Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota — When you think about the military and what is expected of its service members, physical fitness is usually near the top of the list. But recently, mental fitness and resilience have started to catch up with the Air Force.
Enter Lumena MindGym. The space, a 7-by-7-foot immersive and meditative space for mental fitness training, is now available to anyone with base access at the Ellsworth Base Exchange.
“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to increase resilience,” said Daphne Perez, prevention coordination specialist in the base’s Integrated Resilience Office. “Mindfulness is one of the biggest components of resiliency and can be helpful in stressful situations. I’m excited to get stuff.”
Equipped with an ergonomic chair and a special headband that utilizes electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to monitor physiological indicators such as brain waves, heart rate, breathing rate, and cardiac variability, users use MindGym. You can get a completely customized experience when doing so.
“Each session is 10 to 20 minutes long and divided into segments that address peace and relaxation, mental training, and performance improvement,” Perez says. “The aim is to help users transition their mental states through light and sound, promoting relaxation, inner exploration, and meditative practices.”
Lumena hosted a Demo Day on February 2, 2024, so Ellsworth executives could experience MindGym and recommend it to others.
“I can’t think of an Airman who wouldn’t benefit from this,” said Lt. Col. Carsten Stahl, 28th Force Support Squadron commander. “It’s such a simple thing, the simplest thing in life, but when you take it seriously, it can make the biggest impact and change.”
In a two-stage focus group study conducted at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Lumena found that after a 20-minute session of MindGym, military users experienced an average improvement of 29% in reaction time under stress and improved well-being. found a 46% improvement. His mood improved, his accuracy under stress increased by 8.3%, and his overall stress decreased by 10%.
Brandon Murphy, Head of Growth at Lumena Labs, said: “Our goal was to provide Airmen with access to tools that might normally require in-person training.”
For more information about MindGym and its benefits, please visit www.lumenalabs.com.