Biofeedback clinics have hi-tech equipment that can monitor your pulse rate and blood pressure, muscle tension, skin temperature and brainwave frequency. Seeing these physical functions magnified and displayed on a screen provides a degree of feedback which you cannot hope to match on your own.
Nonetheless, two pieces of monitoring equipment are readily affordable for home use. They are:
1. An electronic digital-readout thermometer that displays the temperature of hands or feet in tenths of a degree.
2. A hand-held GSR (galvanic skin response) device that monitors resistance and displays it as a variable audible tone. Slightly faster than a thermometer, it helps you to learn to relax swiftly.
(We prefer either of these to the adhesive plastic liquid crystal temperature and mood indicators that, though seemingly cheap, have a very short life and a low sensitivity.)
Although not absolutely essential, these inexpensive devices help you recognize the existence of subtle bodily clues by which you can tell whether you are tensed or relaxed. They are often advertised in health or New Age magazines, or can be found in medical equipment stores.
Gradually, as you learn to recognize feedback from your body’s signals, these monitoring devices will become unnecessary.
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