North Dakota spa, known for salt cave/float tank, moving to larger quarters in August

FARGO — The person who said you can’t be in two places at once has never met Amanda Brunelle.

The petite dynamo who owns Inspire Health & Wellness Spa has been covering a lot of ground lately, as she continues to run her business at its 3140 Bluestem Drive location, maintains her current roster of massage and Reiki clients and prepares to relocate the spa to its new and expanded space at EagleRidge Plaza in Fargo.

“I’m either going all-out or I’m sleeping,” says Brunelle, admitting that even if she offers meditative services like float tanks or a salt cave, she has a hard time sitting still long enough to use them.

Brunelle says the brand-new, 8,000-square-foot spot at 3251 Seter Parkway in Fargo should open its doors sometime in August. All of Inspire’s services will make the move, but typically in a bigger, more upgraded format than before.

Among the improvements:

“We're really excited to make it a whole wellness center for mind, body and spirit," Brunelle says.

When Brunelle opened Inspire at 3140 Bluestem Drive in January of 2018, she offered one of the few salt caves and floatation tanks in the area.

Brunelle, a licensed massage therapist and Reiki master, had seen the need for more relaxation options for locals, and client response suggested she was on the right track.

But after people came out of hiding post-COVID, Inspire’s business really took off. People were hungry for creative options to address an increasingly more complex and stressful world.

The Bluestem space was getting cramped. Eight different service providers shared the three treatment rooms and the yoga studios could have run morning till night.

After talking to the other service providers there, they all agreed it would be smart to find a larger space. Brunelle searched and searched, but nothing seemed to check all the boxes for a bigger, better Inspire spa.

“I was about to give up and then this one came knocking,” she says. “I was about to say, 'We'll just stay small, we'll figure it out here.' But with this one, just everything felt right."

Brunelle decided to move her new spa to the new EagleRidge Plaza, a complex of five-story, multi-use buildings sprouting up around a nearly two-acre plaza and located on the east side of Veterans Boulevard.

Each new building will have around 95 residential units, underground parking and more than 7,500 square feet of commercial space.

Brunelle worked with Ryan Gran of YHR Architects in Moorhead to achieve the ideal relaxing vibe to her main-floor space in EagleRidge’s 3251 Building.

Gran created a palette that melds soft grays with peachy pinks, which perfectly match the Himalayan sea salt bricks in the spa’s salt cave.

The corners in hallways are rounded, which contribute to the “zen, flowy” vibe of the space, Brunelle says.

Two abstract globe chandeliers, resembling fiberoptic dandelion heads in their full, fluffy glory, will hang over the desk in the lobby.

“I think he really nailed the design,” Brunelle says.

Likewise, the new space was custom-built with Inspire's specific services in mind.

One of the most dramatic rooms is the 300-square-foot salt cave, which features several walls of peach-pink bricks honed from Himalayan sea salt. “We could literally grind this up and put it on our food,” Brunelle says.

The walls are backlit, which allows a soft glow to flow through the semi-transparent bricks.

The salt cave is also designed so that a generator outside the room crushes sea salt and pumps salty air into the room. An hour in the salt cave replicates “three full days at the beach,” Brunelle says.

Salt therapy, also known as halotherapy, involves breathing in air with tiny salt particles to improve breathing. Halotherapy is considered an alternative treatment for lung problems such as asthma, bronchitis, sinus issues, allergies and cough, according to WebMD. Brunelle says some clients have also found it helpful for easing long-term effects of long-haul COVID.

“It’s like a dry neti pot,” she says.

Another unique feature will be the rooms for two sensory-deprivation float tanks. The tanks contain just 11-inches of water, which is heated to body temperature and mixed with 1,500 pounds of Epsom salt.

Clients enter the tanks and float for an hour in a darkened room, so they experience minimal sensory distractions and can more easily relax. Proponents say the comfortable temperature and lack of outside stimuli helps the body enter a meditative state. “The air and water temperature are the same temperature as your skin, so it almost feels like you don’t have a body,” Brunelle says. People who are claustrophobic are typically relieved when they see the size of the tanks, which are 7-feet by 7-feet, she says. “It’s not like a coffin.”

Yet another room is dedicated to a new sauna service. An infrared sauna is outfitted with colored lights to provide additional “color therapy,” Brunelle says.

Color light therapy, aka chromotherapy, is based on the concept that each hue is linked to a distinct bodily reaction. Red, for example, is considered a stimulant while blue is thought to be mentally soothing, and studies have suggested that yellow can relieve muscular pain.

The sauna room is big enough to accommodate a “plunge pool,” where water temperature ranges from 39 to 55 degrees.

Many avowed sauna enthusiasts believe coupling sauna sessions with a dip in cold water can improve anything from circulation and joint pain to body metabolism and emotional distress.

Yoga has always been a key service at Inspire and its new space will only enhance that, Brunelle says.

The new place has two yoga studios, both outfitted with special “soft” floors to minimize impact on knees and joints. Each space also includes chalkboard walls where instructors and members can write inspirational messages.

Ultimately, Inspire plans to offer yoga classes for every level of student — from restorative or meditative yoga to barre or “sculpt yoga” work, Brunelle says.

While Inspire already offers special yoga packages, the relocation to EagleRidge has made it possible to offer a new “Yoga Plus” option.

That means clients will be able to bundle their Inspire services with an access membership to the new fitness centers for apartment residents at EagleRidge Plaza. Clients who opt for this expanded membership can use the fitness center’s amenities, which include steam showers, a steam room and a climbing wall.

The new location will also make it possible to hold events like full-moon rooftop yoga Aug. 1, with proceeds going to benefit the families of the Fargo police officers killed or injured by a gunman July 14 in south Fargo .

Brunelle also hopes to capitalize on her enhanced services and surroundings with a “mini spa day” package, which would include float tank, salt cave and massage sessions. From there, clients could pay extra to add on ala carte services, such as facials, Reiki sessions or a sauna/cold plunge session.

“You can literally pick your day and spend the whole day there,” she says.

Brunelle plans to host an open house at the new spa this fall. In the meantime, the builders of EagleRidge will hold a general grand opening at the complex's central plaza from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2.

Watch Inspire's Facebook page at " Inspirehealthfm " for opening updates.