Heart Focus

One of the techniques I share with my students comes from the research of The Institute of HeartMath.

In my last posting I spoke of the connection between the brain, the heart and the gut. HeartMath specializes in understanding and exploiting the connection between the brain and the heart to improve mental health.

Their research speaks of the value of balancing the activity of the brain with that of the heart, a phenomenon known as 'coherence'. Low coherence is the state when people are least likely to make good decisions under duress, and high coherence - or 'The Zone' - is the place where an individual is in a better position to perform well in spite of stressful conditions.

The result of frequent coherence training is resilience to stress. After all, you can't eliminate stress, but you can strengthen your ability to handle it through increased resilience.

HeartMath has developed a line of biofeedback products designed to teach people how to achieve and maintain high coherence states by measuring and displaying heart rate variability. Many of their products are designed to help kids do better in school by teaching them what high coherence feels like, and include games and graphic displays.

I purchased one of HeartMath's PC-based biofeedback units - the emWave - and have found it is useful for showing people how simple it is to achieve high coherence. However, as much as I respect and value their work, you don't need to purchase anything from them to do this. All you need to do is close your eyes, place one hand on your chest in the area of the heart and focus on positive thoughts.

Last year, while I was using the emWave with a client during a stress management training session, I witnessed first-hand how quickly one can move into high coherence. I hooked him up to the emWave, and the graph immediately showed him to be in low coherence. When he put his hand on his heart, he immediately achieved a high coherence reading and was able to maintain that state through positive focus.

So, if none of the more conventional meditation/mindfulness methods appeal to you, all you have to do is close your eyes, put your hand on your heart and think about whatever makes you feel good. Start with 5 minutes at a time, once or twice a day and increase it to 20 at your own pace.