Watch as I experience the therapeutic powers of Sunderland's giant harmonic egg chamber and reveal what it's like

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As I entered the 11ft egg my host Claire repeated the mantra ‘peace and relaxation with mind and body’ as she closed the retractable space age style door to seal me inside the harmonic chamber.

I had been identified as needing an autonomic nervous system reset. I wasn’t really sure what it was but after the morning from hell I certainly felt like I needed it!

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With my wife having been working away this week, I had been juggling the joys of parenting a five and soon to be three-year-old (who currently seems allergic to sleep) with a particularly busy week out and about on stories.

Reporter Neil Fatkin about to experience the harmonic egg chamber.Reporter Neil Fatkin about to experience the harmonic egg chamber.
Reporter Neil Fatkin about to experience the harmonic egg chamber. | National World

With two consecutive jobs lined up for yesterday morning I was hoping for a smooth breakfast time passage before enduring the inevitable perils of the school and nursery run.

Kids fed, emails checked and unexpected early pre-work call dealt with, I was ready to deposit the kids and get a well earned rest by going to work

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Unfortunately my two-year-old daughter had other ideas thanks to a rather unpleasant deposit of her own which simply couldn’t be dealt with by wet wipes alone.

Only a dunk in the bath could solve this situation.

A journalist can often be required to take on a bit of role play to allow the reader to experience a job, setting or situation through their eyes.

I can categorically say no role play was required here.

Stressed - tick. Tired - tick. High levels of anxiety - tick. In need of relaxation - definitely tick.

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As I made my way to Sunderland BIC Enterprise Park to experience what is one of only three harmonic eggs in the whole of the country, if ever I needed peace and relaxation of my mind and body, it was now.

The harmonic egg in Sunderland is one of only three in the country.The harmonic egg in Sunderland is one of only three in the country.
The harmonic egg in Sunderland is one of only three in the country. | National World

Before entering the egg chamber your complimentary therapy session begins with a chat with Claire who developed an interest in the use of sound, lights and energy to manage and support emotional well being during her time working in local schools with children who faced the challenges of autism and ADHD.

“We would use soothing music and instruments which seemed to have a calming effect and allowed them to relax their nervous system when in a classroom setting,” she explained.

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The conversation includes discussing any mental and physical health problems you may be experiencing which Claire then uses to select the most appropriate form of “frequencies to use”.

Claire explained: “We have 65 different compositions of music designed to induce different feelings and deal with different problems.

“For example if someone was suffering from PTSD, perhaps from being a military veteran, then I wouldn’t use a composition which included instruments such as drums which can have a negative impact on them.

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“I would use drums or rattles on someone who wanted to shift energy from their body.

“The energy passing through the body can help to push out what we don’t want and detox the body. “The compositions are played at different frequencies which which can have a different impact on your body.

“For example 432Hz has a beautiful calming effect on your body which can have a nervous system rest.

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“Colour is also a frequency and is important in the chamber as different colours induce different moods.

“Light colours such as greens and yellows can help to expel bacterial infections such as colds from the body.”

After describing my morning from hell - which to be fair is our pretty regular pre 9am ordeal - Claire prescribed me the ‘Trilogy of Hope’, a composition played at 432Hz.

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“With what is obviously a busy and stressful lifestyle you need an autonomic nervous system reset which allows the body to get back to a state of calm,” explained Claire.

“The composition contains instruments including a sitar, cello, sarangi and santoor as well as sounds of nature.

“The music is designed to induce a state of meditation and bring back a feeling of calm,” she added.

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Sounds good to me I thought, but to be honest the way I was feeling, 50 minutes lying down on park bench away from toddler tantrums and dirty nappes sounded pretty appealing!

As I made my way into the room containing the harmonic egg, the first thing to hit me was the striking futuristic design which wouldn’t look out of place in a NASA Visitor Centre.

Before embarking on my treatment I was instructed to go to the toilet as the therapy session often has the side effect of making people “need to go” as the detox process expels anything which isn’t needed from your body.

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It was certainly something which did ring true at the end of my session as I had to make a dash to the loo.

After Claire showed me the location of the buzzer to “sound if I needed anything”, she closed the door and I was ready for take off, hopefully to planet rest and relaxation.

As the gentle sounds of serenity began to gently resonate around the chamber it wasn’t long before a feeling of calm filled my body and I was able to switch off from my morning mayhem.

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One of the first things I noticed was a warm tingling feeling across my cheeks as I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into what felt like an almost trance like state.

Occasional thoughts of work initially permeated my mind, but I was quickly able to filter them out as I allowed myself to be immersed in what felt like a exotic orchestral percussion mixed with the gentle sounds of the rainforest, occasionally permeated by the spiritual voice of the purest of choirs.

Possibly a throwback to the travels of my youth, my mind flitted between the lapping waters of a tropical paradise on the Indian Ocean and the foothills of the Himalaya.

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As Claire pointed out at the end of my session, “maybe you went on a journey to a time when you felt more free from the pressures of work and family life”.

One thing I was keen to experience, but somewhat sceptical about, was the zero gravity chair.

Neil takes his place on the zero gravity chair.Neil takes his place on the zero gravity chair.
Neil takes his place on the zero gravity chair. | National World

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say my physical experience of the chamber felt like flying, I certainly experienced a feeling of lightness across the whole of my body - something which remained for a period of time after exiting the chamber.

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I also felt, and could hear, my breathing and heart rate decelerating and having never experienced meditation before, what felt like the accelerated passage of time - which felt more like about 20 minutes - certainly suggested I had entered a meditative state.

Each session lasts 50 minutes, 40 minutes of which are spent absorbing one of the 65 instrumental compositions, followed by 10 minutes of silence, with the end of the session marked by the chiming of a bell.

Logic may determine that relaxation would have the opposite effect in slowing down the feeling of time and the first question I put to Claire when exiting the egg was whether people perceived their time in the egg was longer or shorter than they expected?

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“People always say time goes faster” explained Claire, “which is all part of entering a meditative state and freeing your brain of all things things which may make you stressed or anxious,” she added.

Eggs are associated with the birth of new life and whilst I can’t claim my emergence from this giant egg was the birth of a new me, I certainly enjoyed the experience and felt an enhanced sense of calmness and relaxation as well as a sense of lightness with the burden of my week’s turmoil lifted.

The key question is does it last?

Claire Grabham at the entrance to the Harmonic Egg.Claire Grabham at the entrance to the Harmonic Egg.
Claire Grabham at the entrance to the Harmonic Egg. | National World

Claire explained: “While some people come for a one off experience, people with real anxiety issues will tend to come along for between three and six sessions in order to feel the full benefit.

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“I have one lady who is going through the menopause. She was experiencing hot flushes and said that using the harmonic egg really helps to control this.

“She visits the egg around once each month as and when the flushes tend to start again.

“I also have a lady with Parkinson’s who said when she comes out of the egg it helps to control her shaking.

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“With four kids, I also tend to use the egg once each week.”

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to indulge for long in my new found inner peace as after exiting the egg I had to finish my interview with Claire before dashing off to my next job - which I was already late for.

However, returning home from my second job of the day I was struck by the reading on the heart rate monitor of my watch, some two hours after exiting the egg.

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It was reading between 55 and 56 beats per minute when my normal rate whilst driving my car tends to be in the early 60s.

Watches aren’t allowed in the egg, but it would have been interesting to see my heart rate in the middle of my session.

I don’t profess to be spiritual man and I’ve never really tried alternative therapies. That said, I’m open minded to all experiences and there’s certainly scientific merit in the use of sounds, colours, lighting and the frequencies of energy when it comes to affecting our emotional state and mood.

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I certainly enjoyed the serenity of the harmonic egg experience and left the chamber feeling more relaxed and calm.

Immediately back to the world of work, interspersed with children’s tantrums and a toddler who doesn’t sleep, I could probably do with an autonomic nervous system reset at the end of each day!

If you are feeling stressed or suffer from issues if anxiety then I would certainly recommend experiencing the harmonic egg and seeing if it works for you.

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As Claire explained: “The main reason people come to use the egg is for peace. It’s very rare in modern life for people to find peace. We are all stressed and life can be 100mph, but you can come in here and the egg can take you to a nice meditative state.”

A harmonic egg session costs £75. To find out more about the egg and to book a session visit the Harmonic Egg of the North website.

Meet the lady behind the egg

The Harmonic egg was developed in 2017 in the USA by engineer turned inventor and visionary Gail Lynn.

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There are now 166 eggs in use across the world, including three in the UK.

Claire Grabham, 47, first became interested in the use of light, sound and energy frequencies as a means of supporting health and emotional wellbeing during her time working in local schools as a ‘relax kids coach’.

It was during this role that she noticed the calming impact the techniques had on children facing the challenges of autism and ADHD.

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Claire Grabham moved the Harmonic Egg to Sunderland in September (2024).Claire Grabham moved the Harmonic Egg to Sunderland in September (2024).
Claire Grabham moved the Harmonic Egg to Sunderland in September (2024). | National World

However, it was a visit to a ‘sound bath’ session which led to Claire’s discovery of the harmonic egg.

She said: “After going to the sound baths I noticed it was calming my nervous system and I had the most amazing sleeps of my life. I wanted to find out when the next sound bath session was and when I googled the topic, the egg came out top of the search.

“I immediately though ‘wow’ what’s that massive egg with lights shining out? It immediately just hit me in the chest and I thought I need a harmonic egg.”

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After further research, Claire ordered a harmonic egg, although she admits she did so before experiencing an egg session for herself.

“It was June 2022 and I had just bought an egg when myself and some friends travelled down to Chester for a session.

“I loved the experience. On the way home no one was talking. I apologised for having nothing to say and my friends were just the same.

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“It had literally calmed us so much I just had that peacefulness where your mind is totally clear.”

The egg was initially constructed and housed in Newcastle where it was used by a number of well known sports people including golfer Lee Westwood as well as Becky Langley and Amber Stobbs, head coach and captain of Newcastle United’s women’s team.

However, in September (2024) Claire decided to relocate her harmonic egg to Sunderland at Wearfield Enterprise Park.

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She explained: “The site is closer to where I live in South Shields but I’ve also had so much support from Sunderland BIC (business and innovation centre) and really feel part of a business community.

“With all the developments taking place, including the prospect of the new film studios, I also feel Sunderland is the place to be, which is why a lot of businesses are moving from Newcastle to Sunderland.”

Win a free session in the egg

You can win a free session in the harmonic egg by answering the following question;

Who invented the harmonic egg?

Email all answers to [email protected] and we will randomly select a winner from those people who submit the correct answer.

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