Published May 20, 2014 | By
Corrie
According to Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, the heart has a key role in our well-being, he states in his book “Your Brain as Medicine. The heart, when it comes to illness, health and emotions, is more powerful than the brain. Simply because talking endlessly does not reach the part of our brain where our fears, tensions and traumas are stored.
Heartmath Institute
Learn to awaken your heart and then apply the heart coherence technique. Let your heart find its own inner rhythm, and it sheds armor against its greatest enemy: stress!!!
The Heartmath Institute in California has been concerned for decades with how the heart communicates and influences perception, our emotions and health.
The institute dedicates itself to the study and application possibilities of cardiac coherence.
Autonomic peripheral nervous system
The strongest connection between the heart and the emotional brain is through the so-called autonomic peripheral nervous system. This nervous system consists of two subsystems: the sympathetic nervous system (accelerates the heart rate and activates the emotional brain) and the parasympathetic system (which actually slows the heart rate and the emotional brain). The two systems are always in balance, constantly working to speed up or slow down the heart. Therefore, the interval between two consecutive heartbeats is never the same.
If the emotional brain gets upset, the heart gets exhausted. And this affects our blood pressure, immune system, aging process. But it also works the other way around: a calm, coherent heartbeat – one that is consistent with your behavior – signals to the emotional brain that physiologically everything is fine, and its response to that message is to strengthen heart coherence.
A coherent heart rate is healthier: this is the regular alternation of acceleration and deceleration of the heart rhythm. It is a state in which we have a grip on the outside world, a harmonious confrontation.
A chaotic heart rhythm causes restlessness, insomnia and (consequently) fatigue.
Experiencing Heart Coherence
It’s about learning to experience heart coherence. How do you do that?
As in the tradition of yoga, meditation and all relaxation techniques, the first step of the exercise consists of turning your attention inward.
Step 1)
- Take your time, rest and space. Direct your attention inward. Take two slow, deep breaths. Focus on your breath flow when you exhale completely. Pause for a few seconds, the inhalation will follow naturally. Allow yourself to be carried along by the breath until it naturally transitions into a soft and light sense of balance. After 10/15 seconds, focus your attention on your heart area.
Step 2)
- Imagine breathing through your heart. Keep breathing slowly and deeply; don’t force anything. Get your heart flowing with fresh, purifying oxygen.
Step 3)
- Connect with the feeling of warmth or space that rises in your chest. Go into it with your thoughts and your breathing. It may help if you evoke a feeling of gratitude or love. If you notice a smile emerging with this exercise, then you are on the right track.
By going through the steps, you can achieve great heart coherence over an extended period of time that will have a beneficial effect on your well-being and help you better manage stressful situations. Coherence brings about an inner peace, but it is not a relaxation technique. You can achieve coherence in all situations of life.
