Your heart is an amazing organ, capable of pumping approximately 7000 liters of blood through your body every day. But did you know that your heart is much more than an efficient pump? Did you know that your heart has its own “little brain”? The advanced science of neurocardiology has proven that signals from this “little brain” greatly impact function of your “big brain”, affecting emotional processing and cognitive ability. Furthermore, your emotional state directly influences the signal your heart transmits!

Your heart does not simply beat at a steady rhythm, there are minute changes in the interval between each beat of your heart, called heart rate variability (HRV). This variability is controlled by your autonomic, or “automatic” nervous system (ANS), the part of your nervous system that regulates function of much of the internal body. HRV is an accurate indicator for the short and long term impact of stress, the quality one’s of sleep, vitality, adaptability and resilience. With high HRV, your entire system can become more resilient and balanced, a state called “coherence”.

With HeartMath®, you can become acquainted with the power and wisdom of your heart, learn to change your HRV and increase coherence. Using advanced biofeedback technology called Emwave®, a trained HeartMath® provider collects data about your heart’s patterns of activity and demonstrates how different emotional states impact these patterns. For example if you feel stressed, angry or anxious, your heart sends disordered, chaotic signals to your big brain which limit your ability to think and communicate clearly. However, if you feel an emotion such as appreciation or love, your heart sends rhythmic, ordered signals to your big brain which facilitate clear thinking and communication. You can view these internal patterns in real-time with HeartMath® – more importantly you can learn how to change these patterns to reach a state of sustained coherence in your system.

Learning the techniques of HeartMath® does not require experience in meditation, prayer or relaxation techniques. They are meant to be used as a daily practice, or when facing stressful or potentially stressful life events. Utilizing the techniques during stressful events helps decrease the physiological impact of the stressor, and daily practice helps to strengthen the system in preparation for future stressors.

People who regularly practice HeartMath notice:

• A greater sense of vitality
• Improved stress management
• A clearer mind
• Better sleep
• Improved performance in sport and live performance
• Improved communication skills