What I'm Wicked Into: An Afternoon At Salt Cave Santa Barbara
Welcome back!I'm kicking off my new Wednesday series "What I'm Wicked Into" with a very special and unique experience.Back in December during my holiday break, my mom—who was visiting us from Massachusetts—and I headed north to Santa Barbara for a mother-daughter getaway. (You'll soon come to know that my mom, Kathy, and I have a super close bond.)Before my mom even came out, I had mentioned wanting to visit Salt Cave Santa Barbara and as someone who equally loves yoga, meditation, and trying new experiences, she was all in.The Salt Cave is located in downtown S.B. and boasts the largest underground himalayan salt cave in North America. Basically, you can buy a session to relax in the private cave for 45-minutes at a time and reek all the benefits of that pink heavenly salt.Just some basic benefits include: improving sinus and respiratory health, muscle cramp relief, blood pressure regulation, and the natural reduction of aging.
As soon as we entered the lower-level entrance, we could tell we were somewhere totally zen. There were many heavenly-scented products to try while we waited for our 3pm session to start, water to sip on, and complimentary lockers for our purses and phones.As the previous session came to an end, we removed our shoes and were given blankets to use in the serene space. The ground was completely covered in small pebbles that massaged our feet as we made our way over to side-by-side anti-gravity chairs. There were about six other visitors in the session with us.Floating back to a comfortable position, my mother and I sunk away in our chairs as the 45-minute guided meditation began. A mix between soothing words and music, I found that the meditation really allowed me to breathe in the pure salt (which covered every square inch of the space) and find a nice escape. In fact, I was so relaxed, that when the session came to an end, I couldn't even believe that a whole 45 minutes had just passed.Visiting Salt Cave Santa Barbara was such a sweet soulful escape and I'd definitely recommend visiting if you're ever in the area or want to wind down after a hectic week.Get your salt on!Take care of yourself,Ari