I visited Ancient Ritual's showroom located at a home in LA. From end to end, the experience was lovely. I started by checking in on an iPad answering questions about my current mood, and experience level with infrared saunas (mine was none!), and chatting with Jzenai about the product. Then I was brought upstairs to a private room to test the brand's Arc sauna. I was taken through a 30-minute beginner-level experience by 3 virtual guides. The experience was fully immersive with light, sound, and infrared heat. It felt a bit like a James Turrell exhibition (I later found out that the light feature was created in collaboration with one of his proteges). I was taken through a 10-minute meditation followed by a 10-minute breathwork session. After the session ended, I exited the sauna to find a tray on the bed with an electrolyte drink, cold towel, and a piece of paper to jot down three words to describe how I was feeling after the experience. Afterward, I was able to take a quick cool shower followed by using the body care products stocked in the bathroom. Overall the experience was incredible. The sauna itself felt really high quality. I was nervous that it might feel claustrophobic having no glass door, but instead, it felt calming to be separate from the outside world. I don't spend much time in saunas and I'm not great at meditating or doing breathwork exercises, I but I noticed I felt lighter and more balanced for the rest of the day. I came into the experience overwhelmed and anxious and left more calm and centered. The guidance from Clarise and James, my virtual guides, felt approachable and safe. I would love to repeat the experience. Because this was simply a showroom demo, I am not able to comment on things like the technology of the sauna and its corresponding phone application or the maintenance of the equipment over time. That said, I really appreciated the attention to detail throughout.... and I just might meditate again some time soon.
