In 2010, Terry Schibler and his wife Gena Lewis-Schibler were on vacation in Naples, FL. At the time, they already believed in the healing properties of salt, both physically and energetically. They saw a sign in a small strip center that said, “Salt Cave”. They looked at each other and wondered if it was a tropical fish store? Ha!
They were curious, so they stopped in. To their delight, it was a large room filled with Himalayan salt. They stayed and experienced their first 45-minute, halotherapy session. Both felt calm and relaxed and able to take nice, deep breaths.
“I remember looking at Terry and saying, I don’t care if anyone gets it, I want one. Let’s see what it would take to add this to our bodywork practice,” said Lewis-Schibler.
At the time, they had a 24-year practice doing advanced bodywork in Sarasota, Florida, and there were only four Salt Rooms in the United States that they could find online. They ended up visiting two in Chicago, Illinois.
“We started to do research and found instructions on the internet of how to build a salt room,” added Lewis-Schibler. “We then connected with a realtor and bought a 1,600 square foot building to join our bodywork practices with two salt rooms…one for children and one for adults.”
Gena ordered every known salt on the planet to compare them. Although she loved the dry salt therapy and beauty of the Himalayan Salt Cave, it seemed a little sweet, and she wanted power!
Gena wanted the therapy to feel less like a spa treatment and more like therapy for the respiratory and nervous systems, along with it being strong enough to help with skin problems.
After working with the salt, which Gena ordered from the Israel side of the Dead Sea, she knew she wanted to use this powerful salt.
Building a salt room with such an oily, mineral-packed salt turned out to be a challenge. It kept sliding down the walls and falling off.
“We were able to connect with a handyman from Poland who flew home to see how they had (organically) constructed salt rooms there,” said Lewis-Schibler. “We finally figured it out after much trial and error and now boast the most powerfully, therapeutic rooms that we have experienced!
Discovering Salt Chamber
“As luck would have it (or divine intervention), we found Leo in Boca Raton, the Founder and CEO of SALT Chamber. We had already bought one generator, (the Iris-35) from a well-respected salt room representative and it has been great for our 90 square foot Children’s Salt Room, which we call ‘The Petite Suite’. However, the design allows the salt to run through the electronics, so we’ve had to replace the motherboards now and then.
“For our 240 square foot Adult Salt Room, which we call ‘The Grande Suite’, we purchased a SALT FX® Pro halogenerator from SALT Chamber that cost less than the Iris-35. After eight years of daily use, it is still going strong.
“The SALT Chamber SALT FX® Pro halogenerator has two parts so the salt does not go through the electronics. The SALT FX® Pro halogenerator fills our Grande Salt Suite beautifully, and the 
pharmaceutical grade salt that we purchase from SALT Chamber performs THE BEST of all the pharmaceutical grade salts that we have tried! We have had SALT FX® Pro halogenerator for eight years and have only replaced the teeth that grind the salt as crushing the salt can dull them after a couple of years.
“Leo and the entire SALT Chamber team have been fantastic with their support. We started when there was very little help available on how to start and run a successful salt therapy business. We spent way more money trying to figure out how to build salt rooms. We could have saved ourselves frustration and money if we had met him sooner, but so happy that we used SALT Chamber for our Grande Salt Suites halogenerator and have them as a source of support now.”
If you would like to learn more about creating a salt room in your home or business, contact Salt Chamber today!
Leo Tonkin, with a decade of deep expertise in salt therapy, initiated SALT Chamber, a leading entity in the domain of salt therapy products and decor. As the inaugural Chairman of the Salt Therapy Association and Chair of the Respiratory Wellness Initiative from the Global Wellness Institute, he has played a pivotal role in broadening the accessibility and recognition of salt therapy globally. His commitment to developing advanced technology and educating the public on the benefits of salt therapy has solidified his position as a key figure in the industry, enhancing its credibility and trustworthiness.
