Like a sci-fi tanning bed, the Ammortal Chamber yawns wide in welcome.
I lower my body onto the cool surface, torso and legs bent in a gentle “V.” “Emily,” the soothing British voice selected to guide me through the “Relax” program, instructs me to insert the plastic cannula into my nostrils. Soon, she tells me, I’ll be enveloped head-to-toe in infrared light so bright, I won’t be able to open my eyes.
The chamber’s roof descends with a mechanical whir and a warm red glow clicks on. Dreamy music plays as the bed vibrates in time, forming a vibroacoustic cocoon that promotes a reset of the nervous system.
The cannula delivers antioxidant molecular hydrogen during a session in the Ammortal Chamber.(Courtesy of Senspa)
At first, I am a cadaver on a slab, a side of beef on a butcher’s table. I can’t figure out what exactly to do with my hands. I feel like a captive in an alien spaceship.
So I breathe with the guided meditation: in with the antioxidant molecular hydrogen meant to support brain clarity and metabolic function, out with everything that no longer serves me. Around my body, electromagnetic fields pulse to support tissue repair and flush out waste. Red and near-infrared light penetrates deep into skin, tissue, and muscle, stimulating collagen and the cellular fuel ATP.
I don’t know when during the 50-minute session the change happens, but it does. Now, I am a cat in a sunbeam, a slice of sourdough in a toaster oven, warm and languid. And when the bell tinkles at the treatment’s end, it feels too soon—like almost no time has passed at all.
Senspa is the only place with an Ammortal Chamber in all of Northern California, one of a number of new treatments and experiences the 20-year-old Presidio-based wellness center’s new owners—longtime San Franciscans Kyle Withycombe and Stephany Lawrence—are ushering in over the coming months.
(Ashley Batz)
“The Ammortal Chamber is really just the beginning,” says Withycombe. “We've also been rethinking how we organize and communicate our treatments, introducing three Care Pathways: Regulation, Recovery, and Longevity. The idea is to help guests think about treatments in terms of what their bodies need and how they want to feel, rather than simply choosing from a traditional spa menu.”
More than 140 people have tried the new tech in just its first month at the spa, in either 25-minute or 50-minute sessions. While some are able to drop right into meditation and relaxation, others have an experience more like mine, in which it takes time to fully settle. That’s normal, says Withycombe.
“The Ammortal Chamber is unlike anything most people have experienced before, so there’s naturally a period of curiosity and adjustment when you first get in. You're taking in the technology, the sounds, the sensations, and the environment.”
But the treatment isn’t meant to be approached as “a one-time novelty.” Like saunas or yoga, it’s meant to be part of a holistic wellness routine.
“With regular practice, you become more familiar with the experience and may find it easier to settle into that meditative state,” Withycombe explains. “There’s value in experiencing Ammortal even occasionally, but consistency is what we encourage people to work toward. Once a week is a great goal for supporting relaxation and overall well-being, while Ammortal recommends two to four sessions per week for optimal physical recovery.”
A relaxation space at Senspa(Ashley Batz)
Combining it with treatments like a massage or a facial like Senspa’s new Cell Story Collagen Activation, which uses Korean microspears to noninvasively stimulate rejuvenating collagen production, can amp up both the relaxation and the overall benefits.
Along with expanding their offerings, Withycombe and Lawrence plan to make some “thoughtful improvements” to the wellness center’s physical space in 2027. The ultimate hope for Senspa’s next chapter is that it will help to change the conversation around what a spa is and how it’s used.
“For a long time, spa treatments have been viewed as an indulgence, something you do occasionally to escape the demands of everyday life,” says Whithycombe. “We see things differently. We believe taking care of yourself should be a regular part of how you support your physical and mental well-being.”
// Booking for the Ammortal Chamber is available in 25-minute ($110) and 50-minute ($195) sessions; 1161 Gorgas Ave. (Presidio), senspa.com
