Kathleen Riley’s teaching and research with Biofeedback is invaluable for coaching performers to manage stress and achieve and maintain optimal performance. Her expertise with biofeedback brings a deeper awareness of what we do and how we do it as musicians.
A session working with Dr. Kathleen Riley and ProformaVision really helped me become aware of muscle tension in my body while playing. On stage I am now aware of my posture, straightening my head/neck and relaxing my shoulders and forearms. I highly recommend Kathleen’s amazing work for all musicians!
Kathleen Riley is a pioneer who has developed practical bio-feedback techniques and methods to successfully optimize technical movement and flow as well as retrain from overuse injuries. The results of her analysis had an immediate and a long-term impact on my playing. I highly recommend her to any working musician or medical professional who works with musicians.
Several years ago, I had received a diagnosis of Benign Essential Tremor from the Neurology Department at The Cleveland Clinic. I went through typical drug protocols, most of which had unpleasant side effects including drowsiness, sleepiness, difficulty concentrating, confusion. As much as the violin and music mean to me, I could not continue to live like this. I worked with Dr. Kathleen Riley, who understood so well what it takes physically, mentally and emotionally to perform optimally as a musician. I spent at least 6 intensive months working with her for retraining my arm and hand movements. I find myself today still using the effective protocols she gave me to manage my condition and remain at the level necessary to perform as a member of The Cleveland Orchestra. Biofeedback is a powerful tool that can enable musicians to see “inside” themselves and learn to make effective changes, and I am grateful to Kathleen for her expertise and guidance.
I had the opportunity recently to do a biofeedback session with Kathleen Riley. Kathleen helped me understand where I was holding the tension in my muscles and adjusted my body alignment with the instrument to reduce the muscle firing.
It was amazing to see what was happening and then learn how to optimize the muscles needed. This allowed me to experiment and optimize my alignment, creating greater range of motion and flow in performance. This is something that can benefit all performing artists. She is the leading expert with this special work and I highly recommend her!
Kathleen is truly multidimensional. She not only understands the complexities of elite performers (and is one herself) but fully understands the underlying physiology which is so relevant in resolving the psychophysiological issues of stress and anxiety. Her ability to integrate new technology into the diagnosis and treatment of various disorders of performance in whatever we do, makes her truly one of a kind. There are few who understand so well, and integrate these two completely different areas of study, and without the knowledge of both, it is difficult to aid people afflicted with stress and chronic pain. Her knowledge of biofeedback and its role in teaching, training, assessment and treatment is second to none.
Kathleen Riley’s pioneering work is some of the most important I have come across in my career. The positive impact she is making on artists and teachers with related problems will be immeasurable.
As a professional theater musician with focal hand dystonia, I am forever grateful for Kathleen Riley and her expertise with biofeedback. I worked with Kathleen for over 4 years after having been diagnosed with dystonia. Her powerful work with ProformaVision Biofeedback helped me control my anxiety, regain technical control and keep the dystonia at a manageable distance.
