Before opening Ocsalttherapy, Robert Condraschi spent sleepless nights listening to and worrying about the labored breathing of his 2-year-old son Constantin. After visiting dozens of doctors, all of whom offered different diagnoses for Constantin’s ailments, it became clear that surgery was the last viable treatment plan. Before agreeing to invasive measures, Robert and his son booked a trip to the Eastern European salt mines. Within days of basking in the therapeutic chamber, Constantin’s breathing grew steadier, and he slept through the night for the first time in years.

Now, Ocsalttherapy’s founders strive to spark similar recoveries in clients of all ages. They have coated three rooms from floor to ceiling in pure, untreated salt, and each room houses a halogenerator that disperses microscopic particles of salt through the air. In the adult room, clients recline on chaise lounges and listen to soothing music. In the children’s room, tykes can tinker with toys, help sentient salt shakers write letters to forlorn pepper grinders, or watch DVDs on flat-screen TVs as parents supervise through the glass door for kids 10 and up, or inside the room for those under 10.