Camille Campbell has a lot of qualifications: licensed clinical social worker, certified BodyTalk practitioner, medicine woman and an individual on the shamanic path. “I primarily studied with the Shipibo-Conibo tribe in the Peruvian Amazon jungle. I learned about their herbal medicines and ways of healing. I was also initiated on the shamanic path through the Caro nation, and every few months I’ll go down to Mexico and meet up with some people who use Mayan methods,” says Campbell.
After collecting all this knowledge and having a successful tenure at Sacred Energy in Salt Lake, she wanted to start her own integrative wellness clinic in Ogden. Thus, Awaken Wellness was born. While Awaken Wellness offers a wide array of holistic treatments, including everything from massage therapy to Body Talk sessions, their salt cave is certainly the central claim to fame. “The Salt Cave is something unique. I started doing research and found salt caves, rooms and mines effective for treating respiratory illness. Especially in Utah, there is the cesspool of bad air during the winter months. All our neighboring states have salt caves and I knew I needed to bring this to Utah.”
The alleged benefits of salt caves are endless. “It’s good for cystic fibrosis, COPD, asthma, allergies, intolerances to different airborne bacteria, eczema, psoriasis, acne even,” says Campbell.
For those who may question the efficacy of salt caves, I can only vouch that, at the very least, it’s a deeply relaxing experience. The music, darkness, chairs and salted air all combine to create a very chilled-out environment. “Most people come in just to relax or try something new,” says Campbell, “but there is a therapeutic element to it if you come consistently. The salt is going to where the mucus is and is starting to pull it out. It helps alleviate the symptoms, kind of like a Neti pot for your lungs. There are three tons of salt on the floor from Redmond salt mines in Utah ground up to feel like sand.”
Campbell knows that skeptics might wonder about the benefits of holistic healing, but says she’s not here to prove anything. “We facilitate connection with people, with ourselves and with each other. We’re helping to reconnect ourselves in a society that’s full of stress and chaos.”
