This Weird New Kind of Yoga Will Soon Be Your Fave
If you’re a dedicated yogi or have even dabbled in the practice, chances are you’ve tried restorative and vinyasa yoga. Maybe you’ve even experimented with wacky ones like face yoga and beer yoga. Well, there’s a new Zen ritual in town, and it involves om-ing your heart out in a studio covered in salt. Yes, salt. Shape recently published a firsthand account of this interesting form of yoga, performed in an intimate room covered in Himalayan rock salt on the walls and floors and lit with salt crystal lamps. Don’t you already feel relaxed just thinking about it?
Of course there’s a health basis for all of this: According to Breathe Yoga, the first place to offer salt therapy yoga in New York, salt therapy is thought to treat a load of health conditions, including allergies, colds, asthma and tonsillitis. It can also help those who snore like a chainsaw.
So how, exactly, does this work? Breathe Yoga explains it like this: During class in the salt room, tiny particles of natural salts are released, which can reduce inflammation in the respiratory system and make it easier to breathe. During class, yogis go through a slow flow, focusing on expanding various parts of their lungs and strengthening the diaphragm. As they do so, these salt particles embed deep into the lungs and absorb bacteria, fight infection and help reduce mucus. The salt also emits naturally occurring negative ions thought to reduce stress and fatigue.
The jury’s still out on the benefits of salt therapy, but if anything, we’re intrigued by the tranquility of a glowing salt room.
Would you go to salt yoga? Let us know in the comments section below.
(Photo via @breatheasy_usa)
