Life and Balance Centre phone (01) 207 9881 email info@lifeandbalance.ie

Chelsea had one secret weapon in their armoury this season that helped them win the Premiership that Manchester United lacked and it’s not a star player, a diet or a special pair of football boots, but a Mind Room.

They are also loath to discuss the details of this cutting edge room, a specially constructed space which can accommodate up to six players at a time where players are hooked up to a device that measures seven physiological signs, from their brain waves and muscle tension to their breathing and heart rate.

However Australian, neurologically based Chiropractor, Dr Tammy Verlaan-Ross, who is an expert in the branch of science called biofeedback and uses similar technology at Dublin based Life and Balance Centre, can reveal the aim of this room is to train the Chelsea players to reach a meditative state in which they can watch themselves make a mistake such as a missed chance, a goal conceded or a mistimed tackle without their bodies getting more stressed.

Dr Verlaan-Ross says, if the Chelsea players have a particular problem - like missing a penalty kick or getting yellow carded – the Mind Room will train them to relax mentally. Players are shown videos of their flawed performance and this technology can record how their body responds. Naturally, players will respond with a stress response such as tensed muscles and increased heart rate, however training with this technology will help their minds and their bodies to relax again.

The idea is that when they go out on the pitch and have to score the penalty kick, they’ll be so focused, so prepared mentally, that they won’t miss. They’ll also be able to relax their physiology such as heart rate and muscles activity and conserve energy. Due to their training with this technology, they’ll do that without even thinking.

This is the first year the Chelsea players have had access to the Mind Room after it was introduced by new coach Carlo Ancelotti who had a similar room at his former club, AC Milan. When Milan faced Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final, two years after the traumatic defeat in Istanbul, the Mind Room is credited with helping reduce their anxieties, stresses, and fears, about a repeat performance. Of course AC Milan won that game and now Chelsea can also be grateful for Biofeedback technology helping them achieve success.