This article appeared in Natural Awakenings - Phoenix Edition - Feb 2012

You’ve no doubt hear about someone getting an idea after receiving a “whack upside the head” to stimulate the process, but the birth of one local business did begin that way. It was 1991 when Lee Gerdes, author of Limitless You: The Infinite Possibilities of a Balanced Brain, was assaulted by four youth with a baseball bat. That incident led to eight years of anger, irritability, depression and discomfort for the high-tech computer executive.

To get over it, Gerdes says, “I tried everything- talk therapy, meds, massage, hypnotism. Nothing worked. So, I used what I knew: computers, physics and psychology.”

Starting with fundamental EEG technology, Gerdes created a new solution called Brainwave Optimization. Today, nearly 40,000 people in 18 countries have experience this advanced neuro-technology, including professional athletes, musicians, executives and children.

“Essentially, Brainwave Optimization is a non-invasive method that helps people overcome brain-related barriers that prevent them from performing at their highest physical, mental/emotional and spiritual levels,” Gerdes explains. ‘it’s all at once simple and complex. The brain drives everything. When an emotional or physical trauma hits, the brainwaves are disrupted. Our technology allows us to see that disruption and guide the brain back to their optimal pattern.” The technology relies on capturing energy from the individual’s brainwaves and converting into sounds that are played back to the client via earphones.

Currently engaged in clinical trials with Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the modality has proven effective for insomnia, addictions, physical pain, learning challenges, depression, stress and anxiety