Neurofeedback & Biofeedback Treatment

Assessment & Technique

At Health and Performance International (HPI), neurofeedback and biofeedback treatment begins with an in-depth intake where an EEG assesment is conducted and goals are identified. A treatment plan is established following this assessement.

 

We provide training in relaxation techniques, self regulation, regulated breathing, mental image sequencing, meditation and the use of self talk as well as biofeedback, neurofeedback and other brain-wave technologies to enhance performance. These performance enhancement techniques are used by competitive individuals throughout the world. Each technique can be used alone or in any combination to teach the performer to regulate the body during performance.

•Assessment

Our program is designed to accurately assess and measure patterns of behavior, stress, and responses to stress, as seen in brain-wave activity as well as in psycho-physiological optimal performance level, as well as an interview to discuss your personal goals.

 

This EEG evaluation provides information on your brain waves, respiration, galvanic skin response, heart rate, body temperature, and muscle tension. Treatment is individualized based on the information gathered during intake and changes continuously as you meet your goals.

• Technique

We teach several techniques to improve focus and attention.

These include tools for relaxation, memory and imagination, mental imagery, self talk, deep breathing, and meditation. The techniques are combined with the power of neurofeedback to train the brain for optimal performance. The absence of tension and anxiety improves focus and attention.

 

MindSuite™: An Optimal Performance Training Environment

 

MindSuite™ is a private and quiet environment that allows you to undergo optimal performance training measurements. This setting enhances the development of mind-body synchronicity—the sate of flow that is essential for optimal performance and optimal outcomes. In MindSuite™ you recuperate, replenish and gain the force you need to perform at your highest level.

 

Athletes, performers, CEOs, and other high achievers lie on a relaxing, purposely-designed reclining chair. You are connected to biofeedback/neurofeedback equipment that measures seven physiological signs—from brain waves and muscle tension to breathing rhythms, heart rate, skin temperature, perspiration, and oxygen volume. Within MindSuite™ we train you to use your mind to reach a meditative state. Once you are self-regulated and in the meditative state, we teach you to maintain that state while creating a mental image of a stressful athletic event, for example. Within the MindSuite™ environment we often show videos of performances to train you to maintain homeostasis.

 

If you have a particular problem—low stamina, mental confusion, or poor concentration, for example—we will train you to have optimal mind-body responses to your stressors.

 

The idea of the training is to teach you to be so focused, so mentally and physically prepared, that at time of performance you let go and don't miss. You will be able to bring down your heart rate, which conserves energy. And you will regulate your system to bring you to your optimal best, without thinking about it.

 

Learning relaxation will:

• Recharge the mind
• Lower risk of injury
• Decrease stress and fatigue
• Assist in recovery/healing
• Ease muscle tension
• Increase mental preparedness
• Enhance quality of sleep
• Help to clearly define your goals

 

Memory and Imagination

Memory is the ability to recreate the past. We recall shapes, colors, faces, emotions, voices, and smells. Past events live again in us, perhaps even more intensely than when they initially occurred. Through memory, events in our lives can be remembered and savored again.

 

Imagination is the ability to create. Breaking the bonds of the known, the mind generates new forms, ideas or images, music or prose, mathematical insight or mechanical invention. A gifted imagination, rather than recreating, originates positive thoughts. -Reference: Michael Lardon M.D's "Finding Your Zone."

 

At HPI we help you maximize this process. We weave together information already stored in your memory and help you to clearly identify the vision you have. We all have memories. What counts is how we use them. Do we use them to console, distract or torment ourselves? At HPI we teach you to use your imagination to prepare for action.

 

Mental Imagery

Mental Imagery is the technique of creating a blueprint of achievement. Images are mental representations taken from our personal experiences. The process of visualization allows you to create mental images that enhance performance. You select positive images that affect how your body responds to certain situations. By controlling these images, you maximize your performance. This process can be used to decrease stress, focus attention, solve problems, develop skills, increase energy, control emotional states, motivate, and mentally rehearse performance.

 

How does it work?

Images can be a way of coding instruction for movement. We form an image of a particular movement and train that movement. At Performance International we help you form an image of a particular movement and train you to use that movement in imagery. This transmits electrical impulses to muscles and the nervous system, both involved in performance. The progress of this mental training is measured with biofeedback and neurofeedback.

 

Imagery is used to:

• Improve concentration
• Train/perform efficiently
• Increase learning
• Transform negative to positive (thoughts)
• Develop internal motivation

 

Self Talk

Self talk techniques are also called affirmations: strong, positive self statements, spoken in present tense about a goal to be realized. It is conscious and carefully worded to guide behaviors in a constructive way, and it is used to transform perceptions of daily events from negative to positive. Self talk helps to focus on personal strengths.

 

Deep Breathing

Proper breathing not only relaxes but enhances performance by oxygenating blood and energizing the brain and the nervous system. Deep breathing uses the diaphragm, allowing the abdomen to move out and the lungs to expand, filling the lungs from the bottom. For deep breathing to be effective, you must be in concentration, observing your own breath.

 

Meditation

Meditation describes the techniques used to discipline your attention. It involves the practice of uncritically focusing attention on one activity, learning to be in the present moment, while clearing the mind of all other thoughts. Through meditation, you learn that being in the present moment is more important than focusing on one task. Meditation can sharpen your perceptions and allow you to see more clearly what is happening during your performance. Meditation is passive relaxation with a positive focus.