Behind VaYou
About the name “VaYou”
VaYou is derived from the Sanskrit word “vayu“, meaning “wind“, in connection with “you”, as it allows you to experience it very individually. Vayu (or Vayu Deva) is also the name of the Hindu god of the wind. In Hindu tradition, the five elements – fire, earth, water, air (wind) and ether – are represented as gods. According to ancient yogis, prana is subdivided into five vayus. Being aware of the vayu can help an individual obtain optimum benefits from yogic practices as the movement of prana is the essence of yogic practice.
The five subdivisions of vayu are as follows: Prana vayu – Situated in the head, this is the fundamental energy. Governs the reception of everything from air to food, from senses to thoughts. Apana vayu – Active in the pelvic and lower abdominal areas. Improves digestion, elimination and reproduction. Vyana vayu – Governs the heart and lungs, and supports the function of other vayus. Udana vayu – Situated in the throat region. Promotes self-expression and growth. Samana vayu – Present in the abdomen with the navel as its energy base. Governs digestion of everything from food to thoughts. Balancing the vayus not only promotes physical strength, but also helps the practitioner move closer to their spiritual aspirations.
About Wavemed
Wavemed is a team of people based in Vienna, Austria, dedicated to transforming biofeedback into sound in a beneficial way.
Wavemed founder Lukas Filz is musician/bass player and studied medical computer science, specialising in ECG- and EEG-analysis and biofeedback-research. Transforming physiological activities into sounds was a key aspect of his works from the very beginning. In the early 90’ies he developed the RealTime Biosignal Workstation, a flexible psychophysiology-research platform working with the operating system Nextstep, the predecessor of todays MacOS.
The research works always had a strong personal aspect and led him to Hatha-Yoga and Pranayama. The following formation in psychotherapy gave Lukas the ability to work as direct with people as possible, which he does since 2008.
All endeavours and research led to the conceptualization (2014) and development of VaYou with the premise to give the user maximum freedom by putting all the experience under the hood. Meanwhile VaYou is successfully applied as effective tool in stress-prevention, psychotherapy and yoga.
The advance of the VaYou paradigm and R&D of helpful and innovative applications is and will be the primary focus in the long run.
The roots of VaYou: RealTime Biosignal Workstation
RealTime was a sophisticated biosignal acquisition, real-time analysis and feedback system based on NeXT Computers and featured in the “NeXT Healthcare Solutions” catalogue (see images below). It was qualified for various clinical routine and research applications, such as:
- Biofeedback
- Clinical EEG and EKG
- Monitoring
- Psychophysiological experiments
- Videometry
The biosignals were amplified and sampled by a 16-channel Biosignal Acquisition System, an analog/digital biosignal measurement unit, acquiring EEG, DC-EEG, EKG, EMG, EOG, respiration, temperature and GSR signals. It features true 16-bit resolution and a frequency response from DC to 4 kHz (20 kHz for single channel). The samples were fed to a NeXT computer utilizing the DSP port or an Intel 486 computer running NeXTStep with an add-on DSP card. Video images could be processed by the NeXTdlmension.
The RealTime software consisted of an extensive set of modules for preprocessing, analysis, display, and sound, which could be arbitrarily connected and assigned to biosignal channels. Such a network and its associated parameters could be modified even during a recording session. High-quality acoustical and visual output, such as for stimulus presentation, could be modulated by real-time analysis results, which enableded feedback and closed-loop experiments. Versions were available in English and German.
