​What is MINDGYM?

​Focus - HEG Training

Imagine taking your brain to the gym - this is what Focus- HEG technology allows you to do.  

​Focus - HEG helps us train the front of our brain – the prefrontal cortext (PFC). The PFC is the executive centre of the brain responsible for:

• Focus
• Attention
• Task Switching
• Impulse Control
• Mood regulation
• Working memory
• Language processing

 
What could Focus-HRV training do for you?
Suppose it is time for your evening meal. Your PFC will formulate a plan for meeting that need. Your PFC accesses the knowledge you need such as your memory of where you keep your pots and pans as well as the ingredients for the meal. Suppose the phone rings while you are cooking – you decide to answer it, your PFC will hold your intentions to finish cooking the meal so that you can come back to cooking when you are finished. The PFC has the ability to inhibit other areas of the brain connected to emotions, enabling you to, for example, override a fear of heights when you need to climb a ladder. In summary, the PFC controls attention, blocks distractions in the environment, controls physical and emotional impulses and supports focused attention.
 
How Does it Work
When you go to the gym and exercise (exert) a particular area, blood rushes into the area to meet the extra energy requirements and repair stressed tissue and organs.  Repeated exercise will cause the body to start building more capillary beds to hold more blood so the area can perform better for longer. 
The brain is a voracious user of blood, and where in the brain that blood supply goes will shape our experience significantly.  As we mature we should be more able to use the front of the brain to think our actions through and make more informed, integrated decisions.  However our body also tries to conserve energy and use our autopilot to save energy demands.  As we age our brain continues to prune under-utilised areas this leads to age related cognitive decline which accelerates rapidly after the age 50.  In the worse cases this leads to Alzheimers and dementia.

How do you do it? 
Focus - HEG involves placing a surface sensor on the forehead. This sensor will read the blood flow to the PFC and display that signal on the computer screen. You quickly learn to increase your capacity to both increase, decrease and maintain your score. With practice clients can increase bloodflow up to 30% in the PFC and maintain this for over 10 minutes.

What Results should Focus-HEG training produce?
Typically raises IQ about 10 points - results can be more dramatic for children
It makes other forms of training more effective and lasting
Effective antidote to age related cognitive decline – a short 6 monthly tune-up is all that is required
Lasting results except where there is a degenerative brain disorder
Excellent for reducing migraines
 
Does Focus- HEG help with Migraines?
Yes!  Dr. Jeffery Carmen developed HEG specifically to treat migraine headaches. He treated 100 migraneurs with HEG over a four year period. Over 90% of the subjects that completed at least 6 sessions reported significant improvement including substantially reduced pain levels. Typically both pain levels and frequency of migraine improved. Dr. Carmen’s theory for the efficacy of HEG for migraines is that HEG training strengthens the PFC’s inhibitory control over some part of the brain that is thought to generate migraines.

Does Focus- HEG help with ADD/ADHD?
Yes! ADD/ADHD is a real neurological disorder and typically results in dysregulation of the PFC. Brain scanning studies have shown different activity in the PFC of children and adults suffering with ADD/ADHD. These scans have demonstrated a deactivation of the PFC during tasks requiring concentrated attention, for which you would normally see an increase in PFC activity. This deactivation results in the symptoms commonly seen with this condition.

Does Focus-HEG help with Peak Performance?
Yes! The PFC (prefrontal cortex) is the engine that runs your brain – increasing your blood supply in this area is the equivalent of turning your mini into a V8.  Additionally learning how to intentionally lower PFC activation is a critical part of stress management allowing us to recuperate and repair.  In conjunction with Centre-HRV and Unleash-AlphaTheta training MindGym can help you live a fuller and more connected life.
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Does Focus-HEG help with age related cognitive decline?
Absolutely!  As we age our brain naturally tends to actively prune unused neural connections for energy conservation purposes leading to issues ranging from not being able to remember that word at the tip of your tongue, forgetfulness to larger issues like dementia or the loss of motor control. Focus-HEG floods your brain with energizing and reparative blood supplies helping reduce and prevent neural pruning.  Unfortunately Focus-HEG cannot help rebuild grey matter in the brain so this is definitely a case where prevention is better than a cure. ​

Centre - HRV Training

 Centre-HRV training lets us learn how to shift from fight-flight stress response to the rest-repair recovery cycle.

Centre-HRV Training helps us track the beat rhythm of our heart and shift the pattern through breath and emotional focusing.  Centre-HRV training makes us:

• Calmer
• Sleep Better
• More Appreciative
• Happier
• Communicate more effectively
• Healthier
• Better Brain function
• Age Slower
• More Energetic
• Move to a Zone state more easily

 
What could Center-HRV do for you?
Imagine that you are going into present for an important meeting.  Like many people public speaking triggers our unconscious fears of social rejection (which as social beings we interpret as a death threat – lone individuals are easy prey).  Our heart starts to beat faster, our palms start to sweat as the fight/flight process is triggered.  As a result of our training we notice the body changes and take a deep calming breath and before entering the room we take about 45 seconds ostensibly to review the material.  In fact, we regulate our breathing pattern and refocus our emotional process.  Our heart rhythm stabilizes and starts to synchronise with our blood pressure, blood flow is redirected back into our brain, particularly the language and creativity centres.  Our face is full of colour and we stop sweating, we smile at the attendees and begin to speak our voice is strong and measured, the audience relaxes and trusts us more, we find that it’s enjoyable sharing our knowledge and we relax further, we can even joke and interact openly with spontaneous questions.  With practice we may look forward to public speaking and people will comment about how calm and relaxed we look.
 
How does it work?
Our body is constantly scanning our environment looking for signals about safety.  We were designed to function well in an environment that was mostly safe, but our fight/flight system was designed to trigger all available reserves and resources to protect us in time of physical and or emotional threat.  Living in a modern technologically connected society exposes us to an unrelenting stream of stimulation and stress often without the buffering effects of loving touch and connection.  What this means is the body gets no chance to shift into rest/repair mode.  Over time this causes a series of negative impacts including:

• Feeling Stressed
• Getting Sick
• Emotional Overreactions
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Massively elevated risk of heart disease

Additionally, because we are social creatures the stress of others automatically triggers our own fight flight systems.  Practices such as meditation, prayer, dancing, holiday, sports etc are ritualized ways that society developed to help each other shift down into the rest and repair cycle.  However, for peak performance, inspirational leadership and personal wellness learning to manage our own responses is a critical skill.  By learning how to consciously shift our psychophysiological we can quickly re-regulate ourself after a stressful event conserving our energy, regaining our equilibrium and ready to respond appropriately to the next challenge.

How do you do it?
Centre-HRV involves clipping a sensor to your earlobe.  The sensor measures your heart rate and calculates the beat to beat variation in your heart rate and displays that on the screen.  You will learn to shift and regulate the pattern utilizing a variety of strategies and learn to accurately tune in and read your own body state.  With practice you will be able to shift rapidly from a stress state into a place of alert, centered responsiveness.

What results should Centre-HRV produce?
Centre-HRV training will help you become more centred, calm and grounded.  It should significantly improve sleep patterns and support less reactive behaviour.  Other common impacts include a reduction in high blood pressure and heart rate.   For couples learning to communicate in a coherent heart state is allows deep intimate and safe sharing even around difficult topics. In short it produces the benefits experienced by long term meditation practitioners in a much shorter time.

Does Centre-HRV help with Anxiety
Absolutely Yes!  Anxiety is the result of the sympathetic nervous system (fight-flight) being triggered.  Centre-HRV training helps you see and experience in real time the impact of changing this.  Centre-HRV training is ideal for people experiencing anxiety as it helps demystify the underlying physiological triggers for their experience.

Does Centre-HRV help with Depression
Yes! Depressed people are often quite disconnected from their emotional and/or physical body state.  Centre-HRV helps you dial into your experience.

Is Centre-HRV training good for peak performers?
Absolutely!  Peak performers are typically very good at engaging their entire nervous system towards their goals.  Because their energy level and the expectations of themselves and others demands can be quite high it can be easy for them to rapidly or gradually shift into an overworked/ chronic fight/flight state.  This predisposes them to a variety of chronic health conditions.  Centre-HRV training helps peak performers learn to dial down and rest.  However in the high performance zone state the heart is also in a coherent rhythm indicating that more than just a relaxation it is a key ingredient in sustaining long term peak performance.

Does Centre-HRV help children and teens?
Sometimes.  Children are typically very good at re-regulating themselves although the younger they are the more they rely on parents and caregivers.  For this reason if you have a stressed younger child it is better for you to do the programme yourself so you can tailor it for your child.  Between the ages of 11 and 15 teenagers go through an extremely significant brain pruning process as their brains preps them to prepare for adulthood.  This process is extremely stressful with common effects of anxiety, depression and emotional volatility. Centre-HRV training can help them regulate the often, chronic levels of stress they experience.  For more about this check out our MindGym for Teens programme.
 
Does Centre-HRV help with Leadership?
Absolutely Yes! Whether you are a mum or a president the pattern of your physiology affects those around you.  Research has shown that the electromagnetic resonance can be measured well outside the body and attuned communicators demonstrate an ability both to respond to and impact the well being of others. 
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What are the side effects of Centre-HRV?
Absolutely none – physiological coherence is all good news unless you want to be irrationally angry or violent.​

Unleash - AlphaTheta - Training

Unleash - AlphaTheta shifts the brain to the subconscious territory between sleeping and wakefulness.  It is well known that this state is highly conducive to emotional integration, discovery and creativity. 

​Some of the known effects of Unleash - AlphaTheta Training include:

• Increased Creativity
• Significant Stress Reduction
• Better Sleep
• Reduced Cravings and Addictive tendencies
• Sense of Relaxation
• Resolution of Trauma

What could Unleash - Alpha - Theta training do for you?
We included Unleash - AlphaTheta in the MINDGYM training protocol because it adds the ability to actively - nudge your brain towards a powerful goal.  During orientation we help you develop a personally significant behavioural goal that will be a meditation focus during the training.  This allows your subconscious mind to remove limiting personal beliefs and obstacles.  Our experience indicates that it can become easier to shift challenging personal behaviours into more satisfying and productive patterns.

How does it work?
Unleash Alpha-Theta training combines an active personal visualization, with musical feedback for the brain whenever it has a dominant electrical frequency of 7Hz at the back of the head.  This frequency sits at the border between sleep and wakefulness and supports a light trance state.  By staying in this integrative and creative zone for longer you give your brain some of the positive effects of regenerative sleep and dreaming and encourage your body to move deeply into both a physical and emotional rest and repair state. 

How do you do it?
Unleash Alpha-Theta is completely non-invasive and drugless.  It involves placing a surface sensor on the back of your head and behind your ears.  The sensor reads the electrical signals from your brain and gives a series of musical tones.  You will close your eyes and recline in our comfortable chairs with your feet up and listen to soothing background music and the musical feedback.  You may find this very relaxing and it will most often take you to a deep centered place of calmness.

What results should Unleash Alpha-Theta training produce?
Most common effect is a deep sense of calm and centeredness
It seems to help the brain integrate and speed up the effects of other kinds of training
It is not uncommon for clients to experience a sense of spiritual or emotional connectedness and calm
Another common experience is for clients to resolve painful past memories spontaneously.

Does Unleash Alpha-Theta training help with Addiction
Yes absolutely, this is what the protocol is most famous for.  Eugene Peniston’s landmark study with alcoholic Vietnam veterans has been duplicated multiple times.  Unleash Alpha-Theta training is not a stand-alone treatment but in conjunction with other therapy and support groups and mechanism it can help maintain and minimize the stress impact of addictive behaviours.
Does Unleash Alpha-Theta training help with Sleep Problems
Yes, this training actively takes the brain to the sleep-wake border and allows you to experience the impact of being profoundly relaxed.  It is common for clients who come in jet-lagged or exhausted to a session to feel like an Unleash Alpha-Theta session is equivalent to an extra 3-4 hours of deep relaxing sleep.

Does Unleash Alpha-Theta training help with creativity?
Yes! The sleep-wakefulness trance border has been known for centuries as the creative and visionary state.  A study conducted at Julliard university showed that students trained with this protocol were seen as more creatively attuned and nuanced.
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Does Unleash Alpha-Theta training help with the resolution of trauma?
Absolutely Yes! Trauma locks the body in a perpetual fight flight state.  Learning how to deeply relax the body is an essential part of the healing process.  Additionally there are very common accounts of clients having waking visualisations of past traumatic events but seeing them in a different more connected and safer way, and coming away from the session with a new sense of resolution and peace.