Why Your Nervous System Controls Your Performance with Dmitri Leonov

Today's special guest is Dmitry Leonov, and we're going to talk about longevity and health. He has come up with this world-leading device called the ONE device. You may have seen it. I have certainly seen it everywhere. My algorithm's giving me it everywhere for the last year. I wanted to get him on the show because this is leading technology in terms of how we manage our nervous system. And some of the greatest athletes on the planet have been using this to great success. So I know that you and I could also do the same. Enjoy the show. Dmitry, a huge welcome to the Habits of High Performers podcast. How are you doing?

Doing great. Thanks for having me.

Oh, pleasure. You're coming in from Ibiza, so a very popular place in the planet. So great to have you come in for a moment. And we've been chatting before we hit record. You also have a Labrador, as I do, so we might hear him in the background every now and then.

Eh? Yeah, he's resting right now, so we should be okay.

Good man. So I want to talk about the One device. Now, people that are listening right now, I guarantee 99% of them will go, what's that? I've never heard of it. By the end of this, they're going to go, I need one. So let's just chat a bit about the One device. Who's it for? Who does it benefit?

This is going to sound really cliché, but it's really for everyone. So our goal was to make a device that's so easy to use and it just fits into your daily lifestyle. So, it looks like a pendant that you just put on and wear. You really don't have to do anything, just charge it and a full charge lasts 88 hours and you just put it on. The mechanism behind it is based on— there are two explanations. There's the scientific explanation and a more spiritual holistic one. The scientific explanation is all we did is we combined the benefits of light therapy and sound therapy in a wearable device. So, there is an infrared LED, there is a visible RGB LED, and a transducer that's generating sound of specific frequencies. And so, all of this works coherently to be delivered into your vagus nerve or your nervous system or your ren meridian or your heart chakra, depending on what you want to believe. And the more— my favorite explanation is actually the more holistic one, is it is like a tuning fork for your nervous system. So, we know that everything vibrates and everything resonates with everything around. And our our body, our mental, emotional, and physical body is— everything is vibrating. And, because we resonate with everything else, we're usually surrounded with distractions, electromagnetic frequencies, our phones, people, and all of this takes us out of our core frequency, our core vibration. And so, One Device is just something that helps you tune back to that state of balance, that state of well-being and flow that we're kind of born and are supposed to naturally be in all the time. And so this helps us return to that state. And when we're in this state, everything is just kind of easier. You know, it's— everything is a little bit easier, healthier, more balanced.

Yeah, that makes sense. And it's interesting. So I'm a drummer. I started drumming when I was like, you 9 years of age. And when I see another drummer and we're sitting hanging out and they start playing, it's like, it's almost impossible for me not to start jamming with them in the same rhythm. And all of a sudden we're in the same groove. And then there's 6 of us and then there's 10 of us and then there's 100 of us. It's like, we're all grooving. I've seen as well, because I used to practice to a metronome as a kid. As a drummer, you've got to keep time. And so I've seen when multiple metronomes going at different times, And what ends up happening is they end up syncing. And so essentially these frequencies start to vibrate at the same frequency. Are we the same as humans?

Yeah, absolutely. Actually, this is the analogy. I recently gave a TED Talk and the demonstration I showed is exactly that one with the metronome. It's a perfect explanation for everything. You know, this— the idea of resonance is, I think, core to basically everything in the universe. I mean, we humans are frequency beings, you know, our hearts beat, our brainwaves are, you know, beating as well. And we, we resonate with everything around. So this is why our circadian rhythm is tied to the rotation of the Earth. Women's cycles synchronize with the moon and with each other. which is absolutely insane if you think about it for a second. And yeah, I mean, I'm a musician myself, and I think the metronome analogy is actually maybe even better than the tuning fork because we can kind of understand how everything starts to tune to a metronome. So, yes, absolutely. That's the basic idea behind it.

Amazing. And I understand stress, and I've studied stress, I've experienced stress. Every single person listening right now can attest to that. They can all relate. So I imagine when we're stressed, the frequencies that we're experiencing are probably not ideal for our body, our organs. And that's where distress kicks in and we start to experience illness, sickness, potentially autoimmune disease. So is the device supportive in helping us get into a healthier state, which may potentially long-term help us be healthier?

Yes, exactly. That's— I think you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the main mechanism. Most of the problems start because we are out of tune with that state of balance. And largely it is due to the stress. And there's so many different kind of stressors in our environment from from, you know, actual stress of, you know, our schedules to, like I said, different people, different frequencies. Right. And the fundamental reason is that for millennia, for the last thousands of years, humans have evolved with very few stressors. Well, okay. I mean, there were tigers and lions hunting us, but, but there there was— there were no electromagnetic frequencies. There was no artificial light. Right. We— the only real kind of frequency that we've been around is the frequency of the sun and the Schumann resonance, the electromagnetic frequency of Earth. And that's basically been the only thing that we were exposed to. And then over the last few decades and really in the last decade, decade and a half, we started to be surrounded with all of the Wi-Fi, all of the cell phones around us. And it's really unprecedented. We've never been exposed to this many external frequencies and the toxins in the air, water, and food that we eat. And so needless to say, the amount of chronic illness that we are now facing is unprecedented. And so this is, this is really— this device was created as something to help us get back to that, I guess, that core vibration and, and really start to resonate with, with that coherent rhythm that we were really naturally always exposed to.

And the device itself, we can go into a bit more of that. I guess there's going to be always skeptics to go, yeah, yeah, but you know, how did How was it created? What's the science behind it? Who supported you on that mission to getting the science right to really ensure that it's most valuable for the user?

Yeah, sure thing. Well, so actually, our— it all started with a different device that we didn't invent, but it was actually invented by a gentleman in Italy named Fabio Fontana, which is a wearable device called Towel Patch. And this was a light therapy wearable device. That is, we've done 17 studies including several placebo-controlled studies published on PubMed. And we've seen how very faint light when it's placed on specific parts of your body can do tremendous things for primarily for your nervous system. But since the nervous system regulates everything else, we've seen improvements all across the board. But specifically, we've helped tens of thousands of people with debilitating neurological disorders, MS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's. We've also helped— we worked with world-class athletes, 20 Olympians, and just champions across many different sports. And so, we've seen what this can do and this was really the inspiration behind this. And so, I think this version here is version 9 of the device. And so, we've just tried fine-tuning it over the last— it's been 5 years really. And we just finished our first pilot study And so we've seen that 92% of people who try it within just within the first couple of weeks report improvements in their stress and anxiety, better sleep, better overall well-being, more focus. And this is kind of this calm, focused state. So you're, you're not jittery, but But, you know, this very calm focus we've seen, we've also seen how your theta and alpha waves increase. And we've also seen HRV improve over that period as well.

That's amazing. And the fact is, like theta, I personally try to get into that state and it takes me a long time to get into that state through meditation. And it's a great state to be in in terms of creativity and flow. But the thought of having a wearable that could help me get there. Like, I mean, if I can get there faster, I'm all about it.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Exactly. And that's— I think that's the, um, one of the, one of the pushbacks I get from, from folks sometimes is, hey, is this something— this is an external tool, shouldn't I be kind of able to generate this, this effect myself? And is this another device that I need to, to wear? What I think about in that case is, I mean, yes, most of us ideally, we would not need this. We just sit down, close our eyes and get into that state immediately. Unfortunately, for most of us, that's not so easy, right? And, somebody else asked me the other day, he's like, "Well, if this is something I need to wear all the time, I mean, is this a good thing? Am I going to be addicted to another another thing. And to this, my, my main point is there are kind of good addictions and there are bad addictions. So we do want to be addicted to brushing our teeth.

Yeah.

And so this is, this is one of those things. I mean, if we lived in the forest with no distractions, no devices, no kind of annoying people around us, we wouldn't need this. We would be fine. But because we are constantly being surrounded and bombarded with this stimulation, From the outside, we do need something to help. We don't need it, but it really helps. And so, we've seen how people who are very sensitive, they put it on and they right away feel it, that they feel kind of this state, different states. Some people report kind of a feeling of kind of a tingling sensation up and down their spine. Kind of this feeling of groundedness and alignment and this calm focus and this calm energy that they, they report. Other people like myself, frankly, I'm not that sensitive. I don't actually notice. I don't feel it right away, but I do notice the results over time. And when we look at the metrics over time, they, they improve as well.

Amazing. And so for the person that has the Oura Ring, the Garmin, the Whoop, What are some of the metrics that they might start to look at over, say, a 6 to 12 week period? The HRV would be one potentially.

HRV is the main one. We've seen people have reported cortisol. I think cortisol is something that Oura tracks as well, right? Yes. But HRV is the primary, so primary metrics and cortisol goes down. Wow.

Those are great things in terms of stress management.

Yeah, exactly.

It's interesting, I'm very sensitive to things. So like, for example, if I have half a cup of coffee, within about 2 hours, I feel like I'm going to be sick. I feel like I've got flu symptoms by the night. Like caffeine, can't touch it. Any medication, I feel it super quick. You know, pollen, etc. I'm very reactive. So I imagine with the one device, I I do imagine I'd probably feel it quite quickly, which is pretty cool.

Let's, let's try it.

Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. 100%.

Yeah.

And a lot of my clients who are professional athletes, I think they would like this for recovery.

Exactly. It's a, yeah, it's a great, great recovery tool. So that's the, that's the other metric that we, that we look at, which is obviously a combination of many different ones. But that's, that's probably the biggest overall tell of what the device can do.

Yeah, it's huge. And in terms of wearing it, so I've had different things, like I've had these headsets with a little thing that goes in your ear that stimulates the vagus nerve, etc. Where do we wear the One device?

So just wear it like a necklace on your neck. Yeah, we are. We're also about to roll out a bracelet for people who don't want a necklace. But there's a lot of benefit to actually having it on your central meridian for symmetry reasons. And so, one thing I'll also mention. So, by default, what the device does is it rotates between what's called Solfeggio frequencies. So, these are frequencies that have been studied for a while and have been shown to kind of bring you into a more balanced state, more calm, et cetera. And you can go on YouTube and listen to a lot of them. So we just kind of put them into this wearable package. But you can also fine-tune it. You can pick a specific frequency that you can play. And so we just did an event where everybody, 60 people who are wearing it, and everybody tuned to one frequency. In this case, it was 528 Hz, which is the frequency of It's called the Miracle Tone or the frequency of love. And so during the event, everybody's wearing the same thing and it really kind of helps everybody kind of be a part of this moment together.

Amazing. And people are not going to hear these frequencies. They're not audible, right? It's just like it's more so above our ability to hear. Was that— is that right?

No. So it's actually— it's in the audible range, but So, you can hear it like this, I hear it. Like this, I can kind of still hear it. And, like this, I already don't hear it. So, it's very quiet. Wow. Yeah. So, it's not annoying when you're listening, when you're wearing it. But, there have been studies done on this recently. So, there are sensors on your body, on your skin that actually do perceive sound as well as light.

That's incredible. And I guess if you're wearing it over clothing, which you are right now, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be on your bare skin.

No, not at all. I mean, the sound travels through clothes and actually light as well, as long as it's not like a thick, thick jacket.

Yes, that's quite incredible. I love it. And for you, in terms of this company, like, you could have done so many other things. You decided to go all in on this. What's your ultimate mission? What's the thing that you're trying to make a dent in the world with?

No, my mission is to help as many people as possible resonate in— or, I mean, vibrate in resonance with our higher self. So help as many people as possible vibrate in resonance with their higher self. And you can define higher self, which I'll leave that open to interpretation. So it can be your kind of best version of yourself or something bigger than yourself that you believe in. And I think that you can call it God, you can call it source. And in my, in my mind and in my experience, this is the most helpful, the most important thing that we can do, because when we are in resonance with that thing, everything just flows much easier. You're healthier, diseases don't have space to materialize. Everything in your life works faster, more in flow, more synchronicity. And one of the— by the way, as a side note, one of the things that people begin reporting is people who have been wearing it for longer, for weeks to months, start to see synchronicities around them. Increase. And so the way it seems to be working is first your kind of your inner state, your mental, physical, emotional state comes into, comes into flow and then your external world as well. And that's, that's pretty powerful.

That's incredible. I love that. And in terms of your own commitment, obviously you've got the device, which helps a lot, but then I imagine you're pretty committed in terms of your habits. So if I was to spend a day with Dmitry, what does a day in the life of Dmitry look like in terms of wake up and routine Sure.

I— it usually starts with meditation and I have my own personal, personal meditation that I've come up with. Then water, a glass of water with apple cider vinegar. That's, that's something pretty good for detox for the, for the liver. Oh, so many things. For liver, I also have a bit of a sweet tooth, so that helps with glucose management and so on. And then I don't exercise every day, but 3 times a week. So that's every other day. Yeah. And I make sure to spend some time outside depending on where I am. But that's, that's pretty important. Catch the the sun early, as early as you can. And I actually, I do like, if I have musical instruments around me, I make sure to play some music. I've been doing it my whole life. And with, I mean, then it's work, work, work for a few hours, for quite a few hours actually. And I think the most, the most kind of routine thing that I try to do— and this is part of the meditation, but also throughout the day— is that conversation. I call it the conversation with my higher self. So it's— and I will leave that open to interpretation, but making sure I'm listening to myself and and whatever else is— whoever else happens to advise me at the moment and make sure that I'm tuned in. That's the— I guess I would leave it there.

That's amazing. And are you a reader or a podcaster?

I'm not a religious podcaster. I actually don't listen to as many as I probably should. But I, I do, I do like to read and listen to audiobooks as well. So I love it. And a listener.

Good man. So for the listener that's listening right now going, what have you listened to that's really impacted you? What are 2 or 3 books that you would really recommend for someone to read?

The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida. I think especially for, for men, that's an absolute must-read, but also for women who'd like to understand how men think.

That's interesting. I've never heard of it, and I will— I'll be ordering it tonight.

Oh my God, it will change your life. It's, uh, it's basically a really short chapter, very short chapters, like 1 or 2 pages each, on different ideas that men kind of need to understand on how to deal with the world, how to deal with women as well. That's the— so the first part is how to deal with the world, and then equally as big of a part, at least as long, is how to deal with women.

Fascinating. I'll be ordering it.

Yeah.

What else?

The other one I will recommend is The Theory of Everything by— and there are several books called The Theory of Everything, but this one is by Jed McKenna. Okay. And Jed McKenna is actually a pseudonym. Nobody, nobody really knows who this person is. But this book is wonderful because it is— it's kind of like a guide, another guide to life. And very, very simply, what it did is it took all of the sacred texts from all over the world and essentially replace the word God with the word consciousness and explain how when you do that, everything makes sense all of a sudden, like it becomes scientific and very, very common sense as opposed to religious and, you know, esoteric.

I can resonate more with that for sure. That makes a lot of sense. I'll buy both those books. I've read neither, so I'm a big, big avid reader. So thank you for the suggestions.

Very excited for it.

So, Dmitry, meditation. I want to go back just a little second. I've been meditating for 7+ years. I love it. But you said you've made up your own one. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you've done there? Because I'd love to maybe do the same for myself. Sure.

So I was really inspired by Vishen Lakhiani's 6 Phase Meditation, Vishen from Mindvalley. And it— I first started doing that a few years ago. And then kind of made some of my own modifications to it. But it starts with gratitude, forgiveness, some visualization and so on. So I just kind of added a few of my own things to make it more personalized.

That's beautiful. And do you record it? It's a recording you listen to of yourself?

You know, so I did record this of myself, but now I just, I already know it, so I don't have to. But it's actually, it's a really good idea to record any meditation of yourself and then play it back to you, there's something that happens neurologically that's been shown to have a lot of benefits.

Yeah, it makes sense. When I was drumming and competing in the world championship, I would often record affirmations and incantations for myself in my own voice to get myself prepped and primed. And honestly, it made a massive difference.

Nice. Oh, yes.

Simple things done well, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, Dmitry, I'm so glad that we had a chance to connect, and I'm going to make sure that everyone that's listening, they go to the show notes and they go and check out the One Device. I'll put your website and your socials, and what you've shared with me has got me really curious, so I want to give it a try. And certainly I'll share it with all of my audience members and clients. So I deeply appreciate the effort that you've put into getting it up to this level.

Thank you so much. Wonderful.

No, it's a pleasure.