For my birthday recently, my wonderful husband gifted me with a gorgeous Himalayan ionic salt lamp for my office, which now sits beside me, right next to my computer monitor. On several of my past trips to Germany, I’ve spent time in salt inhalation chambers that have had a wonderful effect on my breathing and stress levels. And, though there’s no science to support my claim, I swear those experiences helped with my migraines.

The salt crystal part of my lamp comes from a natural salt crystal deposit over 250 million years old, located in the Himalayan mountains. There’s a bulb inside the lamp that heats the hand-carved boulder of salt. As it heats, naturally-occurring negative ions (oxygen atoms with an extra electron) are released into the surrounding atmosphere, causing chemical odors, carbon monoxide, bacteria, and mold to bind to them and fall away without me breathing them in.

In many places around the world, a therapy known as speleotherapy is used to treat respiratory ailments including asthma, allergies, sinus problems, and bronchitis. The therapy, begun in Poland in the 1950s, often takes place in deep caves, where those suffering from these complaints sit and breathe the salt-infused air. Hospitals specializing in speleotherapy include the famous Ukrainian Allergologic Hospital, located 1,000 feet underground in a former salt mine in the Carpathian Mountains. There’s also a little light therapy that goes along with having my lamp turned on: the gold, amber, white, and red hues that emanate from it are colors used to increase energy, promote a sense of healing tranquility, enhance creativity, and induce a sense of open mindedness. All good things, it seems. Oh”did I mention that I just like the way it looks?

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