My Happy Little Salt Lamp Sun

What has ended up being one of the best changes ever made to my massage space began almost as a tussle at the last company Christmas party. Instead of a simple gift exchange, we played one of those games where everyone brings a mystery gift priced under $20. Then, everyone pulls a number out of a hat between 1 and whatever number of people are participating. The person with "1" on her slip gets to choose a gift first. Then number "2" can either choose a gift or "steal" the already opened gift. And so it goes on until all the gifts are open and the first person, who has had no chance to steal a gift yet, gets to do so.

To make a long story short, the first gift opened was a salt lamp. And given that I have always admired salt lamps, I promptly stole it when it was my turn ... only to have it stolen back from me at the very end, dang it! The winning therapist brought it to her room at work, where it was so tempting and lovely, that in a month, I went out and bought my own. Now we ALL have them, and we love them.

The long, long history of salt as a purifier, both on the skin and in the air, both physically and spiritually, is well-documented. And there is a wealth of information out there on the Internet that describes the benefits of salt lamps in particular. Personally, I have no experience yet of salt lamps having a measurable effect on allergies, asthma, or any other air/breathing condition. But I will say that I have noticed a positive effect on my mood since I started using it, that is as profound as certain types of aromatherapy. I also find my salt lamp extremely comforting in emotional ways. Though it glows, it does not give me the feeling of winter outside, as a fake fire might. Instead, it's like a happy little sun. (This distinction is important to me when I'm starting to feel that in Seattle it's always winter, and never Christmas ;-) With just the lamp on, there is plenty of light for me to move around without tripping over objects, and yet not enought light to disturb the clients' relaxation. In fact, many of my clients have commented on how much they like my salt lamp, though they add that they sometimes "don't know why."

If you decide to try out a salt lamp, I'd recommend going down to Central Market, where you can get one in a good size for a typical massage space for $20. Or, you can pick one up from Amazon for about $15. I'd also recommend saving whatever information pamphlets come with it so that you can show them to interested clients. Since there are a zillion types of salt lamps out there, from the simple and cheap to the elaborate and expensive, this allows you to give clients basic information without having to become a salt lighting expert.