While exercise and various management techniques are good at relieving the symptoms of stress, there is also another approach to handling high levels of anxiety.

According to Dr. Robert Mascarotti Director of Esprit Healing Center at 1058 Lincoln Ave., biofeedback is an excellent way for an individual to identify underlying causes of stress.

"When there is stress in the body, there is an imbalance," Mascarotti says. "The imbalance could be physical or metabolic, but most often physical ailments are based on underlying emotional conditions."

Current state-of-the-art biofeedback technology like the Quantum Xrroid Consciousness Interface utilized by. Mascarotti, and administered by certified biofeedback practitioner Jan Schieberl, involves using electrical instrumentation to monitor specific physiological activities and energy patterns in a person's body. The information is then fed back to the program for evaluation. It is non-invasive, painless and non-pharmaceutical.

The program runs on a laptop computer, which is connected to the body through head, wrist and leg bands. The program sends electrical impulses through the body and scans the tissues, cells and organs like a virus scan on a computer looking for everything from deficiencies, weaknesses, allergies, and other abnormalities.

According to Schieberl, the information gathered is different from an x-ray or blood test because it shows the energetic state of the body and the direction in which energy is being focused.

"This technology shows a picture of your body today and provides information about ways you can correct imbalances," Schieberl says. "There is a level of intuitiveness built into the program."

Cristina Espinola, Office Manager at Esprit Healing Center used biofeedback to help her get to the root of some emotional concerns she had.

"It helped me bring things to the surface and get to the core of the underlying problem," she said. "We are very happy to be able to offer biofeedback to our clients. Often times Dr. Mascarotti identifies a problem but doesn't know where it derived from. Biofeedback gives him information that helps with treatment."

Originally from Switzerland, Mascarotti has been practicing Holistic Medicine for the past 14 years. He uses a combination of therapies including chiropractic, nutrition, herbal medicine, psyiotherapy and homeopathy. Seeing the path to wellness as a whole body approach, he views healing like peeling an onion.

As symptoms associated with the outside layers are corrected, underlying layers reveal their imbalances until the hub of the problem is identified deep inside, according to Mascarotti

"It helps to awaken certain systems and after a couple of treatments, most people begin to feel better," he said.

According to Mascarotti this approach is also useful in treating other health related issues like allergies, headaches and insomnia.

Schieberl conducts biofeedback in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. An introductory session is $60,with subsequent sessions running $90 for an hour and $120 for an hour and a half.

In addition to services offered by Mascarotti, Esprit Healing Center offers acupuncture, massage, psychotherapy, natural skin care and free healing workshops. Information can be found on their website at www.esprithealingcenter.com or by calling 408.275.6622.