Biofeedback
Ø Do-It-Yourself Healing!
Ø How Does Biofeedback Work?
...a mind-body communications technique, which for the first time allows man to communicate with his inner
self. -- Barbara Brown, Ph.D., a pioneer in biofeedback research.
Do-It-Yourself Healing
Not too long ago in a third-floor office suite in Los Angeles, a woman named Laurel sat in an easy chair with a wide band wrapped
across her forehead and around her head. The band contained a number of tiny temperature detectors, which continuously monitored the blood
flow to different parts of her head. In front of Laurel, on a computerized TV monitor, rising and falling bar graphs gave her visual
feedback, telling her when she was successful in increasing the flow of blood to the target areas of her brain. A softly beeping tone gave
her auditory feedback as well, rising in pitch when she was successful, falling lower when she was not. By gradually learning to control
the flow, sending nourishing and healing blood into the damaged areas, Laurel regained 95 percent of her brain capacity following brain damage
from poisoning.
Biofeedback was coined in the late 1960s and refers to procedures by which people learn to modify their internal functioning and
improve their health, using signals from their own bodies. Sensitive instruments act as a kind of "sixth sense," providing continuous
information by monitoring muscle tension, skin temperature, heart rate, and other bodily functions. Learning to use the mind to
influence the body has help thousands of people to relieve alcoholism, anxiety, asthma, ADHD, depression, headaches and migraines, high
blood pressure, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other digestive disorders, pain, stroke, spinal cord damage, and
other neuromuscular conditions, TMJ and other jaw problems, urinary incontinence, and many other physical and
emotional ills.
How Does Biofeedback Work?
During a biofeedback training session, sensitive electronic sensors, designed to detect very slight changes, are placed in a safe
and painless way on your body. The signals are fed to a computer that amplifies the signals from the sensors placed:
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Over muscles, where they can register slight variations in muscle tension.
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On the scalp, where they pick up tiny changes in brain electrical activity.
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On the skin, where they continuously monitor temperature changes.
and sends them on for display.
Let's say you want to relieve the tension in your neck and shoulders. And you've already been hooked up to the
sensors. If you know how to meditate or practice some from of relaxation therapy, you might begin that procedure. Or, you might give
yourself a quiet suggestion: "My neck and shoulders are warm and relaxed." For many people, what works best is creative use of the
imagination. Imagery, many experts say, is the most effective language for communicating with our bodies. Just like thinking of
tasting a lemon can cause saliva to flow, when we imagine something (especially if several of the five senses are involved), the body responds as
if what we are seeing and hearing is real. So, to relax those tense neck muscles, you can try visualizing light or sending healing energy
to the tense muscles; or simply imagine a relaxing scene, like lounging on the beach, hearing the soothing rhythm of the waves, feeling the warm
sun, and smelling the scent of salt water and suntan lotion on warm skin.
One of the great secrets to success in biofeedback is effortlessness. Ordinary conscious activity revolves around the
active use of will, and success depends to a great extent on how much effort we exert. If you say, "I will get up now and mow the lawn,"
you can do it; results will be proportionate to your efforts. But when working with bodily functions that are ordinarily involuntary and
subconscious, like the beating of our hearts, willpower doesn't work. We need to develop and use what researchers have called "passive
volition" or "doing without trying." As Larry Dossey, M.D., says in his book, Meaning and Medicine, "One can only gain control and
'make it happen' by letting go.
Always tell your doctor if you are using an alternative therapy or if you are thinking
about combining an alternative therapy with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment
and rely only on an alternative therapy.
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