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Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life: Practical Solutions for Improving Your Health and Performance
A mind-body approach to taking control of your physical and emotional health. Biofeedback is the process of training your body to control its involuntary actions, such as breathing and heart rate. Minor changes to these actions can significantly improve physical and emotional well- being. In Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life , Harvard Medical School faculty member Inna Khazan pairs biofeedback techniques with mindfulness practice to address some of life’s most common ailments― from anxiety and fear to stress and insomnia.
She begins with a description of basic physiological information, explaining concepts such as breathing and overbreathing. In Part Two she dives into the practice of mindfulness. And in Part Three she zeroes in on applying this mind-body approach to an array of common problems.
Khazan’s approach outlines simple solutions for readers who want to improve the way they respond to challenges. She guides them through increasing their resilience and emotional flexibility while empowering them to take back control of their overall health.
She begins with a description of basic physiological information, explaining concepts such as breathing and overbreathing. In Part Two she dives into the practice of mindfulness. And in Part Three she zeroes in on applying this mind-body approach to an array of common problems.
Khazan’s approach outlines simple solutions for readers who want to improve the way they respond to challenges. She guides them through increasing their resilience and emotional flexibility while empowering them to take back control of their overall health.
288 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2019
65 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 21, 2020
It's a great book for understanding the nature of your emotions and feelings - where they come from, what they were originally designed for, how they operate on a physical level, and what to do with them. The book might be a bit boring, especially in the beginning (and by beginning I mean first 3 chapters, no less), with unwavering repetition and explanation of already mentioned facts and names each time they are referred to, and some dryness in the manner of material presentation, but then you get on board with it and enjoy the reading and discovery of new things.
October 4, 2019
I have a new #1 book to recommend to my many clients and biofeedback customers.
Biofeedback And Mindfulness In Everyday Life benefits all levels of readers. If you are a professional, you can leverage existing skills with an enhanced strategy of how to apply biofeedback with mindfulness. Yet the new, personal user can quickly ascend to a proficient level with compounding positive results.
Who wants to operate at their highest capacity when the times are the toughest? Could we all use simple, practical ways to find greater emotional capacity and resilience.
This book moves us closer to these results.
How - let's see. Here are the basics, a reference for you, questions to ponder and a purpose-filled snippet, too.
The Basics:
Foremost, I believe the book was intended to explain biofeedback for the novice, but it also reaches the intermediate to almost expert biofeedback professional in its depth and breadth of knowledge shared. Dr. Khazan explores the primary methods of biofeedback, defines it's most important concepts, clarifies them with built-in examples from her own practice and applies 'avatar like' vignettes to walk us through areas where biofeedback can be most helpful.
The book maintains structure, clarity, vision and reinforcement throughout. Its written in language and a style which is approachable. The level of technical material fits, yet references and a complete bibliography, appendices and even extra charts, worksheets, audio meditations and more are available via download for readers who want an even more complete treatise.
My Point of Reference:
I've been a user and reseller of various biofeedback equipment for 14 years, yet I was given useful tips and extensive assistance to fuel my own growth towards biofeedback expertise. Even though I voraciously read literature and technical research on the subject, including maintaining a database of over 1000 articles and studies related to human performance, this publication is filled with new references for me. In fact, from the 1st read, I've already written 30+ pages of shorthand notes to study further. I believe this 'companion guide' can teach almost everyone what they need to know at the level of understanding which they currently have.
What successful vision comes to mind when you consider this phrase: Biofeedback And Mindfulness In Everyday Life?
Do these questions come to mind for you?
1. How can I use Biofeedback in my life? -Or how can I better apply biofeedback in my business?
2. Are there real life examples and processes which I can model as I learn to apply biofeedback?
3. Will I learn the principles which are fundamental to future certification as a professional or success as a personal user?
4. Can I read this book without too much effort? Is it easy to follow, easy to comprehend?
5. What is biofeedback, really? What will this book do for you?
Yes. This is my answer to these 5 concept above.
As a quick showcase, here is how Dr. Khazan aptly defines biofeedback and the purpose of her hard work compiled into this 300+ pages of knowledge-filled guide.
"...to specifically train our brains and our bodies to self-regulate at all times, especially when the stakes are at their highest. This is what this book is all about. "
Continuing on, she says, "This book is intended to help you find simple, practical solutions for improving the way you respond to life challenges and increasing your resilience and emotional flexibility."
For me, this promise lives; it fulfills its mission. It gleams and I glean.
I'll use this book as I develop training, workshops and coaching sessions. It will be a valuable resource in my professional efforts in optimal performance. Perhaps, more importantly, a few chapters have already led to modifications in the way I think and how I approach life on a personal level.
What more do you want in any day, from any training, from any mentor, from any effort in life?
It creates a greater self-understanding-- one which innately will create a higher path for our future selves and our future careers. Kudos, Dr. Khazan. And, thank you for sharing your knowledge in such an approachable, relatable and compassionate way.
Biofeedback And Mindfulness In Everyday Life benefits all levels of readers. If you are a professional, you can leverage existing skills with an enhanced strategy of how to apply biofeedback with mindfulness. Yet the new, personal user can quickly ascend to a proficient level with compounding positive results.
Who wants to operate at their highest capacity when the times are the toughest? Could we all use simple, practical ways to find greater emotional capacity and resilience.
This book moves us closer to these results.
How - let's see. Here are the basics, a reference for you, questions to ponder and a purpose-filled snippet, too.
The Basics:
Foremost, I believe the book was intended to explain biofeedback for the novice, but it also reaches the intermediate to almost expert biofeedback professional in its depth and breadth of knowledge shared. Dr. Khazan explores the primary methods of biofeedback, defines it's most important concepts, clarifies them with built-in examples from her own practice and applies 'avatar like' vignettes to walk us through areas where biofeedback can be most helpful.
The book maintains structure, clarity, vision and reinforcement throughout. Its written in language and a style which is approachable. The level of technical material fits, yet references and a complete bibliography, appendices and even extra charts, worksheets, audio meditations and more are available via download for readers who want an even more complete treatise.
My Point of Reference:
I've been a user and reseller of various biofeedback equipment for 14 years, yet I was given useful tips and extensive assistance to fuel my own growth towards biofeedback expertise. Even though I voraciously read literature and technical research on the subject, including maintaining a database of over 1000 articles and studies related to human performance, this publication is filled with new references for me. In fact, from the 1st read, I've already written 30+ pages of shorthand notes to study further. I believe this 'companion guide' can teach almost everyone what they need to know at the level of understanding which they currently have.
What successful vision comes to mind when you consider this phrase: Biofeedback And Mindfulness In Everyday Life?
Do these questions come to mind for you?
1. How can I use Biofeedback in my life? -Or how can I better apply biofeedback in my business?
2. Are there real life examples and processes which I can model as I learn to apply biofeedback?
3. Will I learn the principles which are fundamental to future certification as a professional or success as a personal user?
4. Can I read this book without too much effort? Is it easy to follow, easy to comprehend?
5. What is biofeedback, really? What will this book do for you?
Yes. This is my answer to these 5 concept above.
As a quick showcase, here is how Dr. Khazan aptly defines biofeedback and the purpose of her hard work compiled into this 300+ pages of knowledge-filled guide.
"...to specifically train our brains and our bodies to self-regulate at all times, especially when the stakes are at their highest. This is what this book is all about. "
Continuing on, she says, "This book is intended to help you find simple, practical solutions for improving the way you respond to life challenges and increasing your resilience and emotional flexibility."
For me, this promise lives; it fulfills its mission. It gleams and I glean.
I'll use this book as I develop training, workshops and coaching sessions. It will be a valuable resource in my professional efforts in optimal performance. Perhaps, more importantly, a few chapters have already led to modifications in the way I think and how I approach life on a personal level.
What more do you want in any day, from any training, from any mentor, from any effort in life?
It creates a greater self-understanding-- one which innately will create a higher path for our future selves and our future careers. Kudos, Dr. Khazan. And, thank you for sharing your knowledge in such an approachable, relatable and compassionate way.
Read
August 18, 2021Ordered the book after reading Dr. Khazan's paper titled "Taking Human Performance to the Next Level (with FLARE)", which I can recommend if you want to get a feel for her writing style.
The book starts with physiological biofeedback methods, then discusses mindfulness, and lastly gives practical advice for different challenges and disorders. It's very well researched and the chapters start with a convincing argument for the method or application that's discussed afterward. You could even use it as an overview of the research. Furthermore, she gives examples in the form of short stories, there are short exercises you can do with or without a device, there are meditation scripts, tons of references, a list of recommended devices, and an index if you want to go back to something.
It's written in a very pleasant writing style for something that is so sciency. So yeah, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in using biofeedback and mindfulness for well-being and/or performance. My version has 386 pages (and not 288) by the way, so buckle up.
The book starts with physiological biofeedback methods, then discusses mindfulness, and lastly gives practical advice for different challenges and disorders. It's very well researched and the chapters start with a convincing argument for the method or application that's discussed afterward. You could even use it as an overview of the research. Furthermore, she gives examples in the form of short stories, there are short exercises you can do with or without a device, there are meditation scripts, tons of references, a list of recommended devices, and an index if you want to go back to something.
It's written in a very pleasant writing style for something that is so sciency. So yeah, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in using biofeedback and mindfulness for well-being and/or performance. My version has 386 pages (and not 288) by the way, so buckle up.
October 21, 2021
If you're looking for info on how to use biofeedback machines to control body temperature or concentration etc., this is not the book.
Its emphasis is on meditation and breathing.
I gave it three stars for the information it did give, for example, low-and-slow breathing and attempts to control body temperature (it is contrary to popular opinion).
It was an irritating read at times because in the early chapters you'd read "this is covered in chapter 8" or something similar.
Its emphasis is on meditation and breathing.
I gave it three stars for the information it did give, for example, low-and-slow breathing and attempts to control body temperature (it is contrary to popular opinion).
It was an irritating read at times because in the early chapters you'd read "this is covered in chapter 8" or something similar.
February 21, 2020
I only read the section on Insomnia. It was super helpful! And radically altered the way in which i sleep. Now, i don’t stress when i cant sleep. I just lay there and wait until i get sleepy. The amount of stress I experience associated with sleep has drastically declined. Freaked out by stuff? Read this book. It may have answers for you.
November 24, 2020
Sehr inspirierendes Buch, die Brücke schlagend zwischen Atemübungen, Herzratenvariabilitätstraining, physiologischen Modellen und Entspannungsübungen, Achtsamkeit, Meditation. Gute Ideen für das Heimtraining zwischen Biofeedback-Sitzungen.
January 31, 2022
Increasingly we are learning that helping people and ourselves begins with the body -- headaches, anxiety, insomnia, and other physiological responses. Our body tells the story the mind needs to learn to heal. In today's world, most of us do not listen well to our bodies.
In the first of three parts, Dr. Khazan shares the main principles of our physiological reactions to life. We learn about terms like heart-rate variability, biofeedback, and muscle health in very accessible terms.
In Part II Dr. Khazan, a leader in the field of mindfulness, equips readers with the foundations of mindfulness, as a meditation practice and as a skillset. Then she focuses on how it relates to self-care and self-compassion. Part III addresses real-people concerns like sadness, pain, and communications outlining how biofeedback and mindfulness are applied. These tools make a seismic difference in life for individuals and their families. You will appreciate her practical exercises, meditations, suggested tools, and readings.
Loved this book. As a coach and counselor, it will be valuable to colleagues as we help clients through this extraordinary time but also it's a manual for anyone wanting to learn about and apply key evidence-based tools to make their life better.
In the first of three parts, Dr. Khazan shares the main principles of our physiological reactions to life. We learn about terms like heart-rate variability, biofeedback, and muscle health in very accessible terms.
In Part II Dr. Khazan, a leader in the field of mindfulness, equips readers with the foundations of mindfulness, as a meditation practice and as a skillset. Then she focuses on how it relates to self-care and self-compassion. Part III addresses real-people concerns like sadness, pain, and communications outlining how biofeedback and mindfulness are applied. These tools make a seismic difference in life for individuals and their families. You will appreciate her practical exercises, meditations, suggested tools, and readings.
Loved this book. As a coach and counselor, it will be valuable to colleagues as we help clients through this extraordinary time but also it's a manual for anyone wanting to learn about and apply key evidence-based tools to make their life better.
August 27, 2021
The book provides a very good and practical introduction to biofeedback. It does not discuss neurofeedback which was a bit of a disappointment for me as learning about brain waves and neurofeedback was my main reason for picking up this book. Nevertheless (and also despite a bit of annoyance due to simple writing, especially at the beginning of the book and stumbling upon quite a few mistakes), I really enjoyed reading the book and learned a great deal about the HRV and (over-)breathing as well as muscle tension, skin conductance, and finger temperature (and the fight-flight-freeze response in humans). Upon reaching the end of the book I didn't feel any need anymore to read about neurofeedback. ;)
The book contains suggestions for training on one's own with inexpensive tools which makes it very accessible.
The material covered is very comprehensive with plenty of scientific references, well explained and put into context. I think, this was the best coverage of the material I have ever read (also concerning mindfulness which is a topic I have been quite familiar with before) and I really appreciate the thoroughness of the author. At the same time, the book is very practical and the author proposes step-by-step procedures for training on one's own (for various goals such as sleep improvement, pain management, performance optimisation, anger or anxiety management, etc). This achievement of providing deep scientific background together with practical guidelines is quite impressive.
The book contains suggestions for training on one's own with inexpensive tools which makes it very accessible.
The material covered is very comprehensive with plenty of scientific references, well explained and put into context. I think, this was the best coverage of the material I have ever read (also concerning mindfulness which is a topic I have been quite familiar with before) and I really appreciate the thoroughness of the author. At the same time, the book is very practical and the author proposes step-by-step procedures for training on one's own (for various goals such as sleep improvement, pain management, performance optimisation, anger or anxiety management, etc). This achievement of providing deep scientific background together with practical guidelines is quite impressive.
October 11, 2024
As the title suggests, this is a great book about using biofeedback and mindfulness in everyday life. It explains a little on the science of biofeedback and mindfulness, then shows how to implement it into certain contexts of problems people might have. This is a good resource for educating yourself on biofeedback or for learning how to teach clients about it in a clinical setting!
November 27, 2023
Body signals
Paying attention to your body signals can help keep you safe from bad habits or lack of self awareness. The author explains the meaning of those signals and how to deal with them.
Paying attention to your body signals can help keep you safe from bad habits or lack of self awareness. The author explains the meaning of those signals and how to deal with them.
November 28, 2023
Full of practical insights into personal growth and self-mastery
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews