twitter facebook LinkedIn
  • Meditation and Neurofeedback

    Meditation reduces the experience of pain, a University of Manchester study confirms, as reported in the journal bigstock_Businessman_meditating_on_gree_11897501Pain. Because meditation builds the ability to stay in the present moment, meditators anticipate pain less and are less bothered by it.

    This makes sense to me, and perhaps on a physical level as well. If we’re not worrying about approaching pain (Blood tests! Vaccinations!), we’re not tensing up.

    I’m happy to see studies like this, because I believe mindfulness practice has great value for just about everybody.

    The type of neurofeedback I offer — NeurOptimal® Dynamical Neurofeedback®  — is very much about remaining more in the present. Why? Because the training is not about specific symptoms, like anxiety, depression, loss of focus, to name a few. It’s about your brain optimizing itself. Being its best self for most people is about being present and able to respond to life much more than to simply react.

    Neurofeedback clients who already meditate often report increased benefits from their meditation. Their meditation is deeper or it is simply easier to sit still.

    It is amazing how different the experience of life is if we are just… present. Not worrying about tomorrow or turning yesterday over and over in our minds. Just being right here.

    People often think of meditation as being about attaining a blissful state or having a quiet mind. Those things may happen, but meditation is really about building the “awareness muscle.”

    What I mean by that is getting really good at being present, noticing when we’re meditating when we’ve drifted off into…

    What’s for dinner?

    Is it 20 minutes yet???

    Or finding yourself in another room, or at the computer, not remembering how you got there…

    …and then returning to the present moment (and your meditation cushion). It can be meditating on the breath (my personal favorite), or on a mantra, or whatever type of meditation resonates for you. It’s that pulse of being in the moment, drifting off, returning to the moment, over and over, that builds the muscle. Building that awareness muscle serves us well in the rest of life. Not anticipating pain and worrying about it, as this study shows; and also enjoying what’s in front of us, right now.

    Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSW-R
    New York Neurofeedback

2 Responses so far.

  1. Thank you for your great information. We are also in neurofeeback and pyschotherapy. Please take a look at our new HD web commercial http://eeg123.com and our website http://hansinkandassociates.com

    We would love your feedback. If you would like to stay in touch, find us on facebook EEGOC

  2. Thanks for your comments. IME there are a lot of people doing both therapy and neurofeedback. They complement each other well.