Teditorial
What began on a whim, in a slice of downtown Seal Beach, has remained as a small staple of life that espouses the benefits of life energy. Ebb Persephone in Seal Beach has been the little shop of healing on Main Street for four years.
It was born out of a change of life for the owner Mariesa Hayes. The shop offers crystals, candles, incense, essential oils, among its many offerings. In the past couple of weeks, I have been trying to work back into something resembling running shape for the Run Seal Beach 5K.
While I did the 5K last year, it was more walk than run and I was hoping to improve upon my time of 41:09. After a few trips to the gym to run on the treadmill, I figured I’d better get in some actual road training. Three miles on the street was much tougher on the joints that the treadmill and I felt it in my knee for a couple of days.
I started to think of ways to minimize the impact and thought of knee braces or wraps. Then I wondered what kind of recovery methods would help me get in more training. Started looking at the usual recovery cremes. Then I started to wonder about different treatments. That eventually brought me back to Ebb Persephone, where they offer BEMER (Bio Electro Magnetic Energy Regulation) treatments. BEMER is said to improve circulation by stimulating blood vessels with an electromagnetic field around the body. Improved circulation provides the body a chance to eliminate toxins and provide more nutrients and oxygen to the tissues.
That brought me into Ebb Persephone, but what I found was an entire store dedicated to what they essentially called the healing energy of the body. There is plenty of research that claims the body is designed to heal itself. It’s just that is sometimes needs help in doing so.
“We’re really big on clearing up the blockage,” Pool said.
While BEMER is a medical device, there are other aspects that also are intended to clear up the body. Crystals are said to provide the body a closer proximity to the earth’s frequency, to provide a certain kind of vibration to the body.
At just a few dollars I decided to get a couple of crystals to carry with me and took my first BEMER treatment. Deanna Lidyoff handles the BEMER treatments. You simply lie on a table with a pad on your torso and the machine provides the electromagnetic field. I’m told more than one session is needed for full effect, but a mild headache did go away.
On the second Thursday of every month, the store hosts a free group guided meditation. I decided to stay for that. The small store was filled to capacity as we followed an audio guide of meditation. Pool, a Health and Wellness Educator, leads the meditation, though some of the regulars seem to take the lead as well (The next one will be March 12, starting at 6:30 p.m.).
Pool can tell visitors more about the therapeutic benefits of meditation, holistic self-care, essential oils, nutrition and other aspects. And she’s a practitioner of Pranic Healing, which uses energy to help the body heal itself.
All of this is not intended to replace western medicine, in fact Ebb Persephone will tell you that what they do should be used as complementary to regular medical treatments.
“They’re tools to inspire you,” Mariesa Hayes said.
Before the guided meditation, I spoke with Heather Anderson, a Seal Beach native, who now lives in Buellton, California. She visits Seal Beach to see her family and also get BEMER from Lidyoff, who is her friend since the two were classmates at Zoeter Elementary School.
Anderson said she started getting regular treatments about 16 months ago and she said they have helped her overall feeling of health. She said a “frozen” shoulder she had been dealing with loosened up and now feels great. She even attributed the clearing up of a rash to the treatments. But mostly, she said she has been looking to change her life and has been finding new ways to do that.
“I’m transforming myself,” Anderson said.
All three of the women in the shop spoke in similar terms, that they found their way to these ideas during times of life changes. We all have life changes at times, sometimes by choice and sometimes those changes are thrust upon us. If you have concerns, you should discuss them with your doctor. However, when we look for answers to change, they might be closer than we think.
“We all have our answers inside,” Lidyoff said.
As for me, I’m still working to find my answers, but for now, getting ready for a successful Run Seal Beach 5K is the immediate goal. If I find more answers to my life changes, that will be a bonus.
Find more on BEMER, Pranic Healing, crystals and essential oils online with basic internet searches. Find more on Ebb Persephone at projectebb.com.
Ted Apodaca is the editor of the Sun News and Catalina Islander. He can be reached at editor@sunnews.org, or 562-317-1100. Instagram: @tedapodaca
