Hi friends
If you don't already know, my name is Tigris and I am the owner of a small esoteric and wellness shop called Material Moon Refuge. If you've browsed the reading descriptions on this website, you probably already know that my readings are all in person and all happen at store inside what's called The Booth.
The Booth is more specifically called the HaloRedO2 Booth and it offers a combined Red Light and Halotherapy treatment. I was thinking about doing some writing on my experience over at the other website, but because The Woods and River is more dedicated to my authenticity and personal journey, I decided this was the more appropriate space to share in.
Anyhoo. I opened the store in December 2025. It's now mid-January 2026 and I've had 8 sessions in The Booth. I have to say that I am so grateful for this technology and for everyone who helped me bring it here. It's already had such a positive impact on my body and feedback from early clients is also amazing. Now the research is the foundation of why I decided to build a business with this — there are many studies both finished and in progress that highlight the benefits of these modalities. That said, there's nothing quite like the reassurance that comes from personal experience, so I'd like to share what I'm going through as I continue to explore The Booth on my wellness journey.
Ok, so...why do I need The Booth? Wow, what a loaded question. Where do I even start? Honestly I'm probably going to have to split this into another blog. Let's start with what other treatments I've used over the years and if you're curious you can pop over to the next post to read more.
I started working with hands on practitioners in the late 2000's. I had been going down a medical path and kept receiving "learn to live with it" advice. I was in my 20's and it seemed crazy that I was on such a steep path to deterioration and being told to accept it so I just kept seeking help. I had a lot of male doctors in this time period and my experience was a text book example of medical professionals dismissing, minimizing, and shaming women seeking medical support. I'll leave it at that.
Because we're talking about a 20+ year span, I have seen many different people who offer the same service. Many chiropractors, many physiotherapist, and many massage therapists. I find that the same treatment is not the same treatment with a different person. Every practitioner I've seen, even when offering the same service, had a different eye, approach and technique for navigating my body and it's been beautiful to have experienced the healing power of so many people. When I reflect on these people, I'm reminded of the beauty in humanity.
Here is the full list of practitioner/treatment types I've worked with:
- Physiotherapist
- Pelvic floor physio
- Physiotherapist - IMS Treatment
- Chiropractor
- Naturopath
- Massage Therapy - Deep tissue Massage
- Massage Therapy - Graston Technique
- Massage Therapy - Visceral Manipulation
- Massage Therapy - Chi Nei Tsang & Tok Sen
- Lymphatic Drainage Massage
- Cranial Sacral Massage
- Reiki
- Acupuncture
- Tapping
- Medical Astrology
- Osteopathy
- Reflexology
- Podiatrist (this experience was a money grab, I recommend the reflexologist over the podiatrist)
- Float Tank/Sensory Deprivation
- CBT
- EMDR
- Somatic Therapy
- QHHT
- Kinesiologist
- Personal Trainer
Yeah, there's many of them. All of these worked in some way to some degree. Some more than others, and some at just the right time. They have all worked together in wonderful ways. It has been a long journey and the dedication and commitment that I've had to put into going to appointments has been significant. There was a period of time where I joked that I didn't have friends, I had practitioners... because I didn't have time to socialize when I was always at work or at appointments (or being a mom). It's been worth it though, because my invisible disabilities are extensive and the pain I've held in my body has appreciated the relief these healers have offered.
Working with people has also given me the chance to learn how to tune into my body and articulate what is happening within it. My body awareness is high, but it wasn't always that way. I've been with my current pelvic floor physio for 8 years and when we first met, I would describe to her "dark zones". Large sections of my body that I had zero ability to connect to. If I closed my eyes and thought about my body, huge sections of it would be black, or dark. I couldn't access my own body, I could only feel the screams of the pain that rippled to the areas that weren't "dark".
This brings me back to The Booth. At some point on my journey I became fascinated with the amazing things that the body can do when it was given the space to. Where I'm at with describing my body, is that there is an acute awareness that my limbs are not effectively sitting in my shoulder and hip sockets and my head is not effectively connected to the top of my spine. Quite literally, my head is not screwed on straight, nor are my arms and legs. I can feel the literal twisting in my body. I can feel how moving my pinky finger draws pain or relief through the nerves into my pinky toe and when I am actively focused on reflecting inward, I can direct my body to make subtle shifts and cracks to address imbalance. Often these days, it travels through my face so you might find me closing my eyes for an extended period of time or pursing and shifting my lips. (Please just roll with it if you see it I'm highly self-conscious about it). Ultimately, the trouble is in my posture. I'm not capable of holding my body up in alignment because I am so twisted and out of balance (and no amount of working out can address this though it is also a tool in my resource kit). I am constantly in significant amounts of pain while battling fatigue, nausea, and bloating. Over the years, and with the help of practitioners I have slowly untwisted my nerves, fascia, and muscles, and I have significantly addressed a lot of the pain. I have also used cannabis as a tool in this, and think what you will of that, but from where I'm standing, it's anti-inflammatory and relaxation properties have made it an absolutely beneficial medicine for me. (Do I want to rely on it forever? No, but it shouldn't be dismissed or avoided as it is an effective tool).
Moving towards Red Light and Halotherapy was 1-part wanting to find more support for my body, 1-part wanting to find support for my child's body (from torticollis to stacked metatarsals to dry skin/eczema to "pre" asthma, they also need early intervention opportunities and healing modalities outside of our crumbling healthcare system), and 2-parts needing to leave the corruption of the corporate grind.
I discovered Halotherapy first. I knew about red light therapy, but it's the Halotherapy that caught my attention. A halogenerator mills pharmaceutical-grade salt into microscopic particles and we inhale it. I'll do another blog on its history but it's know to be beneficial to lung and skin health. Red light, to be honest, was an afterthought. The HaloRedO2 is a patented tech that combines the two modalities in one session, and when I finally decided to action this jump, it just made sense to pick the option that supplied two-modalities. Others that I trusted had told me about the benefits of red light when I was in the purchase stage, and I was ready to give it a try.
I'm so glad I did. A 15-minute session leaves me feel light, and open. My body responds very similarly to after an appointment with one of the therapists in the extensive list above. I feel immediate relief and my body continues to unwind and release throughout the next day or two...just like when I see a practitioner. Things that I've been stuck in my neck, traps, and tongue (yes, just like with my face I find I've held a lot in my tongue) are finally starting to let go and make way for realignment.
It's honestly incredible and has this far exceeded my expectations. So, if you're curious, stay with me as I continue to explore this on my wellness journey. We can get a baseline in my next blog when I talk about how I got to a point of twisted cross threaded joint paint.
As a final comment, I need to express gratitude to my previous employers for providing decent extended health care benefits because these would have been absolutely inaccessible to me otherwise. While I hate to admit it, I am also grateful I had access to care through my car insurance in response to the vehicle accidents I experienced. I want to shudder at giving gratitude to insurance companies so I'll direct it to Jupiter, planet of benevolence who, in my birth chart, is in the 8th house, which can represent insurance. Even though I've had some terrible accidents, I have been given financial support throughout. I'm grateful for that. And grateful to my mother that helped me financially aquire The Booth as this wasn't a small investment. It just makes sense to put this gratitude out there, especially because being able to access the extensive list above has been a privilege in our society.
Stay tuned, I will share as often as I can and as often as makes sense.
Xoxo
T✨