When we do infrared biofeedback sessions, you will sit in a comfortable chair, wear a sensor on your forehead, watch a movie and activate you brain. You can bring a DVD or select one of mine.

To read your infrared temperature I have an infrared sensor in a little box on a headband. This box contains an infrared camera lens which is about 2" by 3" by 2" deep. I'll ask you to hold this sensor to the center of your forehead. We may need to move your forehead hair up out of the way of the lens.

Then I'll secure the headband in place with 2 Velcro straps. This should only be tight enough to keep the sensor from moving. Another strap goes over the top of your head to keep the box from falling onto your nose. The headband and sensor are supposed to be comfortable. So tell me if they are too tight or loose.

This sensor is similar to modern infrared thermometers that measure body temperature in the ear or move across a baby's temple. My sensor detects heat from about a golf ball size area behind your forehead.

These sensors merely read your normal, invisible thermal radiation. This sensor has a wire attached to a box that shows your infrared temperature reading to 100th of a degree. For example, you may see a temperature of 94.56 degrees. But then you'll see the numbers move up or down. That is normal with a sensitive measure.

As you watch the temperature numbers move up and down you will begin to get a feel for how you are producing these fluctuations. You may not be able to attach words to the feeling because it is subtle. But everybody 'gets it' quickly. Becoming emotionally involved in watching the movie seems to help the biofeedback training.

My instructions to you will be to "relax and focus, don't get frustrated. Be in a state of detached concentration." Even after you are clearly able to raise the numbers at will, you may not be able to say how you do it.

What is happening here is a general activation in the front of your brain. We believe that raising your neuro-cellular activity increases the demand for blood. More blood in your brain means more heat escaping and the temperature go up.

This kind of exercise seems to improve the unconscious powers of mind-body inhibition. Improved inhibition in the brain is good for migraines, anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

Raising the temperature in your brain is a lot like muscular strength training by lifting weights. We don't want to over do it at first. Gradually you can lift more weight for longer periods. More lifting yields greater benefits. But we never want you to over-exert yourself.

What does the trainer do?
First, I will start the movie and wait for your temperature to become stable. Then I will set a threshold number on the temperature display box. If you are currently at 94.50, I may set the threshold at 94.60. Above this number the movie plays, below this number, the movie pauses. Raising your numbers with your brain does take some effort; it may feel like exertion. With conditioning, you can do more work with less exhaustion.

It is important to get good nights sleep after a training session. Drink plenty of water.

Results
Several practitioners have reported that this method can sometimes stop a raging migraine within 20 minutes. More often, there is a noticeable decline. Then the remaining discomfort usually goes away over the next few hours. This kind of relief does not always happen.

Of 100 migraine patients treated with this method, 94% experienced at least a 50% reduction in the intensity of their migraines after 6 sessions. Some stopped getting migraines. Follow-ups showed the improvements to be fairly stable.

In brainwave training, the results seem to be more locked in as they occur. There is a repair and reorganization that is relatively stable. With infrared biofeedback, the benefits attained are prone to fade in early sessions. The benefit seems to grow within a session and then decline over time. In the next session, the remedy grows stronger and stays longer.

Other effects
The primary unwanted side effect of training is some tiredness or general exhaustion. Other negative side effects are rare, minor, and generally go away after a good nights sleep. We have learned that it is wise to proceed gently, especially at first.

Training regrets are non-existent. No one ever wants to reverse training effects. The same results that occurs within a session also happen with multiple sessions. That is the results are cumulative.

Good side benefits are common. Even with no migraine pain now, hoping for some side benefits is a valid reason to do training. These include: better sleep, mental clarity, physical coordination, interpersonal intimacy, more charisma, etc.

You may experience reduced anxiety and a lifting of depression. But none of these can be guaranteed. Whether you get a side benefit, or which one will occur for you is the most unpredictable part of training.

Some kind of extra benefit should NOT be UNexpected. A side benefit is always benign. Nobody says that they preferred the sleep, speech articulation, eyesight, memory, etc. that they had prior to training. Nobody would want to go back, nor can we.

People seem to obtain a specific set of benefits resulting from a general system balancing and improving efficiency of the central nervous system. Think of this training is self-brain brightening under guidance that helps you push away migraines.