Biofeedback training helped Abhinav Bindra win gold at
Beijing
Washington, Aug 21 : When Abhinav Bindra took home the Olympic gold medal in the 10
metres air rifle event, he not only made India proud but also demonstrated how biofeedback
training can be a vital part of performance optimization at the highest level.
Dead aim is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the skills needed to excel at
shooting. In addition, shooters need controlled breathing and heart rate, no excess
tension in their muscles, no interior monologue, and sharp focus and good reactions to
trigger at the moment when the sight image is correct.
Sport psychologist Timothy Harkness used biofeedback training to help Bindra master
control over all these areas.
Using the a FlexComp Infiniti hardware system with BioGraph 4.0 software, Harkness
joined a team of shooting coaches, a physician, chiropractor, dietician and
physiotherapist to prepare Bandra for the 2008 competition.
The result was that an already world-champion athlete was able to push his skills and
focus even higher.
He achieved his personal goal and earned the only medal for India during the 2008
games.
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change
physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance.
Precise instruments measure physiological activity such as brainwaves, heart function,
breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature. These instruments rapidly and accurately
"feed back" information to the user.
The presentation of this information - often in conjunction with changes in thinking,
emotions, and behavior - supports desired physiological changes.
Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument.
Biofeedback is used primarily for treatment of various medical disorders, including
ADD/ADHD, chronic pain, headaches, and other. But it is gaining prominence in a more
proactive capacity as well.
Individuals, ranging from athletes to artists to business leaders and more, are tapping
into the benefits of biofeedback to optimize health, mental, physical, emotional and
spiritual functioning, and peak performance fields.
Biofeedback training can help individuals optimize brain function for peak mental
performance. It empowers people to achieve their goals, be they Olympic level or within
day-to-day activities.
It helps users manage their mental and emotional states and how these may help or
hinder achievement of goals.
--ANI
