Jerry and Heidy Navarro inside Royal Room Salt Spa, a salt therapy center that has opened in Franklin. Jerry Navarro has also opened Franklin School of Music upstairs in their building.
RYAN TRARES | DAILY JOURNAL
The end result is hopefully the same.
But as Jerry and Heidy Navarro aim to help people shed some of the anxiety and stress of everyday life, they go about it in two very different ways.
For Heidy Navarro, the key is the soothing effects of pharmaceutical-grade salt, essential oils and a deeply relaxing atmosphere. Jerry Navarro helps people bring it out by tapping into their own creativity.
“We both share a passion for making people feel better, so we decided to combine both our talents in one building,” Jerry Navarro said. “Let’s play some nice music, let’s calm them down, and let’s look at the esoteric things of different frequencies that calm the mind and body.”
The Navarros have brought their unique talents together in a pair of businesses in recently opened in Franklin. Downstairs in their West Jefferson Street building, people can unwind and breathe easier at the Royal Room Salt Spa, a multi-service salt therapy operated by Heidy Navarro.
Meanwhile, Jerry Navarro puts his musical expertise to work on the second floor, offering classes through the Franklin School of Music.
The husband-and-wife team is excited to bring disparate approaches to helping improve people’s lives.
“We wanted to offer people a holistic approach to health,” Jerry Navarro said.
The Navarros moved to Franklin in 2020 from Nashville, Tennessee, where Heidy Navarro first discovered salt spas. An increasing number of businesses have tapped into the wellness-promoting qualities of pharmaceutical-grade salt, aerosolized to help promote healthier skin, better breathing and other positive effects.
“There were salt rooms everywhere down there,” she said. “I’m a certified natural health practitioner, and when we moved here, I wanted offer something to people, and noticed they didn’t have salt rooms anywhere.”
After starting a salt spa in Greenwood, she decided earlier this year to move into a new building in Franklin. She opened the new location in November.
“I saw a need for salt therapy. I know how good it is for people, and how relaxing it is,” she said.
At Royal Room, clients can spend time in the designated salt spa, lounging in zero-gravity chairs while soothing music and relaxing lighting sets a tranquil mood.
Salt on the floor is reminiscent of sitting on the beach, while a salt generator blows aerosolized salt into the air.
“It fills the room up, and you breath it in and get all of the benefits of the salt — anything respiratory, it’s great for your skin, it relaxes you. Everyone says they sleep like a baby after it,” Heidy Navarro said.
Another section of Royal Room features two massage chairs and ionic foot baths, which helps pull toxins out of their feet. Royal Room also offers a selection of essential oils and other wellness products, and Heidy Navarro has partnered with Cathy Bedel, a traditional naturopath, to provide bioenergetic testing.
The testing aims to bring different aspects of the body into balance.
“I’m understanding the concept of frequency, and how you start with the positive effects of what you can hear, but there’s a bigger realm. That bigger realm is what I’m working with now,” Bedel said.
While Heidy Navarro has built up the salt spa, Jerry Navarro has continued his work in the local music scene.
The accomplished bassist, music producer and composer had been ingrained in the Nashville’s famed music community for years. He studied music performance and composition at Belmont University before getting involved with the Nashville Jazz Workshop, and has shared the stage with artists ranging from Bon Jovi to Dave Matthews to George Clinton.
Since moving to central Indiana in 2020, Navarro’s focus has been on Soundspace Label Group, a membership-based record label that offers world-class professional music services at lower risk and lower cost to artists. He has also worked with local officials to bring musicians to Franklin, organizing performances at the Historic Artcraft Theatre.
The idea behind starting a music school was to bridge the gap between people who want to make music their career and the resources to make that happen.
“We found there’s a lack of services of fulfilling the dreams of people, chasing that music dream,” he said. “You can go to school, you can take lessons, but ‘What’s next?’ was always the question. Where do you go? Who do you talk to? Why rehearse?
“Hopefully, I’m here to answer those questions.”
Jerry Navarro wanted to show students why you put the work into music, and develop their talent into a professional career. With a wealth of instruments, including drums, guitar, bass and more, his hope is to develop people’s skills.
“We’re working students up here, Heidy is working with people downstairs, and together we’re trying to make it happen,” Jerry Navarro said.
AT A GLANCE
Royal Room Salt Spa and Franklin School of Music
What: A duel business owned by Jerry and Heidy Navarro, with a salt therapy spa on the ground floor, and a music school upstairs.
Where: 845 W. Jefferson St., Franklin
Information: Royal Room Salt Spa — royalroom.glossgenius.com; Franklin School of Music — fsom.glossgenius.com
