I took my sore back into a -85°C cryotherapy chamber. What came out felt like someone new

Cold plunging and cryotherapy may be trending on wellness feeds now, but for many Indian households, the original version came without branding or biohacking. A steel bucket. Chilled water. No geyser. A morning routine of a cold water bucket bath that left you gasping and reborn.

At the Fairmont Mumbai’s Spa & Longevity, that same philosophy takes a more high-tech form. The Blu Xone is their longevity centre, named as a nod to the world’s Blue Zones, regions often associated with longevity and sustained well-being. Longevity, here, draws on the idea of increasing not just lifespan but healthspan. On offer are performance-driven treatments like cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen, red light therapy, intermittent vacuum therapy (IVT) and more, each designed to optimise recovery, metabolism and circulation.

I arrived with a question: could cryotherapy fix the ache in my lower back?

“It’s mainly for recovery and rejuvenation,” said Dr Rashmi Ambastha, director of spa, wellness and recreation. “Post-workout, it helps eliminate soreness and pain. But it’s also good for healing. And it improves skin texture and metabolism, too. I prefer to call it age-defying, not anti-ageing.”

A standard cryotherapy session is simple in theory. Enter a chamber cooled to -85°C, stay for three minutes while dressed in socks, gloves, earmuffs and a face mask, and move continuously to maintain circulation. But once you’re in, theory melts.

I walked into the cryotherapy chamber in a paper-thin gown. The cold didn’t sting. It stunned. A clinical, airless absence of warmth. My first instinct was to freeze in place. But I remembered what Dr Ambastha had said earlier: “You’re not supposed to be standing still. That’s when it becomes uncomfortable. You can dance, move, stretch… just keep the joints warm.” The spa therapist who stood outside the cryochamber to monitor me at all times tapped on the door and started a little jig.

And so I followed her. Moving onto a patchwork routine of PT drills and mid-2000s movie-inspired hula steps, cobbled together under pressure.

Inside, the body enters survival mode. “Vasoconstriction starts immediately,” she explained. “The blood vessels narrow, pulling blood to your core to maintain temperature. Then once you step out, vasodilation kicks in. The blood rushes back, carrying mood-boosting endorphins and norepinephrine through your body. It’s like swapping your espresso shot for something more powerful and without the crash.”