Recovery
Infrared Sauna and Red Light Therapy in Berlin-Kreuzberg
What you get
A session lasts 20 minutes. Infrared sauna and red light therapy run together in one cabin, so you book one slot and get both. You choose the temperature when you book, between 40 and 70 degrees. The red light panel works with five wavelengths from 630 to 850 nanometres. Bookable from the opening in December 2026.
Infrared sauna and red light therapy are not the same thing
Both sit in the same cabin here and run in the same 20 minutes. They are still two different things, and the difference is easy to understand.
A traditional sauna heats the air, and the hot air warms you. An infrared cabin skips that step and radiates directly onto your body. That is why 60 degrees in an infrared cabin feels different from 60 degrees in a Finnish sauna, even though both thermometers show the same number.
Red light is not a heat source. It is light in a narrow part of the spectrum. Part of it you see glowing red, part of it you do not see at all, and you barely feel it as warmth. Red light works through wavelength rather than temperature, which is why it has its own section here.
Five wavelengths in two ranges
Our panel works with 630, 660, 810, 830 and 850 nanometres. Those five values fall into two groups.
630 and 660 nanometres are red light. It reaches the upper layers of the skin and does not go much deeper.
810, 830 and 850 nanometres are near infrared. These wavelengths travel further and reach tissue below the skin, including muscles and joints.
Only part of this is visible. The cabin sits in deep red while the three near infrared values run alongside unseen. You set nothing and operate nothing. You sit in the warmth you chose, and in the light. Twenty minutes in which nobody needs anything from you. Afterwards you go back into your day warm to your fingertips.
What the heat and the light do
The infrared sauna
Heat widens your blood vessels, and your blood reaches places it otherwise struggles to get to. The nutrients your cells need for their work arrive with it. And the warmth stays. Your body still feels warm hours after the session.
After training, this supports the recovery that is already under way. Many people feel less soreness the next day and are ready for the next session sooner.
Then there is what heat does to your nervous system. Your pulse comes down, your stress level drops, and for many people the night afterwards is the best one of the week.
The red light therapy
Red light at 630 and 660 nanometres works in the upper layers of the skin, where collagen is formed. This is not an effect for one evening. It shows over weeks, in your skin and in its texture.
Near infrared at 810 to 850 nanometres goes deeper. There the light reaches the mitochondria, the places where your cells produce energy. That is why red light is used in recovery and not only in cosmetics.
Both run automatically while you sit in the warmth. You book one session and get both.
40 to 70 degrees, your choice
You set the temperature when you book, between 40 and 70 degrees, and that range is the actual point. At 45 degrees you sit in mild warmth, start sweating slowly and get through the 20 minutes without effort. At 70 degrees it becomes seriously hot, closer to what you know from a traditional sauna.
You are only committed for that one session. After a hard workout many people book lower. Anyone coming in from the cold and looking for heat goes higher.
Two cabins, and you choose who is in them
There are two cabins. One is women only. The second is booked either by women or by men, never both at the same time. So you know who can sit next to you before you book.
A cabin is built for four people and used by at most two. It never gets crowded. You book either one of the two places or both. Both means the twenty minutes are yours alone. One means you come with a friend, or you sit next to someone you did not know before.
When a session is worth it
After training is the obvious moment, and not because it feels good, but because that is when your body starts its real work. Fifty minutes of training are the stimulus. What comes of it is decided in the hours afterwards, and twenty minutes of warmth are the best start to those hours.
On days without training it is the less obvious and often better moment. Those are the days your body actually recovers, and you sit in the cabin without watching the clock.
And then there is the Berlin winter. From November to February it never really gets light here. At some point in January, a cabin with warmth and light stops being a training topic and is simply a good place to be.
Common questions
What is the difference between an infrared sauna and a traditional sauna?
A traditional sauna heats the air, and the hot air warms you. An infrared cabin radiates directly onto your body, without going through the room air. That is why the same temperature feels different in each of them. Here you choose between 40 and 70 degrees, already when you book.
What does red light therapy do?
It is used mainly after training and for the skin. Red light at 630 and 660 nanometres reaches the upper layers of the skin, and near infrared at 810 to 850 nanometres goes deeper and reaches muscles and joints. Here both run automatically while you sit in the warmth.
How often should I use the infrared sauna?
We suggest two ways. Either you attach the session directly to your training, so the warmth arrives exactly when recovery begins. Or you take it on a recovery day, when the time is yours anyway. The 12-month Founding Membership includes monthly sessions, anything beyond that you book individually.
How long is a session?
Twenty minutes. Infrared sauna and red light therapy run together in one cabin, so you book one slot and get both. That is enough time to settle in at a low temperature or to sweat properly at a high one. Plan a little longer, you shower afterwards and will not want to rush.
What do I need to bring?
Nothing but yourself. Towels are included for members, and without a membership you borrow one at reception. Showers are available afterwards, so you leave the way you would want to. If you come straight from training, all you do is walk from the studio floor into the cabin.
Can I book without a membership?
Yes. The cabin is bookable without a membership, mainly through our own site and additionally through Urban Sports Club and ClassPass. It starts with the opening in December 2026, there are no slots before that. Waitlist members hear first when booking opens and reach the times before the public.
When you can book
Method26 opens in December 2026 in Kreuzberg. From then you book sessions mainly through this site, and additionally through Urban Sports Club and ClassPass.
If you want to be there from the start, join the waitlist. The waitlist hears first when booking opens, before it becomes public.
The infrared sauna is only one third of the picture. How training, recovery and nutrition fit together at Method26 is on the homepage.
Opening December 2026 · Kreuzberg, Berlin