Neurofeedback Equipment for Meditation and Hypnosis
Some of the more common uses for neurofeedback equipment are helping people clinically for issues like ADHD, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. I am going to discuss two other applications that might not be as common. Meditation has been around for a long time. Many people practice meditation. Many others don’t think that they can meditate. Some have tried unsuccessfully. There are various types of meditation practices. One type of meditation is guided, where the meditator follows a series of guided imagery instructions to help to put them into a relaxed state. Another type of meditation is silent. The meditator sits quietly, allowing their minds to be quiet as much as possible. They are not expected to not think at all. They are just instructed not to intentionally think and to allow any thoughts that do come up to pass. More time between thoughts seems to be a goal of this type of meditation.
Using neurofeedback equipment, you can monitor the brain waves (Alpha and Theta) that should increase when a person is a meditative state. While you are actively thinking, your brain produces less Alpha and Theta. When your brain is in more of a resting state, it produces more Alpha and Theta. The instrument produces a specific sound which serves as reinforcement feedback that notifies you that your brain is moving into the meditative state. Hearing that sound more often lets you know that you are staying in that meditative state. Practicing this type of training over several sessions can help you be able to sense internally when you are shifting into the meditative state. Eventually you will be able to do it more easily without the equipment.
The other application I will talk about is hypnosis. Hypnosis involves a deeply relaxed, altered state combined with suggested changes in behavior. Practitioners of hypnosis usually do this by using what is referred to as an induction. The induction includes guided relaxation which is intended to move the subject into this altered state. The reason for the altered state is that it is believed that the suggestions are more effective while the person is in this altered state. Some people are not easily hypnotized. This may be because they have difficulty with imagery and or they have difficulty relaxing.
Training with neurofeedback equipment can help determine when the brain is producing more Alpha and Theta which goes along with the altered state that a hypnosis provider is looking for. They can use the feedback from the instrument to determine when to begin the imagery that they will use with their subject. Related to this, there are applications for learning new material or peak performance. The material or positive imagery of the perfect performance can be administered while the brain is producing more Alpha and Theta.
Harry L. Campbell
www.biofeedbackinternational.com
914-762-4646
