Unique Salt Therapy. First in US. Graduation Brine Tower.

Online, June 7, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Dr. Margaret Smiechowski and Pyramid Fitness Center in Rutland, Vermont are pleased to announce that they have opened the United States' first public Halotherapy Treatment Room based on original 19th century Polish technology.

Although halotherapy, also known as salt therapy, has been used all around the world throughout recorded time, it was not until 1824 in Ciechocinek, Poland, where Stanislaw Staszic built the world's largest and most complex graduation tower. With a length of 5712 feet and with over 7,000 support beams, the tower was originally intended to separate salt from water by lifting the water to a height of over 50 feet and dropping it down through the wooden structure. As the water fell, the sun and the breeze evaporated the water, leaving salt residue that was then converted into table salt. Visitors quickly discovered that the resulting aerosol had a beneficial impact on many diseases. Other graduation towers were created throughout Europe, including in Poland and Germany, and were from then on billed as treatments for respiratory and sinus conditions.

Dr. Margaret Smiechowski, homeopathic doctor and creator of the Pyramid's Salt Cave, grew up in Poland and was aware of the therapeutic benefits of using salt therapy. Once again bringing a new technology to the United States, she has designed a small-scale simulation of the graduation tower at Pyramid Fitness. "Although we cannot make medical claims about halotherapy in the United States, our simulation is an excellent relaxation chamber," says Dr. Smiechowski.

The Halotherapy Room at Pyramid Fitness seats up to four people at once and is decorated to look like a cabin in the woods. Visitors relax in comfort in zero gravity chairs or on wooden benches overlooking the graduation tower, which drops a highly-concentrated mixture of water and Himalayan salt through a maze of twigs and branches. Although the air is moist, visitors stay completely dry as they relax. The waterfall action creates a microclimate of salt, allowing visitors to breathe in its wellness benefits. Himalayan salt is used not only because it is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiinflammatory, but because of its high mineral content and release of negative ions.

"We believe that the Halotherapy Room is a perfect complement to the other services we offer," says Dr. William Kelley, owner of Pyramid Fitness. "After a workout where you have challenged your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, what better way to relax than in the peaceful salt environment of the Halotherapy Room?"

The Halotherapy Room operates every hour on the hour during regular Pyramid Fitness hours, which are currently 6 AM to 8 PM weekdays and 8 AM to 3 PM on weekends. Sessions are 50-minutes long and cost $12 per person. Massage and other treatments are also available in the Halotherapy Room with advance scheduling. For more information about the Halotherapy Room or any of Dr. Smiechowski or Pyramid's offerings, please visit www.pyramidvt.com or call 802-775-8080.