About HeartMath – Methodology
"I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives
life its deepest significance."
—Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist and conductor – 1876-1973
Heart-Based Living
When all of our intentions and actions in daily life originate from the intuitive wisdom of our hearts, when we feel and act with sincere appreciation, caring and kindness for others – all qualities of the heart – and when we can observe the world around us without the preset judgments of the mind, but rather with the compassion in our hearts, then we will truly be living life from the heart.
Listen to Your Heart Speak
There are many times in our lives when we feel compelled to help,
care for or show kindness toward others. These are important opportunities,
when the "noise" of the mind has quieted enough for us
to hear and feel the heart speaking and attempting to guide us – as
it always does, though we don’t always know it or acknowledge
it. Many individuals are resistant at these times, their minds
convincing them they don’t have the time and can’t
afford to get sidetracked – from their jobs, the race to
stay ahead of the pack and, increasingly, all-too-consuming ambition.
These individuals miss out not only on these important opportunities
to reconnect with their hearts, but also on the restorative mental,
emotional, physical and spiritual benefits of heart-based living.
Moreover, they miss yet another chance to begin establishing new
habit patterns, so when the next opportunity or urge to act from
the heart arises they can build on it and continue building on
it until one day heart-based living becomes their natural way of
life.
As we finally release the judgmental and self-centered habits of
the mind and begin to sincerely appreciate, care for and love other
people, a shift occurs in how we exist with one another, a shift
toward the only possible state for those who practice heart-based
living: a state of peace and adventure.
The Brain is Connected to the Heart
Those occasions when you’ve felt or said to yourself, My heart
says to …" and you listened to your heart or said, No,
I’d better not," are occasions when your heart and brain
were interacting. This interaction is very normal and very natural,
but unless you maintain a sincere, ongoing connection with your intuitive
heart feelings, this natural heart-brain interaction can become weakened,
even blocked. If the wisdom and compassion of the heart is not actively
employed when anger, anxiety and other destructive emotions arise,
as they naturally will, such responses to what comes up" in
our lives can become engrained patterns in the mind, which, when
push comes to shove in the hectic pace and stressful environment
of today’s world, can go into a sort of autopilot mode, offering
up to us all those stored destructive responses as we go about our
daily lives.
When these emotional responses become the norm, stress levels build.
Researchers at HeartMath and elsewhere who have observed anger or
hostility rise in people during controlled studies have measured
increases in their levels of cortisol, often referred to as the mother
of all stress hormones. These high stress levels cause us to feel
less energetic, even drained; many people’s immune systems
suffer; and we can be much more susceptible to a host of serious illnesses, including
heart problems, diabetes, overweight and more.
Improve Your Health, Improve Your World
Researchers with the Institute of HeartMath also have observed
in scientifically controlled studies that we can greatly reduce
stress levels and improve our health through intentional emotional
management and practicing the simple principles and methods of
heart-based living. HeartMath has spent many years developing the
tools, techniques and technology to help you practice using your
mind to sort out your heart’s intuitive feelings and wisdom
from the mind’s noise and auto responses to life’s
challenges.
Heart-based living helps you learn to live in the now, bringing
more of your real self into each moment," Doc Childre wrote
in the article, Heart-Based Living. Becoming more of who you really
are releases inner security, allowing you to relate to life with
increased hope and confidence. Increased fulfillment is the result
of this process.
Heart-based living empowers co-creation with others for the benefit
of all. In the planetary shift going on, more people living from
the heart can create rapid, positive global change. Go to Solutions for Stress.
Personal Coherence
One of IHM’s key areas of research has been "heart-rhythm
coherence," described in simple terms as smooth, balanced heart-rhythm
patterns, which can be measured and viewed by various types of monitors.
Stress, anger, fear, compulsive behaviors and other negative states all are signs
of incoherent heart-rhythm patterns and are represented on heart-rhythm monitors
by jagged, irregular waves. Fatigue is common among people with such symptoms.
Sickness and disease, including numerous heart problems, diabetes, overweight
and obesity among other ailments are more likely among people with incoherent
heart-rhythms.
In contrast, when you have a coherent heart you are at your best. Stress chemical
pathways reverse, paving the way for increased synchronization between the heart
and brain, and in this synchronized state, which athletes call being "in
the zone," you can achieve optimal mental clarity, cognitive performance
and perception. Energy levels, sleeping patterns, relationships and so much more,
including your mental, physical and emotional health, all improve. Go to Heart Rhythm Coherence.
Global Coherence
A discovery suggesting we can achieve coherence on a much grander scale is the finding that the heart has a powerful electromagnetic field and its own complex nervous system and circuitry that generate up to an estimated 60 times the electrical amplitude of the brain. Scientists actually have measured the electromagnetic signal people’s heart rhythms produce in the brain waves of those around us and many researchers now conclude that the heart has its own organized intelligence network. They say this intelligence network is capable of acting independently, learning, remembering and producing feelings, all of which we traditionally have believed only the brain could do.IHM and internationally renowned astrophysicist and nuclear scientist Elizabeth Rauscher formed a partnership in June 2007 to build the Global Coherence Monitoring System (GCMS), a worldwide network of sensing stations, to measure and explore fluctuations in the magnetic fields generated by the earth and ionosphere.
The Institute of HeartMath’s applied and practical science and wide-ranging studies serve to validate the sincere belief of the dedicated people at IHM that global coherence – the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the greater community of human beings, while acting in concert with their own hearts, each other and nation to nation in harmony with our living planet – can conceive and achieve a noble purpose. Go to From Personal to Global Coherence.
About HeartMath – Methodology
HeartMath Scandinavias's concept of stress management, increased performance and enhanced health, is suited to be combined with various types of professional coaching and therapy techniques. There are also programs that offer assistance to Self-Help.
The basic approach of HeartMath is to inspire our customers to focus on what they have influence on. Thoughts, feelings and their own behavior is one example of this. Especially emotional states have a major impact on our ability to perform and feel good. Most people underestimate their ability to shift their emotional state, which also affects their ability to reach full potential. By using cutting edge research in the area of psychophysiology (the study of how body and mind works together) The HeartMath system process both thoughts and feelings to create changes.
The methods are simple and designed to be used by both children and adults. The Institute of HeartMath developed emwave® aiding you to visualize the changes in the body that occurs when you change attitude or emotional state.
Heart-Brain communication is key foundation of our system. Recent research shows that the heart has a major impact on our ability to perform both physically but also cognitive.
