Neurofeedback Training Offers Elite Athletes An Edge

It was recently reported in a major sports magazine that members of the Italian football team implemented this advanced brain training technique to help them stay sharp and focused during high-pressure situations they encountered in their recent FIFA World Cup competition. While many methods of biofeedback neurofeedback instruction have been in use since the 1960's, this recent news in the sports world has helped to bring current attention to this approach of improving athletic prowess and performance. Neurofeedback therapy is a form of biofeedback and is a method through which a person comes to understand their brainwave patterns and learns how to modify them.

Biofeedback therapists are specially trained and skilled in administering neurofeedback training. In many cases, the biofeedback training sessions start off with the client playing a video game which they learn to control solely with brain activity. The brainwaves are read by electrodes attached to the person's head and then sent on to the biofeedback device that provides a visual display of the brain patterns.

The interesting thing is that with this training approach, the participant is not using any kind of physical input device, such as a joystick or gaming console. Instead, the biofeedback program is utilizing the output from the person's brain activity to play the game. Many people are at first startled by this concept, but are quickly excited to learn about the degree of control that they are able to apply simply through "thought power."

Neurofeedback training can be used to help people from all walks of life, not just elite athletes, to enhance their personal growth and improve their health and physical condition, simply by learning how to correct their brainwave patterns. Before being involved in a biofeedback program, most people have no understanding of how their thoughts can either limit their self-development or can significantly enhance it.

One of the most compelling reasons why people begin this type of "feedback" training is because it is virtually the opposite of therapies or treatments that rely on the use of medication, either by prescription or those available over-the-counter. This goes hand-in-hand with the recent surge in interest that is being seen in the area of learning about alternative medicines and alternative therapies to improve health and overcome illnesses, without drugs and without surgery.

In addition to enhancing athletic performance, neurofeedback training has a very good track record of being able to provide a variety of health benefits. These health benefits include reducing stress, alleviating chronic migraine headaches, reducing recovery time after injury, and even to lowering blood pressure. Biofeedback therapists are quick to point out that biofeedback therapy cannot be said to "cure" any specific condition, but rather it helps the person to exert positive control over the subtle functions of their body, which in turn can help the body to heal itself and restore itself to optimal health.

Traditional Healing in Modern Medicine

You've heard that it's takes a village to raise a child, but Dr. Mehl-Madrona believes that it often takes a community to heal someone who is ill. The indigenous ways have much to teach us. In his books and this interview he tells us stories that he's told to his patients to help in their healing process. These stories give us universal wisdom and strength.

• Discover how to use the community to help your friends and family heal
• See how to integrate contemporary medicine with traditional healing
• Learn the traditional meaning of the Four Directions
• See how you can use stories to enhance the healing process
• Discover the hidden meaning of the Native American Medicine Wheel
• Be Inspired to live in harmony with the seasons and nature
• Learn about the real meaning of “success” in healing
• Explore how to use our ancestors’ spirits in healing and story
• Find out what the benefits of ceremony can be in your life
• Learn to create your own ceremonies for daily living
• See how the Ravens Beak story relates to modern health issues

Lewis Mehl-Madrona holds an M.D. from Stanford University and has been a practicing doctor for over 20 years. An experienced healer who has led many Native American healing ceremonies, Dr. Mehl-Madrona has also headed traditional medical clinics, helping AIDS and cancer patients as well as researching the benefits of relaxation techniques to aid in the natural correction of breech positioned babies. He is currently an Associate Professor of Family Practice at the University Of Hawaii School Of Medicine. He has been studying and working in the field of Native American and indigenous healing for many years.