Performance Psychology · HRV Biofeedback · New York City
Elite performance
isn't a mindset.
It's a measurable physiological state.
Dr. Lagos brings 20+ years of experience at the intersection of health, human performance science, and elite achievement. Her methodology bridges clinical expertise with the demands of high-performance environments, building measurable outcomes that hold under pressure. She is recognized for her work with some of the world’s most accomplished individuals, from Fortune 500 executives and institutional investors to Olympic athletes, PGA professionals, NFL coaches, and Hollywood talent.
Speaking & Events
The Approach
Your nervous system
performance
is measurable.
"HRV is not a wellness metric — it is a performance metric. It reveals whether your nervous system is prepared to meet the moment, make the right decisions, and sustain your best self when it matters most."
Heart Rate Variability biofeedback is the most rigorously studied, empirically validated method for training autonomic nervous system function. It is not meditation. It is not relaxation. It is precision neuroscience applied to the demands of elite performance.
Dr. Lagos's proprietary HRV biofeedback methodology translates raw HRV data into actionable performance intelligence — giving clients real-time insight into prefrontal cortex availability, decision-making capacity, and stress resilience at any given moment.
The result is not a calmer version of you. It is a more capable, consistently high-performing version of you — under the exact conditions that previously cost you.
The science: Decades of research converge on a single insight — increasing vagal control gives you the lever to perform at your highest level, precisely when the conditions are most demanding. The ability to regulate your physiology under pressure is not incidental to elite performance. It is the mechanism behind it.
Assess Your Baseline
A comprehensive physiological assessment establishes your HRV signature, autonomic flexibility range, and stress reactivity profile — creating a precise performance intelligence report that no other modality can produce.
Train Nervous System Capacity
Through structured HRV biofeedback protocols, you systematically expand the window of peak prefrontal cortex function — building the neural hardware that sustains high-quality decision-making under load.
Apply & Sustain Under Pressure
Protocols are embedded into real-world performance contexts — pre-trade, pre-competition, pre-meeting — ensuring performance transfers directly and durably to high-stakes environments.
Services
Precision training
for extraordinary
individuals.
01
Individual Performance Training
Global proivider to elite performers across finance, sports, professional artieis, corporate leaders, and startup founders. One-on-one HRV biofeedback and performance training delivered worldwide — in-person or remotely. Fully customized to your performance demands and profile. Structured as programs beginning with 12 sessions.
Request ConsultationWhat to Expect
Comprehensive HRV baseline assessment and performance intelligence report
Personalized protocol designed around your specific performance context
12+ structured sessions with real-time data
Field integration and ongoing recalibration support
Available in-person at 505 Park Avenue or via secure remote session
02
Corporate & Institutional Programs
Performance psychology at the organizational level. Dr. Lagos partners with leading financial institutions, corporations, and high-performance teams to design and deliver evidence-based wellness and performance programs tailored to the demands of elite professional environments. Engagements are structured around measurable outcomes — from stress resilience and decision-making under pressure to sustained cognitive performance and leadership effectiveness.
Request ProposalIndustries Served
Finance & Trading — hedge funds, prop desks, institutional investors
Professional Sports — team programs, front office, coaching staff
Executive Leadership — Fortune 500, C-suite, board level
Government & Intelligence — senior leadership, special operations
03
Talent Assessment
Rigorous psychometric and behavioral evaluation for organizations where selection decisions carry significant consequence. Dr. Lagos designs and administers bespoke assessment programs for candidate screening, portfolio manager evaluation, senior hire selection, and early talent identification — integrating validated instruments, structured interview frameworks, and longitudinal performance tracking to support high-stakes hiring with scientific precision.
InquireAssessment Contexts
NFL Draft Combine — performance assessment for draft prospects
Trading desk candidate evaluation and graduate assessment programs
Executive hire assessment for high-consequence leadership roles
Athlete performance profiling ahead of high-stakes competition
04
Speaking & Keynote
Dr. Lagos brings the science of optimal performance to the stage. Drawing on her clinical practice, research, and work with elite populations, she delivers keynote addresses and presentations for corporate audiences, financial institutions, and professional conferences — translating complex psychophysiological science into immediately actionable insight for high-performing individuals and the organizations that support them.
Speaking InquiryPast Venues
Leading financial institutions — resilience and performance under pressure
Leading law firms, make Sun Valley Conference it's own cateogry, remove Flow Research and add Cornell University Medical Center - HRV biofeedback healing after surgery
NYU Langone Medical Center — HRV for stress and cardiovascular health
Google — cultivating resilience through heart and mind
Flow Research Collective, Sun Valley Wellness, Biofeedback Foundation of Europe
05
Elite Performers
Trusted by professional and Olympic-level athletes across individual and team sports. One-on-one performance psychology and HRV biofeedback training - delivered in person or remotely — designed around the specific demands of competition, recovery, and the mental edge that separates good from elite. Fully customized to the athlete's sport, season, and performance profile. Structured as programs beginning with 12 sessions.
InquireWho I Work With
Performance is universal.
The stakes are not.
Dr. Lagos's clients share one thing: their ability to perform consistently carry extraordinary consequences. The demands of operating at that level are real, measurable, and trainable.
Finance & Trading
Hedge fund managers, proprietary traders, and institutional investors operating at the highest levels of risk and capital deployment.
Global Macro · Credit · Alternative Assets
Executive Leadership
Fortune 500 CEOs, C-suite executives, board directors, and founders whose decisions carry organizational and reputational consequence.
Fortune 500 · Tech · Healthcare
Elite Athletes
PGA Tour players, NBA coaches, NFL prospects, and Olympians for whom fractions of a second and decisive moments determine outcomes.
PGA Tour · NBA · NFL Draft · Olympics
Government & Intelligence
Senior government officials, intelligence leadership, and special operations personnel whose decisions carry national and geopolitical consequence.
Intelligence Community · Senior Officials
A note on fit
This practice
is not for everyone.
By design.
Dr. Lagos's practice is built around a specific type of client and a specific type of need. Knowing whether this is right for you before reaching out saves everyone's time — and signals whether you are the kind of person this work is designed for.
This is not the right practice if you are seeking:
Traditional psychotherapy, talk therapy, or mental health treatment
General stress management, wellness coaching, or mindfulness instruction
A quick fix or a single-session solution
Reassurance rather than data
This is the right practice if:
Your decisions carry consequence — financial, competitive, organizational, or geopolitical
You want measurable data on your nervous system, not general advice about breathing
You have already done the psychological work and want to go further — into the physiology
You are willing to commit to personalize protocol, specific to your direct needs and to do the daily practice to acheive those goals within a time oriented period
You understand that the gap between where you perform and where you could perform is, at least in part, physiological
About Dr. Lagos
Twenty Two years
at the intersection
of physiology & performance.
Dr. Leah Lagos is not a therapist in the traditional sense. She is a performance scientist who uses the body's own physiological data to build measurable, durable capacity for high-stakes decision-making. Her clinical training in health psychology, combined with board certification in biofeedback and nearly two decades of applied work with elite performers, places her at a unique intersection that most practitioners cannot access — and none can replicate.
"I am not in the business of helping people feel better. I am in the business of helping them perform better — under the exact conditions that previously cost them."
Her clients include institutional traders globally PGA Tour players, NBA coaching staffs, NFL draft prospects, and senior leaders across intelligence, finance, and government. She has delivered keynotes at leading financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR. She is represented for speaking by All American Speakers Bureau.
Dr. Lagos is currently developing advanced program — a performance intelligence platform that scales this methodology to institutional clients and elite performers worldwide.
Request to Work With Dr. LagosSpeaking & Events
What to Expect
A program built
around your physiology,
not a template.
Every engagement begins with data, not assumptions. Dr. Lagos does not offer generic protocols. She designs each program from your performance baseline — your actual performance baseline at the moment you begin — and builds from there with precision and purpose.
Intake & Assessment
A thorough intake call followed by comprehensive HRV baseline assessment. We establish your current performance, identify performance vulnerabilities, and define measurable goals.
Protocol Design
Dr. Lagos designs a personalized HRV biofeedback training protocol calibrated to your performance context — whether trading desk, competition, boardroom, or field.
Active Training
Structured biofeedback sessions — typically 8 to 20, depending on scope — with real-time physiological data and iterative refinement. Progress is measurable at every stage.
Field Integration
Protocols are embedded into your real-world performance environment. Dr. Lagos provides ongoing support and recalibration to ensure performance gains transfer and hold under pressure.
Ready to understand your performance?
Inquiries are reviewed personally. Please include your professional context and goals.
Research & Publications
The evidence
is peer-reviewed.
Dr. Lagos is not only a practitioner — she is a published researcher. Her work has appeared in the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) journal and has been cited in the clinical literature on HRV biofeedback, concussion recovery, and sport performance.
Mapping of Expertise in Biology
HRV as a biomarker of expertise — not remuneration
Landmark research on 28 executives found HRV correlates with experience and decision quality during periods of high stress. Critically, it showed no significant correlation with pay — establishing physiology as a superior talent signal.
Fenton-O'Creevy et al. (2012) · Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics
Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
Higher HRV = better decisions under risk and uncertainty
A systematic review of 15 studies comprising 1,051 healthy participants found consistent association between higher vagally mediated HRV and decision-making performance — not just at rest, but during the decision task itself.
Forte et al. (2022) · Applied Cognitive Psychology
Dr. Lagos's Research
15-shot improvement after 10 HRV biofeedback sessions
A peer-reviewed case study by Lagos et al. documented a competitive golfer achieving a personal record score following a 10-session HRV protocol — with a mean score 15 shots lower than the previous season.
Lagos et al. (2008) · Biofeedback Magazine, AAPB
Selected Publications
Conversations
In conversation
with the world's
elite performers.
Dr. Lagos has been featured in conversations with some of the most recognized names in sports, science, and performance. These are not general wellness discussions — they are technical examinations of how physiology shapes performance at the highest level.
Books
Heart Breath Mind
"Required reading for anyone who needs to perform under pressure. Dr. Lagos translates complex neuroscience into a protocol that actually works — and the results are measurable."
Senior Trader · Global Hedge FundThe definitive guide to HRV biofeedback for high-performance individuals. Written for people who want the science, not the self-help. Translates nearly two decades of clinical work with elite performers into a structured, evidence-based protocol for measurably expanding performance under pressure.
Invincible
UK Edition · Orion / Hachette · 2020
The UK and international edition of Heart Breath Mind, published by Orion Books (Hachette UK). Invincible brings Dr. Lagos's programme to readers across the UK, Europe, and beyond.
Results
The evidence
is measurable.
"Dr. Lagos is an extraordinary being. I've never known a greater empath. The vast majority of elite mental performers I've observed in her HRV biofeedback training have described the experience as life-changing — and I've been blown away by the immense performance benefits."
Josh Waitzkin
Author of The Art of Learning · 8× US National Chess Champion · 2× Tai Chi World Champion
I learned to let go and can now shift my stress level, at will, using the tools that Dr. Lagos taught me. The work I've done with her has changed my life — not only on stage but also off it. I find myself expanding and pushing into new territories.
Katherine Crockett
Principal Ballerina · Martha Graham Dance Company
Dr. Lagos was there for me and my team from day one. She took the time to understand my needs as a coach as well as the challenges facing our players. She is not only a good listener - she is a problem solver who helped create real solutions
Lela Cannon
Head Coach, Women's Golf · University of Miami · Head Coach, US–Japan All Star Team
After working with Dr. Lagos, my team's performance variance dropped significantly in high-pressure game situations. The data supported what we felt: we were better prepared at a physiological level than we had ever been.
NBA Head Coach
NBA Franchise
I can summon the resonance breathing at times of stress — particularly at work when I need to make a critical decision. I feel my body settle and my thinking get sharper and clearer. That is incredibly important in high-stress situations where I need to make important decisions quickly.
Dr. Eliza Harrington Myers, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics · Yale School of Medicine
Medical Director, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital NICU
B.A. Harvard · M.D. Yale
Media & Press
As featured in
The New York
Times
The Wall Street
Journal
Forbes
NPR
Heart Breath
Mind
The Today
Show
NBC
Universal
National
Geographic
Goop
Flow Research
Collective
One of a small number of clinicians who has brought rigorous measurement to the intersection of neuroscience and elite performance.The New York Times — Business Section, March 2026
Evidence
What the Data Looks Like
CASE STUDY — ELITE DECISION-MAKER
A Global CEO Before a Consequential Year
A CEO of a multinational firm came to Dr. Lagos the quarter before a major acquisition close — a period their board described as the highest-stakes 12 months in the company's history. Despite decades of high-level leadership, they were experiencing shortened decision windows, elevated irritability in the negotiating room, and a pattern of poor sleep in the weeks surrounding board meetings.
Baseline assessment revealed a compressed autonomic recovery window — the gap between peak activation and restored readiness had narrowed significantly over the prior 18 months. The nervous system was performing at a cost it could not sustain.
The program did not target stress reduction. It rebuilt the performance infrastructure: the capacity to generate full engagement, clear under pressure, and reset before the next escalation — on demand, without pharmacological support.
By the time the acquisition closed, the CEO described their clarity in high-stakes negotiation as markedly improved. The change was not psychological. It was structural. Measured. Durable.
Case details anonymized. Outcomes based on objective physiological measurement and verified self-report. Results vary by individual.
Before You Reach Out
Frequently asked
questions.
Existing Clients
Your client
portal is ready.
Access your appointments, intake forms, invoices, and secure communications through Dr. Lagos's private client portal — powered by Jane. Available 24/7 from any device.
If you are a new client and have received an intake invitation by email, you can complete your forms and book your first session through the same portal.
Secure Client Portal
Dr. Leah Lagos
505 Park Avenue, Suite 1904 · New York, NY
New clients receive a portal invitation by email following their initial consultation. To inquire about becoming a client, use the contact form below.
New Clients
Begin with
physiological clarity.
Dr. Lagos maintains a practice of fewer than 30 active individual clients at any time. This is by design — not a scheduling constraint, but a commitment to the depth of engagement each client receives. All inquiries are reviewed personally. Please provide your professional context and performance goals so that she can respond meaningfully.
New York, NY 10022
By appointment only
Existing Clients
Your client
portal.
Book & Manage Appointments
Schedule sessions, view upcoming appointments, and manage your calendar directly through the portal.
Intake Forms & Documents
Complete intake paperwork, review session notes, and access documents shared by Dr. Lagos securely.
Billing & Invoices
View invoices, update payment information, and access billing history at any time.
HIPAA-Secure Platform
All data is encrypted and managed through Jane, a fully HIPAA-compliant practice management platform.
Access Your Portal
Log in to manage your appointments, complete intake forms, and access your billing information securely through Jane — Dr. Lagos's HIPAA-compliant practice management platform.
Log In to Client Portal → Book a New AppointmentFirst time? You will receive login credentials from the office prior to your first session. If you have not received them, please contact the office.
Quarterly Insights
Performance science
for elite decision-makers.
Quarterly. Science Based.
A brief quarterly note — emerging research, observations from the field, and insights on the physiology of high-stakes performance. Written for people who prefer signal over volume.
Sent quarterly at most. No marketing. Unsubscribe anytime.