Meditation (biofeedback)

The Meditation (Biofeedback) software module was designed to visualize different techniques, such as breathing exercises (pranayama, Qi-Gong), autogenic training, yoga, etc. and to evaluate their effectiveness.

The module includes 4 multimedia scenarios:

“Flower”

It helps to reduce stress level and prevent heart diseases and can also be used to promote correct breathing in pregnant women.

“Bike race”

For people who are interested in sport and fitness.

“Inner Reserves”

For Naturopaths. It is designed to awaken the inner reserves of the body.

“Chaos Harmony”

For people involved in bioenergy and breathing practices.

After adjusting the signal, click on Start meditation (biofeedback) button. Choose one of the 4 possible game scenarios.

Pay attention! Before pressing the Start meditation (biofeedback) button, make sure that the average heart rate (HR) is as stable as possible at the moment. You can monitor the heart rate by looking at the numerical value at the top of the screen or the Cardiointervalogram graph at the bottom.

“Flower” game scenario

The Flower tab is the basic meditation (biofeedback) mode.

After choosing the scenario, the timer will start in the same way as in the monitoring mode, but after 15 seconds you will be redirected to the Flower tab automatically. It is important for the client to stay in a normal calm state during these 15 seconds, because this is the period for recording of a basic state (the training will be based on this data). If you hasten and do not take time for preparation, the state of tension, which the client felt during preparation stage, will be registered.

There is a video of a rose flower in the left part of the screen. Right part of the screen displays the RR and HR graphs, as well as the ECG graph and counters displaying the number of blossomed flowers, respiratory cycles and HR at the current moment of the session. Below the ECG graph there is the respiratory cycle indicator and Cardiointervalogram.

You can also switch to the Energy Level and Stress Index and Mobilizing/Restorative potential tabs during a session to track changes in the indices in real time.

The RR and HR graphs indicate changes in the heart rhythm. Bright blue horizontal line in the center of the RR graph indicates the average heart rate, calculated by the software during the first 15 seconds of the recording. This graph is somewhat similar to a glass of water. During the meditation session (biofeedback), the level of “water” is constantly changing, reflecting the change in the duration of cardiac contractions. With increased duration of the cardiac cycle, the level goes up, and with reduced duration - it drops down. Lower level indicates mobilization (tension), and the increased level indicates relaxation. With the relaxation the flower starts to blossom.

The HR graph displays the current heart rate (HR), and two horizontal blue lines on the graph indicate the HR change corridor over the last 30 seconds of the session. The current HR value is also displayed in numerical form - above the ECG graph.

There is a counter of blossomed flowers in the upper right part of the screen. During the session one may look at the flower or at the fluctuations of the “water” level, as it is more convenient.

Video demonstration of the Flower tab.

The goal of biofeedback is learning the art of relaxation, that stimulates self-regulation and self-healing processes in the body. In the “VedaPulse® Professional” software this is done by learning the “proper” breathing.

In order to relax, to relieve stress, you need to use abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing.

The software helps to learn how to feel your breathing, the beginning of inhalation, the end of inhalation, the beginning of exhalation and the end of exhalation, the slight pauses between inhalation and exhalation. Breath is like the ocean, the inhale and exhale as the waves of the high and the low tide.

Tune the body for the breathing exercises, like a musician tunes the instrument before the concert. Remember a very simple rule, very easy way: learn slowly, gradually draw the stomach in the end of the exhale, try to extend this phase.

With proper exercise one will experience relaxation, while the level of “water in the glass” will grow, the main line of its vibration will be above the “waterline”. Also, the flowers will bloom.

While excessive haste or excessive lengthening of the expiratory phase there will be a reduction of the level of “water in the glass” and roses cease to bloom.

For working with the breathing the module has a built-in respiratory cycle indicator:

During the session the scale of the indicator gets filled, one filling corresponds to one respiratory cycle. The respiratory cycle is divided into 4 phases:

• Inhale
• Pause after inhalation (Pause 1)
• Exhale
• Pause after the exhalation (Pause 2)

This is followed with the sounds of the metronome and the bell indicates the completion of each phase of the respiratory cycle.

The indicator is to be used for breath control, executing the steps corresponding to a current cycle of action:

1. The indicator begins to fill in with the phase Inhale – one should breathe in.

2. The phase Inhale is ended – the Pause after inhalation phase starts – hold the breath throughout the phase.

3. The Pause after inhalation phase is ended – the Exhale phase starts – breathe out evenly throughout the phase.

4. The phase Exhale is ended – the phase Pause after exhalation starts – hold the breath to complete the respiratory cycle.

By default, the duration of the respiratory cycle is 12 seconds. The duration of the phases – 3, 2, 5, 2. If you want to change the duration of the phases you can set them before starting the Meditation mode in the corresponding block of the settings of the ECG window – Meditation parameters, Flower (before pressing the button Start meditation (biofeedback)).

After setting the required values you can start the meditation.

In order to retrain thoracic breathing into diaphragmatic one the most important thing is to learn how to pull the stomach in in the end of exhalation. Do not think about breathing in, pay no attention to it. Your “work area” — is an exhalation. After the air fills the lungs during exhalation pull your stomach in as if squeezing the air. After the air has left the lungs and you want to take a breath — the stomach would slightly go forward by itself, thus you’d get a diaphragmatic breath. During the exhalation – again pull the stomach in and stop pulling it in in the beginning of inhalation, that would be the “inhalation into your stomach”. This will allow you to easily learn a proper, diaphragmatic, slow breathing and get relaxation as a result.

Beside a visual observation of the oscillations of the heart rhythm, there is an additional option of insonifying the heartbeat. In order to carry it out, enable the corresponding option (sound R-wave) in the settings of the window of the signal registration check. After enabling this option, we add the acoustic feedback channel to the visual one. Hearing the beats of your heart is a powerful way to impact the heart rhythm. The returned biological signal can even enter the trance state.

In addition to learning diaphragmatic breathing and meditation-immersion into a trance state using audible signals, biofeedback mode can be used to study any form of auto-training. Description of auto-training techniques is beyond the scope of this manual. We focus our attention only on the fact that using visual and acoustic channels of bio-feedback provided by VedaPulse any user can successfully study different techniques on a self-learning basis: meditation, auto-trainings, breathing exercises, etc. And in case of the usage of VedaPulse by a coach there appear additional tools for an objective control of dynamics of the physiological state of the client.

In the end of the session a new assessment with the icon of a flower will appear in the list of assessments.

If you select the assessment and open the tab Results – Academic – Results, you will see the number of respiratory cycles and flowers blossomed during the session at the bottom of the report.

“Bike race” game scenario

The goal of this game scenario is to achieve maximum relaxation and reduce the heart rate (HR). When the heart rate decreases, the client leads, and when the heart rate increases, the opponent overtakes.

The Track button allows to select a city route or a country landscape.

Player and Bike buttons allow to select color options for clothing and bike, respectively.

The Result button allows to monitor the results of the participants.

The Options button is designed to change players, select a language, music, single- or multi-player game. For multi-player game, the computer must be connected to a local network. When choosing a single-player game, the competition takes place with client’s previous result, that is, the second player-opponent is the display of his/her own best previous race.

When you click the Start button, a view of the starting location opens. To start the race, press the Spacebar on the keyboard. But before to do this, the client needs to sit quietly for a few minutes before starting the session. This will calm down the heartbeat.

During the race, the following data is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen:

Round that the player rides (there are 3 rounds to complete).

Time – elapsed time since the game began.

The Best time – the time that corresponds to the best previous result of the given player and, accordingly, the opposing player who is shown riding next to him.

The Record – the best time in which the route was completed by any of the participants registered on this computer.

The bottom of the screen displays:

Speed ​​– this depends on the degree of relaxation achieved by the player and the reduction in heart rate.

Heart rate (HR) is displayed at the bottom center next to the inscription “VedaPulse”.

Schematic representation of the track with the starting point (white dot) and two other dots corresponding to the locations of the player and opponent (red dot – player, blue – opponent).

During the game, Cardiointervalogram graph is dynamically built (bottom center above the inscription “VedaPulse”). Cardiointervalogram reflects the consistent change in heart rhythm.

After completing the session, close the scenario window. New assessment with the bike icon will appear in the list of assessments.

Video demonstration of the “Bike race” tab

“Inner Reserves” game scenario

The “Inner Reserves” scenario offers to move seven stones using “power of the mind” in a playful way. This scenario reinforces the will to life and health. The fact is that modern medicine gives the client a passive role. It requires only following the physician’s recommendations. Passive role destroys all initiative of the client. At the same time, internal motivation to recover is a powerful force that can help in hopeless situations. The “Inner Reserves” scenario is designated to awaken the hidden reserves of the body.

The Options button allows to select the difficulty level of the game scenario (easy, normal, hard), turn on or off the music, and select the graphics quality (from very low to ultra-high).

By clicking the Play button, you will see a forest landscape on the screen with an image of seven stones located on top of each other. On the right side of the screen there is a countdown timer, a progress bar with seven marks and a scale of the current heart rate level, as well as a Cardiointervalogram graph.

The software monitors the heart rhythm and the stones will lift if there is no internal stress. Moreover, don’t try to fall into trance. The goal is to maintain a calm attention, to contemplate lifting stones, and be internally peaceful.

After completing the session, a new assessment with the scenario icon will appear in the list of assessments.

“Chaos Harmony” game scenario

The “Chaos Harmony” game scenario is related to the dual pair of life and death. Life is the maintenance of internal order in the body, and chaos is the path to illness and ultimately to death. This scenario was designed to perform a meditation and “organize” the body’s proper functioning.

It is necessary to harmonize the seven chakras during meditation. First observe the Muladhara chakra and imagine a harmonization of the chakras. If meditation is successful, random motioning comets will organize their flight, gather in a circle and light the supernova on the computer screen. The color of the star matches the color of the chakra. You need to light up the seven stars to adjust the seven chakras.

The Options button allows to select the difficulty level of the game scenario (easy, normal, hard), turn on or off the music, and select the graphics quality (from very low to ultra-high).

By clicking the Play button, you will see an image of space with chaotically moving small comets on the screen. On the right side of the screen there is a countdown timer, a progress bar with seven marks and a scale of the current heart rate level, as well as a Cardiointervalogram graph.

After completing the session, a new assessment with the scenario icon will appear in the list of assessments.