STUDIO 7:14
Wellness by Design
Pulsed Electromagnetic Activation
PEMA
A lifetime of research, folded into a mat.
What It Is
PEMA stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Activation. It's a newer take on PEMF, or pulsed electromagnetic fields, developed by Prof. Dr. Wolf A. Kafka, a German physicist and neurophysiologist who patented his first pulsed-field device in 1998. At Studio 7:14, a PEMA session means resting on a mat in a recliner while gentle magnetic pulses run beneath you.
patent filed
the Max Planck Institute
multi-nation study
You don't need to understand physics to lie down and rest. But if you've ever looked at the mat and wondered where it came from, this is its story. It starts in a research lab in Germany, and it's mostly about one scientist's long fascination with very small signals.
Why does electricity have anything to do with the body?
Here's something easy to forget: you're electrical. With each heartbeat, an electrical signal travels from the top of your heart to the bottom. That's the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's plain description, and it happens all day, every day, without a thought from you.
People of faith have marveled at this kind of detail for a very long time. Our studio's tagline is "Wellness by Design," and the verse below is close to the heart of it.
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works."
Psalm 139:14 · KJV
Sources — Research
Kafka WA, Bernatzky G, Malik P. "Non-invasive Electromagnetic Stimulation and Its Impact on Human Well-Being: A Multi-nation Study on the KLOUD-PEMA System." In: Choudrie J, Tuba E, Perumal T (eds.), ICT for Intelligent Systems, pp. 385–416. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol. 124. Springer, Singapore, 2026. link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-95-1353-6_32
Who is Wolf Kafka?
Prof. Dr. Wolf A. Kafka trained in physics and neurophysiology. According to his published biography, he spent more than 30 years at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology, studying how living things detect odors at the molecular level.
Think about what that means. A scent is a few molecules in the air. Somehow a living cell notices them, and the creature responds. Kafka's career was spent on that question: how a very small signal gets picked up and turned into something the body acts on.
Sources
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. "How the Heart Beats." nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/heart-beats
Kafka WA. "Device applying electric or electromagnetic signals for promoting biological processes." European Patent EP 0 995 463 B1, priority date October 21, 1998. patents.google.com/patent/EP0995463B1/en
CENTROPIX. "Prof. Dr. Wolf A. Kafka" (biography). Manufacturer page, background only. centropix.com/prof-dr-wolf-a-kafka
CENTROPIX. "What is PEMA?" Manufacturer page, background only. centropix.com/what-is-pema
CENTROPIX. Home page and product disclaimer. Manufacturer page. centropix.com
How did his work lead to pulsed electromagnetic fields?
After his years in the lab, Kafka turned to pulsed electromagnetic fields, usually shortened to PEMF. In 1998, he filed a European patent for a device that sends carefully shaped electrical pulses through a coil.
The basic physics is the same as any electromagnet. Send electricity through a coil of wire and you get a magnetic field. Pulse the electricity and the field pulses too. A PEMF mat simply puts those coils inside something you can lie on.
PEMF devices are used in many settings today, including some medical ones, and those are a different thing. What Studio 7:14 offers is a wellness session: quiet rest on a mat. It isn't a medical treatment and doesn't stand in for one. The mat's own maker says the same thing: its products aren't intended to diagnose or treat any disease.
What's the difference between PEMA and PEMF?
PEMA is Kafka's later design, and its maker describes it as a further development of PEMF. The company says his newer invention arrived about two decades after his first patent.
PEMF
Typical Devices
Many PEMF devices repeat one simple pulse.
PEMA
Kafka's Later Design
Layers several pulse patterns at once, each changing over time. The company calls this superposition. The mat also runs different programs with different signal patterns.
What We Don't Know
We'll be honest about what we don't know. We haven't found research comparing PEMA head-to-head with simpler PEMF devices. "Different" is clear. Whether different means better for how you feel hasn't been tested that way.
What does the research say so far?
The research on PEMA itself is new. In 2025, a team that included Prof. Kafka himself presented a study of adults ages 19 to 84 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States. Researchers at Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna collected the data. Participants signed up on their own, lay on the mat in 15-minute sessions over six weeks, and answered standard questionnaires online before and after. Everyone in the study used the mat, so there was no comparison group. In all, 421 people completed both rounds.
both rounds
of adults
sessions
session
As a group, participants reported less exhaustion by the end of the six weeks. They also rated their energy, mental sharpness, and sleep quality higher than they had at the start, and more of them said they often felt calm and relaxed. The paper was published in 2026 in a volume of Springer conference proceedings.
What is a PEMA session like at Studio 7:14?
You recline, close your eyes, and rest. That's it. There's nothing to hold, nothing to count, and nothing to get right.
Some people pray. Some people breathe slowly. Some fall asleep. All of those are fine.
We think rest belongs in a faithful life, not as a reward for finishing everything else, but as part of caring for the body you've been given. Psalm 46:10 puts it simply:
"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10 · KJV
Before Your Session
A quick safety check
A PEMA session is gentle, but it does involve magnetic fields, and those matter for some people. Talk with your doctor before your session if you:
- have a pacemaker, defibrillator, insulin pump, or any other implanted electronic device (the American Heart Association advises people with pacemakers and ICDs to avoid magnetic mattress pads)
- are pregnant or nursing
- are in or recovering from cancer treatment (get your oncology team's clearance first)
- are managing any other ongoing health condition
If anything feels uncomfortable during a session, sit up and let our team know.
Sources — Continued
American Heart Association. "Devices That May Interfere With ICDs and Pacemakers." heart.org
Orthofix. SpinalStim PEMF device labeling (U.S. manual), Contraindications and Warnings. An example of PEMF device labeling: pacemaker contraindication; safety in pregnancy and nursing "has not been established." orthofix.com
CENTROPIX Global AG. "KLOUD Studie: Wissenschaftliche Broschüre" (German summary of the study above, Edition 1.0, 2026). Manufacturer document.
Who tends to choose a PEMA session?
People come to the mat for ordinary reasons:
Effortless Rest
You want rest that asks nothing of you: no poses, no effort, no pace to keep.
Tired & Wired
You feel tired and wired at the same time, and lying still is harder than it sounds.
Winding Down
You're winding down after a workout or a long shift on your feet.
Scheduled Quiet
Your week is loud, and you'd like a stretch of quiet that's already on the calendar.
Included with Every Membership
Ready to be still?
PEMA isn't booked as a separate service. It's part of our memberships, so give us a call to ask about it or to join. You don't need to know anything else before you begin.
(219) 809-2028This article is for general education and wellness information only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Studio 7:14 is not a medical facility. Talk with your physician before starting any new wellness practice, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, managing a health condition, have an implanted device, or take prescription medication.