The Vessyl Wellness Resort Opens in Costa Rica

A wellness retreat in Costa Rica seemed like just what I needed during a particularly challenging period of my life.

I was grappling with impending loss, a recent breakup, and an overarching anxiety about aging that had been weighing me down. Some people might refer to this as a quarter-life crisis or a Saturn return.

The Vessyl, the world's first 4D sound resort, caught my attention with its innovative approach to wellness. It opened its doors in August, offering a unique experience that blended technology and nature.

Located on 118 acres of rainforest beneath the Arenal Volcano, The Vessyl can accommodate just 32 guests at a time. This intimate setting allows visitors to connect with their surroundings and the resort's cutting-edge experiences within the Dome.

The Dome is a key feature of the resort, hosting various activities such as vibrational yoga sessions and fractal projections. These events are designed to immerse guests in sound, rather than just hearing it. The resort's focus on 4D sound technology sets it apart from more traditional wellness retreats.

Despite my initial interest, I had reservations about leaving New York for this trip. My 11-year-old dog, Cooper, was dealing with a brain tumor and unpredictable seizures. It was heartbreaking to watch him struggle in his final days.

The winding roads from San José to La Fortuna offered a serene welcome to Costa Rica's northern highlands. The three-hour drive on a misty August afternoon was a gentle transition into the tranquil surroundings of the wellness retreat I had chosen to attend.

Costa Rica has become a haven for those seeking solace and introspection, thanks in part to its burgeoning wellness industry. According to recent statistics, the country's market share has seen a significant increase since 2019, with a growth rate of 58% as reported by the Global Wellness Institute.

This growth is not surprising, given Costa Rica's reputation for promoting "pura vida, or pure life. The phrase is a ubiquitous part of daily life and souvenir shops alike, reflecting the country's emphasis on living in harmony with nature.

As I arrived at The Vessyl, I was struck by the stunning vista before me. The Arenal Volcano loomed large behind a veil of clouds, perfectly framed by the infinity pool that seemed to stretch on forever.

My accommodation, the Sky Tree House, offered breathtaking views from its panoramic terrace. I could see the copper-scaled Dome in the distance, its gleaming surface a striking contrast to the lush jungle surroundings.

The living room of my treehouse was equipped with a spiral staircase leading to a dark, cave-like space that seemed designed for meditation. However, I couldn't shake off the feeling that this would be a challenge for me, given my tendency to struggle with quieting my mind.

As I prepared to leave for my Bio-Well scan, I took a moment to appreciate the tranquil atmosphere surrounding me. The stillness of the jungle and the promise of wellness treatments ahead seemed to be just what I needed.

The futuristic Dome at the wellness resort is a marvel of engineering, developed in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning acoustician George Augspurger over an impressive 11 and a half years.

As I walked through this unique space, chief operating officer Chad Wittman explained that the custom floating floor is embedded with 24 transducers, similar to those found in theme park rides like Disney and Universal. These transducers allow frequency to flow not just through sound, but also through vibration.

The combination of these transducers with spatial audio and immersive visuals creates an environment designed to support a nervous system reset. This innovative approach aims to calm the mind and promote relaxation.

Wittman led me to the adjacent recording studio, where musicians, artists, and scientists can explore frequencies in a unique setting. The studio is just one example of the resort's commitment to innovation and creativity.

Next, I met Ashley Marie, a facilitator who would guide me through the Bio-Well scan, a cutting-edge technology developed by Russian physicist Konstantin Korotov. This little cube of a scanner uses GDV-style imaging to reflect patterns in stress, balance, energy distribution, and overall regulation.

The Bio-Well scan requires only a fingerprint, which I provided with some trepidation, after all, this was a space designed to zap away anxiety. The machine generated numerous graphs, each marked by human figures and bursts of colors denoting energy fields broken down by organ and even tooth.

I could also track my biorhythms," waves charting my physical, emotional, and intellectual levels over the past few weeks. By cross-referencing these dates, I was struck to realize that they coincided with a particularly stressful period in my life, marked by visits to the neurologist with Cooper earlier that month.

As I navigated the winding paths of this tranquil Costa Rican wellness resort, I couldn't help but notice the subtle shifts in my own life. The stressors that had been building up over time were beginning to manifest physically, with two gray hairs serving as a visible reminder of my advancing age.

The lower back pain I'd developed was another pressing concern, one that required attention before it escalated into something more serious. It was clear that the decisions I made from this point on would carry greater weight than those in my younger years.

That evening, at a family-style dinner under the stars, I had the chance to meet Josh Stanley, the founder of The Vessyl. As we passed plates of yuca gnocchi and pejibaye croquettes, Stanley shared his story of helping people understand unconventional ideas, drawing on his experience with saving the life of a young girl named Charlotte Figi.

In 2013, when cannabis was still stigmatized, Stanley and his brothers had helped grow a hemp strain that would eventually become known as Charlotte's Web. This pioneering effort sparked a movement around CBD and its potential benefits. Stanley's work in promoting alternative perspectives was clearly influential.

However, it wasn't until I spoke with lead facilitator Svetlana Parmar that I began to grasp the full scope of human design. This complex system draws on various disciplines, including the Kabbalah, the I Ching, numerology, and quantum physics.

As I learned more about human design, I discovered it was also a trending topic on social media platforms like TikTok. The growing interest in this practice was undeniable, even if its intricacies were not yet widely understood.

The next day, I had my first experience with human design within the resort's Dome facility. Equipped with headphones and a blanket, I lay down on the vibrating floor alongside fellow guests. As we gazed up at the spherical ceiling featuring a continuous black-and-white spiral, a soothing voice delivered a personalized message through my headphones: "Hello Jessica...".

The series of patterns presented to me during my stay at this Costa Rican wellness resort continued to resonate in unexpected ways. The experience had a hypnotic quality that left me questioning its validity. At times, the words spoken felt eerily familiar, as if they were tapping into deep-seated desires and fears that I'd never acknowledged before.

The self-knowledge sessions were a striking blend of old and new methods. While the content itself was not particularly groundbreaking, the fact that it was crafted using AI technology made me wonder about the role of artificial intelligence in our quest for self-discovery. The promise of a personalized approach to understanding ourselves is certainly appealing, but I couldn't help feeling that it was also somewhat superficial.

The use of bodygraphs and geometric shapes to map out an individual's energy and personality traits seemed both fascinating and perplexing. The intricate patterns and channels presented on the iPad screen were mesmerizing, but ultimately, they failed to reveal any profound insights into my nature. Instead, I found myself getting bogged down in the technical details.

Despite feeling a sense of detachment from the experience, I couldn't deny that it had sparked some important conversations about relationships, aging, and our place in the world. Sitting on the outdoor patio with Parmar, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, felt like a welcome respite from the more intense moments within the Dome.

The one-on-one reading with Parmar was an opportunity to delve deeper into my bodygraph and explore its various channels. While I struggled to make sense of the technical jargon, our conversation flowed easily, touching on topics that were both personal and universal. It was a reminder that, despite our growing reliance on technology, human connection remains essential.

As we sat together in the warm glow of the citronella candle, I couldn't help but feel that we were engaging in a timeless ritual, one that transcended the boundaries of science and spirituality. The rainforest loomed just beyond us, its rhythms and melodies providing a soothing background to our conversation.

The experience left me pondering the fine line between self-awareness and obsession. In an era where biohacking and self-optimization are increasingly popular, it's essential to remember that there's more to being human than metrics and data. The rainforest beckoned, promising a chance to reconnect with nature and rediscover our place within it.

The sessions at the wellness resort had been a journey of self-discovery so far, but nothing could have prepared me for what was about to unfold in the Dome.

Somatic breathwork is an experience that can be intense and overwhelming for some participants, which is why I was warned beforehand about its potential effects on my emotions.

As someone who has always prided myself on being able to control my feelings, even during meditation, I wasn't exactly concerned about losing emotional regulation during this session.

However, when our facilitator Dylan Baird revealed that somatic breathwork can be akin to a psychedelic experience without the use of substances, I was intrigued and also skeptical.

We lay down in a circle, donning eye masks to minimize distractions, and began to breathe in unison with the facilitators, who gently applied pressure on our shoulders and cheeks to release tension.

As we continued this synchronized breathing for 40 minutes, my body started to relax, but I felt an unusual numbness creeping into my hands, accompanied by a growing chill.