Last summer, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was sidelined with a herniated disk and reportedly turned to the Ammortal Chamber, a high-tech wellness pod that combines multiple recovery therapies in a single session. Six months later, he was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Since then, Wimbledon and a string of professional sports teams have adopted the technology, and several athletes have signed on as investors.
When The Sanctuary Spa at Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, opened this spring, it became one of only 60 places in the country to have the roughly $170,000 device. My thinking was simple: “If it’s good enough for an MVP …”
Cofounder Brian Le Gette, a serial entrepreneur with an electrical engineering background, came up with the idea after dropping in on a UFC training facility. He saw athletes move from one recovery modality to the next and decided to combine the technologies into one complete system.
Delivered via 25- or 50-minute sessions, the Chamber stacks five core therapies: red light and electromagnetic energy, said to stimulate cells and encourage tissue repair; vibroacoustics, or low-frequency sound waves you feel through the bed; molecular hydrogen inhaled through a nasal cannula; and, in some programs, guided meditation.
Ammortal’s premise is that combining the therapies saves time while enhancing their individual effects. The science is less tidy. Research on the individual therapies varies (red light has the most backing), and no studies have shown that putting them together makes them more effective. Still, everyone I spoke with who had tried it described a remarkably similar aftereffect: mellow, but not tired; energized, but not wired. When my mother and I decided on a spa day at The Sanctuary, I was eager to climb in.
Despite its name, the Ammortal Chamber is open (a plus for those who are claustrophobic), with a zero-gravity bed positioned between angular panels of glowing red lights. The setup is striking enough that The Sanctuary has a phone stand at the ready. I’m not sure what we’re documenting when the entire experience involves simply lying still. Nevertheless, there I was, hitting record, even if only for proof that I could stay still that long.
Before lying down, you choose from seven “Journeys,” which tailor the sound, vibration and other sensory elements of the session. Each option is geared toward different aims, from recovery and energy to emotional release and expanded thinking. I chose Expand. A low, tonal soundscape of rolling, chant-like vocals filled the room as barely-there vibrations moved through the bed. Somewhere during the session, my thoughts started moving, too. A few ideas I’d been wrestling with came into sharp focus. When I finally checked the clock, expecting another 10 minutes, there was one.
My mother chose Recover and, for days afterward, insisted her usual four-flight climb to her condo felt easier. We’d also spent the afternoon in The Sanctuary’s gym, saunas, cold plunge, ice room and vitality pool—all accessible with any spa booking—so neither of us was prepared to give the Ammortal Chamber all the credit. But there’s no doubt that we left clear-headed and calm and slept soundly that night.