Biofeedback Relaxation Exercises

Biofeedback is a complementary or alternative technique used to improve emotional and physical health by using thought processes to control normally involuntary bodily functions and processes such as heart rate, muscle tension and blood pressure. Biofeedback therapy, which is conducted by trained biofeedback therapists, involves the use of electronic machines to train clients in using the technique. People use biofeedback relaxation exercises to relieve stress, treat conditions such as migraine headaches and improve emotional well-being.

Biofeedback Therapy

A trained therapist applies electrical sensors to different parts of your body. The sensors feed information back to you about your physiological responses using cues such as flashing lights or beeping sounds. The therapist helps you learn to use that information to control your body's reactions by changing your thoughts, behaviors or emotions. For instance, through biofeedback, you might pinpoint the muscle that causes your headaches and learn to relax that muscle to alleviate your pain. Therapist use different biofeedback types: electromyography, or EMG; muscle tension; temperature or thermal; galvanic skin response training; and heart rate variability.

Technique

The goal of biofeedback therapy is your ability to use the technique independently at home. Biofeedback relaxation exercises reproduce the experience of being mindful of your physiological responses and tuning in to your thought processes as a vehicle for control. Your therapist might provide tapes or videos that guide you through the biofeedback relaxation exercises. During the exercises you use guided imagery; speak or think phrases provided by your therapist; assume specific positions; or perform physical or breathing exercises.

Relaxation Training

Relaxation training teaches you to use the biofeedback techniques to achieve a calm state within minutes. The technique requires following a systematic set of instructions to control the physiological reactions that contribute to your stress response. Many relaxation exercises reverse the behaviors or thoughts that created the stressed state. The American Headache Society recommends relaxation training to treat chronic headaches. Relaxation training's primary tools are progressive muscle relaxation and abdominal, or deep, breathing.

Exercises

A passive relaxation exercise used by Kansas State University Counseling Services requires clients to listen to a tape in which the speaker uses phrases which the client, who sits with eyes closed, repeats mentally while imagining the phrase in action. For instance, the speaker says "I feel quite quiet" and "My feet feel heavy; heavy and relaxed" and continues to make similar statements about other parts of the body, the mind and the client's state of relaxation.
The deep muscle relaxation exercise, which also uses an audio tape, requires you to sit in a chair and perform the actions as instructed by the speaker. During this exercise you move your body parts to tense specific muscles while allowing other muscles to relax, storing in your memory the process you used to tense each muscle.

Tips and Warnings

Biofeedback devices or machines are available for home use and for use in clinics, hospitals and medical facilities. Ask your doctor and your health insurance provider for recommendations about the best biofeedback device for your home use and whether your insurance covers the device. Avoid purchasing biofeedback services or devices from people who make medically unsupported claims or promises. The Biofeedback Certification International Alliance website provides a practitioner search. The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback website includes a consumer page with information for selecting a legitimate therapist.