Mon. Sep 25th, 2023
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Alongside the GKI Health Zones ‘HRV Health Zones’are also a significant indicator of optimal health and fitness (but this is not the focus of this post).

Whilst it is interesting that both GKI and HRV are indicators (providing both bio and neurofeedback) of emotional, mental and physical rest and relaxation.

REF- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7672153/

It is more relevant in supporting someone stressed, to know that heart rate variability is a tool to assess and regulate emotional alertness, reactivity, and recovery with regards to both timing and magnitude in a given context – especially with regard to trauma.

Our before and after HRV tests may be used to identify changes that have a negative or positive response.

Yo-Yo or pendulum lifestyle affects:

The PNS has a lower activation level called the dorsal vagus. This works like a pendulum that swings between arousal and relaxation. If it swings too suddenly or too often into the sympathetic / stressed system it may freeze.

The PNS Freeze Response:

During periods of trauma or chronic stress, your level of sympathetic activity will alternate between hypervigilance – being constantly stressed (this can be caused simply by food – eating too often , especially carbs or too much protein); or being hyperaroused (possibly caused by anabolic drugs or too much insulin or too much perceived stress) – this leads to shutting down and being dissociated and unaware of your circumstances or surroundings. When the level of trauma becomes too extreme for you – this latter one takes over totally and you freeze or immobilise.

The body immobilizes you, physically, emotionally and mentally.

You may physically struggle to speak or experience intermittent paralysis of your limbs, have a seizure, go into a coma or have a stroke or some other brain malfunction. You may loose the capacity to speak (this may be temporary or long term) or may manifest as you becoming a selective mute.

You may loose control of some bodily functions (these could be caused by a seizure), or be longer in duration (lasting days, months or even become a lifetime shut down).

You may emotionally or mentally shut down and loose your memory or dissassiate yourself from reality or perceived problems – you may appear ‘deluded’ whilst you appear to show no concern to what is going on with yourself or with others or to your environment. You cut yourself off as a means of protection from all external stimulus. You become reliant on the ONLY FACTOR YOU CAN RELY ON – YOUR INNER BEING AND SELF HEALING.

Loss of connection and poor ability to interact:

For someone providing support, such as a partner, family member or caregiver, one of the most difficult aspects to deal with is the ‘loss of connection’ between you and the person you are supporting. They are personally experiencing (sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously) an inability to interact or relate to themselves, let alone you or others. Your own ability to support them in a ‘normal way’ using verbal and physical interactions may be challenged beyond your capacity to deal with it. You may not get the response you were expecting; you may not get any response at all; furthermore, you may find that the signals you give off are counter-productive to what is needed. You will quite possibly be in a more sympathetic (anxious) state rather than a calm state, and this will be further disruptive because these signals will be picked up on by the person you support.

The ‘arousal zone’ of the person you are supporting will have narrowed, meaning they have a very small window of safety and trust (which is vital for their recovery). Furthermore, their senstitivity to what is normally safe will have increased, and what you thought was ‘safe and normal’ may now be too much for them and they may further retreat into a state of avoidance.

What is your solution and way forward?

You need to improve your emotional and behavioural intelligence?!

You need to be much more vigilant (which requires activation of senses that normally reside within your SNS system; whilst at the same time you need to activate the PNS and utilise all the social interaction skills that promote love, safety and trust  – whilst providing an unchallenged environmental setting. In a nutshell you must widen your own Optimal Arousal Zone.

Optimal Arousal Zone

Learning how to improve your HRV (Heart Rate Variability); increasing your mental clarity and activation of your PNS are all factors that enhance behavioural intelligence.

“You need to be what the person you are supporting needs”!

Patience is crucial:

The person you support may start communicating verbally, however, they may lack positive social tone and prosody with their speech, and this may be perceived by you or others as disinterest or detachment. They may appear ‘robotic’ or slow or to those with less ‘emotional and behavioural intelligence’ – they may appear rude, angry, anti-social and lack enthusiasm or interest- when in fact the opposite may be true. It may appear that the ‘inner-soul’ has departed – the connection between the thoughts and the heart may appear broken – it isn’t  – it is simply more distant and in need of gentle re-connection. This will only be achieved with gentle social interaction – NOT ONE WAY INSTRUCTIONS OR ONE WAY INTERPRETATIONS – but a patient interaction, sometimes interaction without words simply interacting by being silent and safe together s

If you are supporting / caring for someone who has experienced extreme trauma and has shut down (activated their PNS Freeze Response) then use of the GKI and HRV Health Zones (both underpinned by Polyvagal Theory) would also be of benefit.

Polyvagal based solutions to somatic & mental/emotional trauma:

  1. Consider VFP Therapy – which is a combination of SSP, HRV and PEMF tools and devices mixed with supportive physical experiences.
  2. Consider VFP#1 LiCrON/ Regeneration  – which provides activation of the PNS through Low Insulin Calorie Restriction Optimum Nutrition and Exercise Protocols PLUS a focus on correcting sleep problems through regeneration of your microbiome and energising of your mitochondria.
  3. Consider focusing on maximising the benefits of autophagy  – which allws the body to self regulate through rest, recovery and rejuventaion.

Thank you for reading this – we hope you found it supportive.

Click here for details of our VFP BLUEPRINT  – this is our starting point together.

To find out more and ask any questions or arrange a meeting:

Marcus and Sharon Pearson (and Morgan).

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Some of the negative effects of Covid-19 include:

  • Struggling to deal with loss and / or feeling isolated or lonely..
  • Joint pain, loss of energy and weakness.
  • Feeling unsafe and not knowing why.
  • Confusion and frustration with not understanding what is going on.
  • A lack of trust with people, situations and places.
  • The lack of stucture and order and not knowing what to do with your time.
  • Brain fog - not being able to concentrate or think clearly.
  • Struggling to have longer conversations and discussions about positive and creative opportunities - and too much negative talk.
  • Couples and families stuggle interacting together due to a lack of personal and joint purpose in life.

The severe isolation measures imposed by governments have been traumatic to the psyche of people; to the extent, many have the fear of getting tests done and or divulging the results to authorities for fear of loss of income or further isolation. Others live every moment on the edge of media releases and feel totally reliant on vaccinations and guidance and rules on how to live.

THE BIGGER PERSPECTIVE - FURTHER CAUSES OF NEGATIVITY . . .

Society has created a situation where many people have an overdependence on other people for guidance and regulations on how they live. This can be clearly seen with those people who have retired or are suddenly not working and do not know what to do with their time. For many people walking the dog, watching some form of day time TV and cooking, represent the limits of their activity. Their social interaction and discussions are based around such activity or in discussing the limitaions imposed on them and everyone else -

"very few people do something that is both creative and of benefit for themsleves and others; furthermore, they do not discuss the creative process for making this happen - they have lost (or never developed) this self-relience and love of life - they are lost within an 'auto-pilot' existence" -

THIS IS THE BIGGER PERSPETIVE THAT COVID-19 HIGHLIGHTS!

When individals within a relationship or within a family, educational, work or team environment, lack any purpose in life or don't have any creative ideas to stimulate their emotions or thoughts, then they are more dependent on external forces to influence their behaviour. The majority of outside forces are negative, therfore most of the time people will be negative. Covid-19 is not the cause of this negativity - it highlights the hidden problems faced by most people and society.

This post provides a short practical instruction on how to conduct a quick coherence / QUICK CALMING/POSITIVITY PRACTICE:

The optimal times for doing this practice are:

  • first thing in the morning whilst still in bed (before getting up)
  • First thing when you get to work or school etc.
  • every 90 mins once you are active and the day has begun
  • when you get back in bed to settle for a sleep.

It is perfect when combined with other people (especially smaller groups) just before a meeting/lesson/meal.  It may even be used by a family group or a group of friends or work/school/college friends - perhaps in conjunction with an agreed 'positive statement/affirmation'.

Whilst it helps to reduce stress; with the 'the more advanced breathing progression' it is most beneficial in promoting a feeling of wellbeing and positivity; and in activating your parasympathetic nervous system (your feel good system). Once activated this may lead to positive stimulation that facilitates exceptional mental and physical performance, or, if you are relaxing, it will lower your heart rate, lower your brain frequency and promote better rest and natural sleep patterns. When a calm and positive state is maintained for longer and longer periods (with monitoring and practice) then it leads to 'flow' and extends the 'optimal arousal zone'.

Quick Coherence only takes 1 - 2 minutes (it is best done with your eyes closed):

Welcome - By following this short process you will feel calm, positive and energised. The process will work even better when you smile during the process and continue smiling after it has finished - let us begin - you may keep your eyes open or close them - do whatever helps you focus . . .

  • Focus your attention on your heart just to the left of centre in your chest. If it helps, place the fingers of your right hand over the heart so you can physically feel your heart beat - then relax.
  • As you breathe in, visualise the air going into your heart. As you visualise breathing in, count to between 4 and 7 and with each count visualise your heart expanding your belly. Continue doing this until you find your own natural timing. Once you have established your natural breathing in cycle move to step 3.
  • As you breath out and feel your belly go down, visualise either:
    • a special place that makes you feel good; or
    • visualise what you are doing that makes you feel so good;
    • and /or visualise a person or group of people that makes your love come out.
    • as you become more familiar with this, and as it becomes easier to do - focus on giving appreciation or gratitude to someone and allow your love to come out.
  • More advanced breathing progression - once you have become familiar with all of the above - then as you continue with the heart felt focus - PROLONG the breathing out stage, so it is between 3 and 5 seconds longer than your breathing in stage. Then continue this staggered breathing cycle for between 1 and 3 mins. This will physiologically activate your parasympathetic nervous system and stimulate creative and happy hormones.

Adopt quick coherence as a pattern of positive performance:

The quick coherence practice, including the more advanced breathing progression, may also be used in the build up to a high performance related activity - especially as a precursor for being in the flow zone. This is perfect for activities such as climbing or skill related performance or even high intense muscular activities such as arm wrestling, powerlifting, strongman event and surprisingly combat sports - because the more you can perceive stress as a positive opportunity, the greater you will maximise your optimal flow zone perform to your maximum potential. When stress is perceived as being negative, it increases anxiety, increases muscle tension, reduces reaction times and speed and reduces power. Negative stress leads to a quicker loss of energy and reduces mental clarity and sharpness.

Smile and be positive.

Group / team coherence:

Imagine the benefits to a team if you all acknowledged gratitude for one another prior to starting a more physical warm up or at the end of a warm just before you went out to compete. This would minimise stress and allow you to perform at even higher levels of intensity for much longer.  

When Phil Jackson began coaching the Chicago Bulls - and later the Los Angeles Lakers - he says he used the Zen philosophy of mindfulness to help build both teams.

sports-team-quick-coherence

Coherence practice is used by the NHS in Derbyshire:

Quick coherence may be used to overcome feelings of anxiety, stress and help calm you or someone else down when they are feeling their behaviour is becoming more challenging to others.

(https://my.dchs.nhs.uk/Portals/0/Health%20Psychology%20The%20Quick%20Coherence%20Technique_1.pdf)

More scientific research on this is available at - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4179616/

Monitoring and measuring coherence can be done using new technology and with the correct insights.

Elimination is the lowest level of consciousness and calibrates <20:

The strategy for getting yourself or someone else out of this stage is provided below:

The VFP strategy for achieving higher/more positive 'natural patterns / cycles of being' is to re-tune your mental and emotional energy fields, so they do the 'right things' on an automatic basis (using your autonomic nervous system), rather than a cognitive basis (having to think and feel if what you are doing is working).

This approach is more significant when dealing with those at the lowest levels of consciousness. Such individuals 

  • You must have natural cycles of imbalance in your life. These should be positive in maximising you as a physical being. Look at every situation as an opportunity!
  • You should maximise the functioning and capabilities of your physical body/mind.
  • You should maximise your individual creativity and find purpose in all that you do.
  • You should be your best and give yourself for the benefit of all.

When you do this you will find love will allowed to flow from you and you will attract it!

You can’t tune into Love when you have negative forces influencing you - 'love is felt through tuning in to the truth'.

Love is not felt when someone is holding you back and not caring for you as best they can.

You cannot hold other people responsible for their imperfections in respect of your relationship. You need to break negative cycles with people - this does not mean you have to stop being with them, or loving or caring for them; but it does mean you must take responsibility yourself for following more positive natural cycles. If you are not capable of allowing love to come out of yourself for your TRUE SPIRITUAL BEING then your imperfect physical being will dominate your life. You must learn to let love come out by turning negative thoughts and emotions into opportunities to help yourself and others.

You must stop feeling sorry for yourself and you must stop using others as an excuse.

You are not an 'imprisoned physical being' - you may feel like one, and may be treated like one - but you have the opportunity to change this.

When your mind thinks with moving pictures rather than thinks with words (self-talk), then the results/benefits are significantly better.

Mental imagery is a more intuitive process than an intellectual one. It allows you to influence and take control of your unconscious and subconscious; whereas self-talk and worded affirmations focus your influence within your conscious mind.

For most people the language of imagery is commonly experienced during REM sleep at night or whilst daydreaming. However, becoming aware of images whilst waking simply requires us to give it more focus than we currently do. Most people self-talk rather than self image!

Scientific research confirms the benefits of imagery for improving health:

Doctors prescribe pharmaceuticals that control the mind through the body; eg. tranquilizers, antidepressants and anaesthetics. In much the same way, we can use the mind to control the body - and imagery is far more effective at doing this than self talk. There are at least two major scientific journals devoted to imagery research; one from Marquette University (The Journal of Mental Imagery) and one from Yale University (Imagination, Cognition and Personality).

Mental imagery may be used as a process for reacting to experiences (negative or positive), however, it is more powerful when used as a way of 'creating new experiences'. After successive repetitions/cycles (21 days being a natural cycle time that changes behaviour) then the physical body attunes with the mind to make the mental imagery reality - THIS IS A PROVEN BENEFIT!

Within the VFP Digital Tuning Chart we have created audio links that explains how to use imagery to help create your own good health (this is an ongoing development).

 

HRV (Heart Rate Variability):

In terms of 'measuring SPIRITUAL BEING REALISATION' or 'SPIRITUAL COHERENCE' - it may be measured on a physical basis by HRV (Heart Rate Variability). However, what you have to realise is that SPIRITUAL COHERENCE extends beyond your physical being and HRV is therefore limited in its potential to measure the higher levels of consciousness. It would be reasonable to estimate that below the level of 200 HRV is low and not smooth. Peak HRV will start and continue at a level of approx 250. Above this level HRV will peak but it will not indicate your level of consciousness - this can be better estimated using the VFP Digital Tuning Chart.

The similarity between SPIRITUAL COHERENCE and HRV, is that HRV maintains 'high activity, smooth sine wave cycles' regardless of the heart rate or brain wave frequency (excitatory or inhibitory) - and SPIRITUAL COHERENCE maintains 'natural/balanced cycles of smooth waves - that can be excitatory or inhibitory' - so they are very similar to measure!

When SPIRITUAL COHERENCE occurs, on a physical basis, the heart and brain waves become more synchronised / tuned in to one another on an autonomic basis. The important aspect to measure is not whether the heart or brain frequencies are high or low - but that the 'HRV is high and smooth', thus showing a willingness and readiness for either positive/excitatory or negative/inhibitory states. Good coherence indicates a wide range of optimal flow zone frequencies (an ability to perceive stress as a positive challenge, rather than something negative to overcome).

Coherence and a good HRV are indicators of:

  • Positive relationships.
  • Creative initiatives between positive people.
  • Problem solving and group decision making.
  • Bonding and mutual support.

Quick coherence practice is only part of the VFP Tuning Protocol; By following the VFP retuning protocol you will reduce and prevent the negative effects of stress, fatigue and exhaustion, sleep disruption, anxiety and burnout - you will feel calm, positive and energised.

VFP uses the Inner Balance App in conjunction with the Bluetooth sensor from Heart Math to measure HRV. By recording your HRV before any interventions/therapy sessions, during the sessions and after the sessions we can better evaluate the impact of our VFP Protocol.