a person’s dependency on the medication, Novik said. It has also been linked to boosting a person’s immune system and dates back the mid-1800s in Europe when miners and people suffering from respiratory illnesses went to mineral salt caves to improve their impaired breathing. Halotherapy improves upon the healing effect of these caves using a state-of-the-art halogenerator, which pulverizes the Dead Sea salt grains, creating a fine dry mist of natural salt in a highly controlled environment, she said. The Noviks choose to use Dead Sea salt in the halogenerator because they believe it is the most effective, she said.
People use the salt respiratory treatments for allergies, asthma, bronchitis, colds, smoker’s cough, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sinus infections, ear infections, and eczema. A salt treatment center opened last winter in Manhattan and was featured in The New York Times.
Novik said she hopes salt therapy catches on in New Jersey and is offering all new clients a free session to experience its benefits. With the increase in asthma and respiratory illnesses in New Jersey, salt therapy offers people another option.
Since the center opened its door in May, more than 100 clients have come in for some relaxation and Halotherapy, with many returning for more sessions.
The center charges $60 for an adult and $45 for a child for individual 45-minute sessions, but special packages are available. One client said she was able to submit the bill for treatment to her health care flex spending account and it was honored as a valid expense, Novik said. Another wrote a testimonial in a book in the center lobby raving about how the center helped relieve her terrible congestion.
Respira Salt Wellness Center, located at 472 Springfield Ave., offers a coupon for the free introductory visit for new clients on its website. To make an appointment for a free session, visit www.RespiraSalt.com or call 908.665.0333.
For photos or to arrange an interview with Etya Novik, contact Allison Freeman at [email protected] or (973) 769-6614.
