Worth It: SAVA

Welcome back to Worth It, our weekly seal of approval on noteworthy launches and bespoke collaborations in the worlds of beauty and fashion. If it's featured here, consider these investments worthwhile.

The Promise

Think of SAVA, a $10,000 immersive pod designed to guide you to a higher state of consciousness, like a sound bath on steroids. Instead of using a series of noises to simply aid in meditation, the human-sized sound cocoon takes things up 20+ notches. It combines vibrational therapy, acoustic technology, specially adapted sound frequencies, and artificial intelligence to enhance meditation, recovery, and mental health.

If it sounds woo-woo, it’s because the outer body experience-inducing device most definitely is. But, it’s woo-woo backed by science and Ray Kelly, a world-famous leading injury rehab expert known for his multi-modality healing methodology. Here’s how it works: You lay down in your massive pod and select a Sound Journey of your choice on the SAVA’s accompanying app. (The Sound Journeys have been created by Nick Littlemore, an Australian musician best known for Empire of the Sun.) 

The music tracks available for you to choose are purpose driven. Some will help the brain and body be more receptive to sleep and relaxation, while others can amplify creativity or energy—so on and so forth. While your ears hear the music thanks to four strategically-placed surround sound speakers, your body vibrations begin to match the music with help from 10 bass transducers placed around your body. In theory, you'll be more receptive to an out of body experience of your choosing.

“Our holistic approach aims to help people not only feel better day-to-day but also help people connect to a higher state of consciousness, which I believe is the foundation for optimal wellbeing,” Ray Kelly, TERSA Founder and CEO, tells me. “SAVA signifies a revolution in the health, medical, and wellness industry, ushering in a new era of holistic well-being.“

The device is currently available for pre-order, with a rollout date of Fall 2024. 

Why I’m Obsessed

I love a woo-woo wellness moment—give me all the reiki healings, astrological realignments, and chakra balancing techniques the energy medicine rolodex has to offer. Very rarely do the aforementioned practices coincide with high-tech science. But that uncommon convergence of left and right brains is exactly what I found with SAVA. 

“The SAVA experience is what would happen if Apple and Tesla had a baby and that baby was into acid," TERSA founder and CEO Ray Kelly explained to me when I walked into the brand’s NYC showroom. The oval-shaped, human-sized pod that sat in the corner of the room resembled a spaceship plucked from a Star Trek movie. As I stared at the futuristic contraption powered by artificial intelligence and vibrational technology, Kelly explained how prolonged meditation in the pod can simulate a similar experience to that of psychedelics. It’s juxtaposition at its finest—and I had to try it. 

My experience, I was told, would be two-fold. First, we would awaken my system and boost creativity with a specially selected upbeat, energizing track. That would then be compared to what was supposedly a sleep-inducing, decompressing vibrational song. Each would run for approximately 22 minutes, the minimum amount of time to reach a deep meditative state and out of body experience. 

With that in mind, I laid down on the tempurpedic topper, covered myself in a 15 pound weighted blanket, and slid a silk sleep mask over my eyes. It was very comfortable and I instantly noticed that the curvature of the pod was designed to be reminiscent of a hug, effectively decompressing my nervous system. 

Then, the music kicked in. To be frank, music isn’t the right word to articulate this experience, but there’s no word in Miriam Webster that does it justice. My ears heard the beat—yes. But my body felt it. It was as if I was cognizant of every organ’s position in my body. My liver, my colon, my intestines, the whole sheband. The sound seemed to shoot straight out of the top of my head and cue my entire body to function in unison with the beat of the music. I know I sound a bit unhinged, but for those few minutes I genuinely felt like I could run a marathon (I most definitely cannot) or write a book in a day (something I’ve been procrastinating for the greater part of a decade). It was inspiring. 

Just as quickly as my brain was stimulated to hone in on creativity, the SAVA was able to reverse the effect and create a state of relaxation that washed over my entire being. The beats and vibrations weren’t necessarily slower than the first, but the vibe was entirely different. Within a few minutes, my body felt suspended in the air. And, despite the pounding music, I actually drifted off for a little while. 

I’d liken the experience to coming out of anesthesia. On the one hand I felt like I completely zoned out and missed a chapter of the day, but on the other I was completely rested and restored. Was it out of body? I personally didn’t get to that point, but I’m also not going to claim I’m a regular meditator. 

The device does what it says—and for individuals trying to take their meditation and mental well-being to the next level, it is well worth it to add this to your wellness sanctuary.