2024_Winter_ValpoMagazine

BEAUTY AND BEYOND | PERSONAL CARE SERVICES | EVEXIA SALT CAVE & SPA
WELLNESS
in Every
Breath
ευεξία
(Evexia): noun.
wellness in Greek
THE EVEXIA
SALT CAVE EXPERIENCE
By Katie Bieber
It all started with a stubborn, stuffy nose.
Kim Franklin, owner of Evexia Salt Cave
in Chesterton, was visiting a friend in
Naperville, Illinois. With an hour to kill
before her dinner date, she decided to
pop into a nearby salt cave. Kim felt the
effects immediately and now reflects on
the transformative experience. “It was like
someone turned a faucet on my nose. It
broke up everything and I felt so good. So,
I started to go to any salt cave that I could
find.” Over the next two years, Franklin
spent all her free time researching salt
caves, either by visiting them in person or
reading about the centuries-old practice of
breathing dry, salty air.
Salt Therapy, or Halotherapy, has been
recognized for its therapeutic effects by
many cultures, including ancient Egyptians,
Romans, and Greeks. However, Polish
physician Felix Boczkowski first discovered
its more current form. He observed that salt
miners had healthy respiratory systems
and glowing skin, unlike miners in other
industries. Boczkowski attributed these
positive benefits to the micro-sized salt
particles the miners would breathe in daily
while chiseling and hammering. In response,
Boczkowski founded Poland's first health
resort facility in 1839. Over the many years
since, Halotherapy has continued to evolve
and more innovative methods of delivering
halotherapy have been developed.
BUILDING AN ACTIVE SALT CAVE
The more Franklin learned about this
holistic medicine, the more she wanted
to share her knowledge and passion with
her local community. After some deep
consideration, she chose to leave her HR
career behind and open an active salt cave
in Chesterton. She hired a Polish company
to build an authentic, 440-square-foot
salt cave, composed of 20,000 pounds
of pink Himalayan salt, imported directly
from the Himalayan mountains in Pakistan.
What makes Evexia an active salt cave is
the Halogenerator that has been installed,
which grinds and crushes 99.99% pure
grade sodium chloride (salt) into microsized
particles that are dispersed into
the air of the salt cave.
12 WINTER 2024 |