East Durham Business editor Leanne Fawcett is fully embracing her 40s.
Having recently undertaken a weight loss and lifestyle improvement journey, she is now more aware than ever about what goes into her body, and the way she treats it.
So, when the opportunity to try out the newest kid on the wellness block, the harmonic egg, came up, she was intrigued…
Usually, when I go to review something, I know exactly, or at the very least pretty much, what to expect.
But driving through to meet Claire Grabham, owner of Harmonic Egg North, I didn’t have clue what I would be faced with.
I had been introduced to Claire via a mutual friend and as someone who is very open- minded to how traditional and holistic therapies can be used to improve our mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness, I was keen to know more.
Claire’s business is based at the North East BIC in Sunderland, and it’s within her unit within the popular business park that the harmonic egg is found.
But let’s be clear, this isn’t just any egg. It’s an 11-foot therapy chamber which looks like something from a sci-fi movie. However, what Claire has achieved within the small but perfectly formed unit she occupies is a tranquil space that is gentle forerunner to what can, at first, seem quite a daunting contraption.
So, firstly I wanted to know more. What is the harmonic egg and how did Claire come to purchase one?
“I’d heard about the egg from a friend of mine and learned that that there was only one operating in this country, and that was in Chester.
“At this point I was very tuned in to how sound could impact your health and wellbeing, having tried out a technique called ‘sound-bathing’, which is where you immerse yourself in sound.
“It’s amazing how much sound can actually change the way we feel and think. It’s power dates all the way back to when the world as we know it began, and influences everything around us.
“I decided to do more research into sound-bathing and when I was looking into this the harmonic egg came up.
“I was so interested in it and had this idea that I wanted to buy one, to bring it back to the North East and create a business with it. I decided to speak to my husband and while I thought he would think I was crazy for even considering it, he actually said Claire, I think you should go for it.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
The egg was shipped over from the United States and was constructed by two members of the retailer’s team who flew over to set it up.
And last year Harmonic Egg North launched.
So that’s the background.
But what about the experience itself.
Claire told me the egg has the power to give you what you need, whether that be mentally, physically or spiritually.
Prior to entering, she asked me what I would like to get from it.
“A feeling of calm, that my mind has been detoxed and cleared,” was my answer.
Up to the date of the experience, my business had been on a real journey of reinvention (perhaps ‘journeys’ are something we all do when we reach our mid-40s) and after 18 months of rebuilding, I was at the point of being busier than I had been for a long time. So having a bit of mind declutter was just what I needed.
So into the egg I went, with genuinely no idea what to expect, other than it would last 50 minutes.
As I lay down, Claire wrapped me in blankets, telling me the egg can get very cold no matter how warm it is outside. And then it starts, with sound and light frequencies used to calm the nervous system.
For the first 10 minutes I felt like my mind was in overdrive, that conversations with all sorts of people were at the forefront pf my mind (despite the very relaxing music). And it wasn’t what I wanted, yet I couldn’t switch off. However, gradually I could feel ‘waves’ move through my body, from my head to my feet, as I began to drift off – it sounds strange to say that I literally could feel my worries leave my body until my mind was a space of complete clarity.
I was transported to a state of tranquillity and zen-like calm, something I rarely get to experience running a business and being mam to three children, including a three-year-old.
By the end of the session, I felt completely and utterly relaxed, like someone had flushed my mind of everything that was weighing me down.
But what I also took from it – which is rather deep – is that my experience of the harmonic egg was a reflection of where I am personally and professionally. I am happy, I am healthy and I have a wonderful family, and leaving Sunderland for my drive home, I felt the egg had somehow confirmed that. (For context I know from other people that have tried it that they were transported into their pasts for ‘closure’ on matters that perhaps they hadn’t addressed at the time. Bur for me it was all about resetting and cleansing).
At £75 per session (discounts are available for block bookings), the harmonic egg is a luxury experience, however I do think for anyone that wants reflection, clarity or simply the chance to escape from the pressures of everyday life, it’s a treatment well worth the investment.