Immersive wellness company Sensync has partnered with Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, Hawaii, to launch a VR spa experience.

Sensync’s Deep Brain Massage treatments are delivered in The Vessel – a VR pod designed to "displace guests from the burdens of their mind and unlock new approaches for relaxation and restoration".

Sensync founders Alex Theory and Adam Gazzaley said: “The Deep Brain Massage relies on the push-pull relationship between two competing types of attention (bottom-up and top-down) which define all human interactions with the world around us.”

The journeys are designed to help 'reset' customer's brains to achieve a state of tranquillity. The idea is that guests’ focus is pulled away from goal-directed thoughts, allowing a much-needed restoration from cognitive fatigue.

In the pod guests see, hear, smell, feel and experience sensations of nature. These are presented in unison to leverage the power of sensory synchronisation.

This creates immersive nature experiences that are personalised in real-time using recordings of the guest’s physiological responses. The pod monitors real-time data such as respiration and heart rates, and electrodermal activity and then adjusts the treatment accordingly.

This personalised data is then shared with guests on a tablet after their treatment in the form of a map of their journey, to show how they react to different stimuli.

Sensync’s Deep Brain Massage is claimed to be one of the first experiences to deliver state-of-the-art stereoscopic visuals, spatial audio, scent, vibroacoustics, breeze effects and customised temperature control in unison.

The Vessel offers a series of nature-themed journeys – such as Ocean Cove, Crystal Cave and Floating Clouds – ranging from 20-80 minutes, based on guest’s preference. Four Seasons Oahu at Ko Olina is offering 20-minute and 40-minute treatments, costing US$75 and US$135 respectively.

Theory and Gazzaley told Spa Business: “Four Seasons was introduced to our company through shared connections in the healthcare industry, and reached out to partner with us in order to introduce our novel technology to its guests”.