The concept of digging a hole at the beach and burying your kids or parents has taken on a whole new meaning in some parts of the world. Residents in Erg Chebbi (found in the Sahara Desert near Morocco) have made a business of digging holes in the sand and burying tourists – and they’re being paid handsomely to do so. It turns out this is a health and wellness deal that has the same effect on the body as hanging out in the sauna, which means your body is releasing toxins and you’re not required to do anything but sit beneath pounds of desert sand in the hot sun.
Moroccans hosted the Global Spa and Wellness Summit, where information was made public that wellness tourism in the area has grown substantially over the course of the last year. People come from all over the world to spend only 10 minutes buried in the sands of the Sahara up to their necks because of the healing qualities this act is said to have on the body. Those who work in the health wellness industry in Morocco maintain that the act of being buried neck-deep in the desert sand is a curing agent for many diseases and health issues.
For this reason, tourists from all over the world seek out the help of locals to help them cure their bodies of lumbago, skin disorders and even rheumatism. Poisonous toxins are said to be released from the body while buried in the hot sand beneath the scalding sun, which is enough to help cure the sick of their ailments. There currently is not concrete medical proof that this is true, but enough people from around the world believe enough in the process that they’re willing to make the trip in hopes that they will be cured of their health problems.
Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
