Page 15 – HeartMath

The Power of Emotions

Posted on October 5, 2015 | by HeartMath

An important first step is to become more aware of how you feel. Many people go through the whole day registering emotions only on a surface level, unaware of the emotional undercurrents affecting their thoughts and perceptions.

In order to gain new insight about your emotions you need to become more aware of what’s going on in your feeling world. This isn’t hard to do, but does require slowing down from time-to-time and taking stock.

You’ll discover new things about your emotional patterns and what triggers less desirable emotions in you. This new emotional self-awareness provides the foundation for learning what needs to be shifted.

To help with this try the Notice and Ease™ tool.

Notice and Ease is the basic tool for identifying and neutralizing unwanted emotions. You can learn to release a lot of disturbed feelings and stop their energy drain by doing the following simple steps:

The Notice and Ease Tool:

1: Notice and admit what you are feeling.

In the first step, to simply notice and admit what you are feeling requires slowing down and taking stock.

2: Try to name the feeling.

In the second, try to name the feeling—like anxious, depressed, frustrated, a vague discomfort, and so on. Just naming the feeling to yourself helps you to admit what you are feeling.

3: Tell yourself to e-a-s-e as you gently focus in your heart, relax as you breathe, and e-a-s-e the stress out.

Lastly, as you tell yourself to ease in your heart, relax and ease the stressful emotion out, just feel as if the unwanted emotion is leaving your system. Don’t force it out; just ease it out.

Use Notice and Ease when you find yourself feeling tense, edgy, overwhelmed, worried, or any undesirable emotion. As you become able to manage your emotions, it will give you much greater power to achieve goals while increasing enjoyment and fulfillment in your life.

6 Tips to Inspire a Change of Heart

Posted on September 29, 2015 | by HeartMath

Ask yourself, “What makes my heart come alive?”

What in your work inspires you, and what has become dry and stale? What in your relationships inspires you, and what has grown stagnant or contentious? What in your personal life gives you great fulfillment, and what has become routine?

By reflecting on these questions, you’ll give yourself a jump-start to a new level of inspiration, energy, vitality and purpose in your life.

Be open and excited to explore new things.

An attitude of willingness — openness to all that life brings — encourages qualities like curiosity, humility, flexibility, and receptivity. Dr. Brene Brown has said that “vulnerability [is] uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. To be human is to be in vulnerability.” We’re shown a way forward that we might never have come up with on our own. This is the inspirational power of willingness.

Be playful …. seriously.

Now that you’ve settled into adulthood and are doing all the right things for your career and family, remember not to lose the playfulness that made childhood carefree, adventure-filled and spontaneous. Playfulness brings flexibility and the ability to flow with life, instead of resisting, collapsing, or retreating. These qualities get even more important as the years go by.

Playfulness is the kinetic energy that ignites creativity and attracts more inspiration. When you remember not to take life too seriously, you avoid needless drama when a situation requires calm. Laughing at ourselves over our limitations and our humanness — these are hallmarks of playfulness.

Be yourself.

Why not let the example of others inspire you as you find your own way in life? The ability to be oneself, transparently and unashamedly, is one of the most important ingredients of an inspired life. Authenticity attracts the power to re-create ourselves in the face of crises and challenges. Being authentic empowers us to say what needs to be said, and do what needs to be done. Living authentically brings a refreshing breeze to stale relationships and worn-out attitudes, a new freedom to be who we really are.

Do something that inspires you every day.

Are you playing with your pets or your kids enough? Are you taking walks or hikes or bike rides in nature enough? Are you still reading poetry that inspires you? Do you make time for a great conversation with a close friend? If the answer is “no” to very many of these inspiration questions, your inspiration quotient is probably not nearly what it could be. You can change it!

Be appreciative for what you have in your life.

There’s so much beauty in life, in nature, why not go on a appreciation hunt? Seriously … make a list of everything in your life you’re grateful for. The people you love, the heroes you admire, particular places you love to visit, favorite activities, …. come on, this is getting fun! Creating an appreciation list has its own momentum that becomes irresistible.

Sure, your mind can come in with doubt and negativity. But the world can do that, so why bother?!

Awaken inspiration in your life every day and see what happens. See what new friends appear, what new opportunities, what new insights can turn a tough problem into a creative challenge. And then appreciate all your newfound wisdom and energy.

Top Tips for Better Sleep

Posted on September 23, 2015 | by HeartMath

Manage the Stress in Your Life

It’s very important to understand that what we do during the day affects how we sleep at night. When we allow overwhelm or stress to accumulate in our system during the day, it throws off our body’s natural rhythms. Practicing stress management techniques during the day and right before going to bed can help you get a better night’s sleep.

Steps for Quick Coherence Technique:

Step 1: Focus your attention in the area of the heart. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your heart or chest area, breathing a little slower and deeper than usual.

Suggestion: Inhale 5 seconds, exhale 5 seconds (or whatever rhythm is comfortable)

Step 2: Make a sincere attempt to experience a regenerative feeling such as appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.

Suggestion: Try to re-experience the feeling you have for someone you love, a pet, a special place, an accomplishment, etc. or focus on a feeling of calm or ease.

Consider Your Daily Activities

To clear the stress accumulations, take a walk outside in fresh air or do some other type of exercise during the day. These activities release endorphins and other uplifting hormones while recharging your energy.

Gradually reduce the amount of caffeine you drink during the day. Allow your body to reset its own regenerative rhythms so that you don’t depend on stimulants to keep you going. Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and flush out toxins from your system.

Replace Unwanted Emotions and Attitudes during the Day

Clearing emotional reactions, like irritation, worry, anxiety, judgments and blame as you go through the day, is important as they may be keeping you awake at night. When you notice that you have a stressful attitude use the following technique with the intention of creating and holding new attitudes like non-judgment, care, patience, appreciation or compassion.

If volunteering is a satisfying activity for you, find the appropriate outlet for yourself and schedule time to give to others. Consider your needs on mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical levels, and alternate with different activities to nurture all facets. For example, an athlete might combine physical exercise with volunteering by coaching a sports team, or anyone interested in learning skills she’s mastered. The following are examples of replacement attitudes:

Unwanted Feelings/Attitudes	Replacement Feelings/Attitudes
Anxiety	Breathe calm and balance.
Feeling Overwhelmed	Breathe ease and peace.
Sadness or depression	Breathe appreciation and non-judgment.
Guilt	Breathe compassion
Worry	Breathe care

Attitude Breathing^® — a HeartMath Emotional Management Technique

Step 1: Recognize an unwanted attitude: a feeling or attitude that you want to change. This could be things like worry, anxiety, frustration, anger, self-judgment, blame, guilt.

Step 2: Identify and breathe an attitude that would be a counter balance to the one you want to change. This is called a replacement attitude. Select a positive attitude, and then breathe the feeling of that new attitude slowly and casually through your heart area. Do this for a while to anchor the new replacement feeling.

Introduce Positive Pre-Sleep Habits

– Refrain from watching stimulating TV programs, playing video games or other similar activities at least an hour before bed. Instead watch quiet, soothing TV (nature programs), read inspirational material or engage in other calming activities.

– Simplify your to-do-lists to create less mental clutter. Cut out what you don’t have to do. A note pad to park those late night ideas may also be helpful.

– Limit the amount of liquid consumed before bed so you don’t have to wake up to go to the bathroom during the night

– Create a positive environment for sleep including a good mattress, quiet peaceful room, and think about removing that bright digital clock. Consider taking a warm bath and listening to soothing music before bed.

Eric’s Story of Sleeplessness and What he Did to Build his Resilience

Posted on September 21, 2015 | by HeartMath

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that the Heart Lock-In saved my marriage—and possibly my life,” says Eric, age 35. “A year ago, I started a new company. My wife and 2-year-old daughter and I were the perfect postcard family, complete with my wife’s belly-bump of our expected son. Then, shortly after our new little guy was born, the world pretty much blew up in my face.

We expected a month or two of sleepless nights, which we experienced when our daughter was born. But it was soon clear that this new baby was a whole different story. We started calling him ‘the sleepless wonder.’ We talked to the pediatrician and he told us that it’s more and more common for infants to sleep sporadically and very little.

By the time the baby was six months old my ‘perfect’ life was in tatters. My wife was exhausted, our now-3-year-old was acting out in jealous anger at her brother’s constant intrusion into her world, our once-tidy house was in shambles, and I had dark circles under my eyes that looked like I was back on the football field in college with shiners painted on to catch the sun. I had paced many miles around our living room, all night long, night after night, trying to soothe a crying, restless baby while my wife pleaded with me to let her sleep so she could face the next day. After a while, my body went through a change and I developed a new pattern—the inability to sleep even when I had the opportunity. My new business was floundering and I was too tired to know what to do about it. The stress was taking a toll.

Then a friend turned me on to the Heart Lock-In technique and showed me how to do it. She’s a HeartMath coach, and explained the physiological benefits and gave me a HeartMath music CD called Quiet Joy. When I did my first Heart Lock-In, I fell into what seemed like a coma, that’s how deeply I conked out. She explained that that was natural at first, given my state of fatigue, but that I would soon be more in control.

I tried it some more and within a week, I had a whole new routine for my once sleepless nights. I would take the baby, kiss my wife and daughter goodnight as they settled in for their evening cuddle time together, and go out to the living room. I’d put Quiet Joy on endless loop, and settle my son close to me while I did evening chores and wind-down activities. Then, I’d get both of us ready for bed and lay back with him in my recliner, baby boy on my chest, secure in a sling. I would do a deep Heart Lock-In, radiating love and appreciation for my family—my wife, daughter, and son—and he and I would both drift off.

He’d wake up a time or two in the night, needing a bottle or change. But I wasn’t a sleepwalking zombie anymore. The Heart Lock-In helped me gain an entirely new approach to sleeplessness, and in fact, to life. I’m not kidding—it changed everything for me. My wife and daughter are regaining their balance and I have hope that things will level out for our family again, in a new and better way. I’m more productive in my new business, too. Hard to believe one simple technique could help accomplish all this. But that’s the Heart Lock-In for you!”

Warm Regards,
Eric

One Coach Shares Her Resilience Story Using the emWave® Pro

Posted on September 17, 2015 | by HeartMath

“I’m Bonnie Thompson and I’m a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach and Certified HeartMath Coach. In my coaching practice I specialize in two areas: Resilience and Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs). I have worked with clients from all over the world for many years, helping them to live more authentic and centered lives.

I became involved with HeartMath® over 15 years ago when I began practicing the tools and techniques to deal with a very stressful time of my life. I have said many times that it was HeartMath that got me through it all.

In April of this year I had eye surgery and I was in a lot of pain and not sleeping well. I have occasional benign arrhythmias that get worse the more sleep deprived I become. It’s always been interesting to me that my heart becomes so irregular without good, solid sleep. I think everyone’s body gets very stressed without adequate sleep, and in my case using the emWave® Pro clearly demonstrates this.

The first graph is a screen shot of my HeartMath emWave session the day after my surgery. Even though I was unable to get into coherence, I persisted. I continued to practice the HeartMath tools several times a day throughout my recovery and a week later my HRV pattern was reflected in the second graph.

Graph 1: emWave session the day after surgery

Bonnie Thompsons unfortunate heart rate variability after surgery

Graph 2: emWave session after a week of use

Bonnie Thompsons improved heart rate variability after using heartmath techniques

These two graphs from the emWave Pro represent two extremes but for me they also represent progress. First, being able to see what lack of sleep does to me was very instructive and I even showed this to my doctor. And second, even though measurable coherence was difficult right after surgery I stuck with the practices. By doing so I believe I was able to speed up my recovery and my HRV reflects that progress. I have been very inspired by this experience and I hope to be able to reduce my incidences of arrhythmias over time. I am so grateful for the HeartMath technologies that allow me to see in real time what is going on in my body, mind and emotions!!

Regards,
Bonnie Thompson

Interested in Becoming a HeartMath Coach?

Click Here.

Resilience Tips to Refresh our Attitudes

Posted on September 15, 2015 | by HeartMath

Our mental and emotional resilience helps us to recover from and adapt to stressful situations that can challenge us. Finding inspirational ways that refresh ourselves can make a big difference in our day to day attitudes and increase our natural resilience.

Most people find it more manageable to work with one at a time, moving on to the next until the strategy begins to come naturally.

Resilience Tip #1: Create a Regular Window for Reflection

Use mindful practices like yoga or meditation to tune in to your needs rather than tuning out or shifting your attention. Journaling your thoughts is also a great way to heighten self-awareness and discover what your personal or spiritual needs are. Listen to and honor subtle emotional and physical cues for the greatest insight.

Resilience Tip #2: Learn to go to Neutral

They have relegated circumstances to their rightful place: as short-term conditions that have no power or influence over whom they are in the moment or who they will be when the situation has changed.

The Neutral Tool:

Step 1: As soon as you feel an emotional reaction begins, take a time-out and create some space for yourself to breathe slowly and deeply as you imagine the air entering and leaving through the heart area or the center of your chest. This helps draw the energy out of your head and deflates the reaction.

Step 2: Focus on your heart and breathing instead of stressful thoughts or worry. Declaring and adopting the intention to disengage is very effective in neutralizing emotional energy.

Step 3: Continue until you feel calmness throughout your body and mind. This may not mean your anger or anxiety has totally evaporated; it just means that the charged energy has been removed and stress can stop playing out in your body.

Resilience Tip #3: Feed Your Heart and Soul

Take time regularly to do the things that make you feel centered and peaceful. Create a list of things you know will rejuvenate you, and increase your self-care. For some, it may be spending time in nature a few days a week; others might find pleasure in exploring a creative outlet such as a cooking, painting or music class.

Resilience Tip #4: Appreciate the Good

Keeping a gratitude journal is truly a good idea, since it shifts focus to the positive things we appreciate. If you haven’t already, consider starting this enjoyable practice; many people find it’s especially effective in the evening before sleep.

Pay attention during the day to one or more things that trigger feelings of appreciation. Anything and everything can be included, like appreciating yourself for making the effort to bring healthy snacks to work, or noticing when a co-worker does something to help you out. Maybe a total stranger let you cut into the checkout line. Focusing on the many good things in life helps build inner resilience.

Resilience Tip #5: Get a Healthy Tech Habit

Another way to increase resilience is through practicing heart-focused techniques combined with monitoring your heart rhythms – like with the emWave2® and Inner Balance™. Creating a healthy use habit with these tools can really help change your response to stress and boost your resilience. They’re like having a personal coach to guide you through a simple process – encouraging you along the way. These technologies are based on the science of coherence – a resilient mental and emotional state that also helps the heart, brain and nervous system work more efficiently and harmoniously.

The beauty of this practice is how we feel when we are coherent. It’s a feeling of being more alert and energized when needed, yet able to unwind and relax when it’s time to. Most people start with a three minute session in the morning to set a balanced inner rhythm and healthy outlook for the day ahead. Another short session before bed can help prepare the mind and body for a restful sleep.

This is one tech habit you’ll benefit from.

Time to Hit the Refresh Button

Posted on September 10, 2015 | by HeartMath

A friend of mine picked up a book to help him finally clear the clutter in his office. He placed it at the top of his ‘have to read’ pile and decided to get a head start by sorting through the pile right then and there. Guess what he found when he finally reached the bottom of the pile? The same book!

Most of us have drawers, closets and inboxes, so full we’ve lost track of what’s in them. Not to mention that when they‘re full, there’s no room for new stuff.

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you get rid of what you no longer need or want, new things start to show up?

It’s the same with ideas, beliefs, or emotional attachments. Whatever your threshold (how big is your closet?) is for holding onto old notions or behaviors, once you reach that limit, there’s no room for anything new until you discard some of the old.

Why not attract something new into your life? Pick an aspect of your life ― work, play, family, etc. ― that needs updating or a new energy, attitude or behavior. Then use the Quick Coherence technique to quiet the ‘yea buts, what ifs and just in cases’ and from a coherent perspective ask your heart what to let go.

Be patient and stay neutral until you get an answer. Don’t be surprised or afraid of what pops up. Then let it go, knowing there is now room in your life for new, fun and exciting things.

And, oh yes, this works when you’re ready to clear out those closets, too!

Take care,
Kim Allen

Technology that Helps Build and Sustain Resilience

Posted on September 8, 2015 | by HeartMath

Howard Martin shares how he uses the HeartMath technology in his regular practice each day to tune up and sustain his resilience. “I have been practicing the HeartMath techniques for a very long time. When we first came out with our technology I used my emWave® most every day to help deepen my practices. For the last few years I have been using my Inner Balance™ app and sensor as I like having the whole experience on my iPhone.

I have found that using my Inner Balance has really helped me be more productive in my meditative practices and to “tune up” during my busy days. It has greatly improved my use of techniques to help me grow and deal with challenges. Basically, I have built my Inner Balance experience into my day-to-day life in a systemic but casual way. Here is how I use it.

In the morning after dressing, showering, etc. I allot 15 minutes to doing my Heart Lock-In, a HeatMath technique designed to activate and sustain positive emotions. I sit on my bed with the Inner Balance sensor attached to my ear and start the technique. I play a game with this.

In the Inner Balance app there is a screen called Session. On this screen I can see several things:

My heart rate variability pattern
Coherence—my coherence level in the moment
Length–how long I have been using the app
Achievement—how many coherence points I have earned

These numbers change every 5 seconds while using the Inner Balance. At the end of the session I go to the Review Screen where I can see my average Coherence Score and how many Coherence Points were achieved during the time I was using the Inner Balance.

Here is a simple analogy to understand the Coherence and Achievement Scores. The Coherence Score would be like seeing how fast you are going if you were driving a car. The Achievement Score would be how far you have gone. The more coherent my heart rhythms are the higher my coherence score and as a result more achievement points. My goal is to really do my Heart Lock–In with sincerity, get as high an average coherence score as possible and accumulate as many points during the session as I can.

Having done this many times I know what a normal averages would be for a session. I know when I am improving and when I am not. This whole process keeps me honest and really does help me get the most out of my inner work time.

I repeat the same process most days right after lunch but for only 5 minutes. This helps re-boot my system for the rest of the day. I also do it again at night after my work day ends and before I go to sleep. The length of this session depends on a number of things so I let it be a bit more flexible. It usually ends up being between 15 minutes and 30 minutes.

Now, here is one more aspect, the Inner Balance feature that makes it extra fun. All of my sessions are stored on the HeartCloud™. There I get a great picture of my seasons and for me most importantly, how many Achievement Points I have accumulated over the life time of using my Inner Balance! With this information I can set goals. I can say for instance that if I want to get 25,000 Achievement Points this month. I note the life time number at the beginning of the month, track how I am doing towards reaching my goal and make a fun game out of it. This self-monitoring game motivates me to make sure I am using my Inner Balance and doing my focused inner work each day.

In summary:

I build using my Inner Balance into my daily routine
I use the Session Screen to see what is happing while using the Inner Balance—Coherence Score and Achievement
I look at the Review Screen to see my Coherence Score Average
I look at my sessions in the HeartCloud to track progress/results and to set and work towards goals

This is how I use HeatMath’s Coherence Building Technology. I suggest you create a system for using your Inner Balance or emWave that works for you. What I can say is that without a doubt it has benefited me greatly and I hope it can be of help to you as well.

Resilience Building Tools for College Students

Posted on September 3, 2015 | by HeartMath

Ahhh college…some view it as the best time of their life while others as the most challenging and uncomfortable. Whichever way you remember it, stressful probably isn’t how you would describe it. Today college students are under a tremendous amount of stress. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that colleges are seeing a generation of students who appear to be manifesting increased signs of depression, anxiety and stress. Managing stress is a learned ability and learning to manage college stress while building resilience will carry them a long way over their lifetime.

To help your child learn to manage the pressure, here are some things you can do:

Shift to Ease at the Onset of Stress. Learning to shift to a state of inner ease at the onset of challenging situations can help prevent and eliminate many unwanted predicaments. The Inner-Ease technique will make it easier for your college student to navigate through many challenges. Have them practice it a few times each day for several weeks, so it will become a natural part of the daily routine.

Step 1: Heart-Focused Breathing

Focus your attention in the area of the heart. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out of your heart or chest area, breathing a little slower and deeper than usual.

Suggestion: Inhale 5 seconds, exhale 5 seconds (or whatever rhythm is comfortable).

Step 2: Draw in the Feeling of Inner Ease

With each breath, draw in the feeling of inner ease to balance your mental and emotional energy.

Step 3: Anchor and Maintain the Feeling

Set a meaningful intent to anchor the feeling of inner ease as you engage in your projects, challenges or daily interactions.

Take advantage of HeartMath’s resilience building technology:

Inner Balance™ App and Sensor for iOS & Android devices- a fun and innovative approach to de-stressing and improving wellness. It helps you change your reaction to stress, gain insights in your shifting moods and create a more positive outlook on life.

emWave^® Pro – The emWave Pro is a scientifically validated hardware/software system that teaches techniques to help you manage stress through creating an optimal state in which the heart, mind and emotions are operating in-sync and balanced.

Good for the Mind, Body & Soul

Posted on August 27, 2015 | by HeartMath

Someone once told me while I was in the midst of a difficult situation, if there’s the slightest chance you might look back on this some day and laugh about it, start laughing now. Granted, this doesn’t work every time, but it sure has helped me get through some tough times. Seeing the lighter side is a perceptual shift. And just like other positive emotions that can change the way we see something, laughing has a lot of other benefits.

Studies on humor and laughter from Duke University, Loma Linda University, UCLA, and even from other countries such as Great Britain have shown:

Laughing helps relax tense muscles.
Laughter reduces the production of stress hormones.
Laughter and a positive attitude strengthen the immune system.
Laughter allows a person to ‘forget’ about aches and pains and perceive pain as less intense.
A good laugh is like an aerobic workout for the heart and lungs–increasing the body’s ability to use oxygen.
Laughter helps lower high blood pressure.
There are no known negative side effects to laughter.

Laughing is part of the human experience. New research shows that “circuits” for laughter exist in very ancient regions of the human brain. Robert Provine, a psychology professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, tells us, ” (Laughter’s) origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play. Laughter is literally the sound of play… (which becomes) the human ‘ha-ha.’ (1)

Maybe that’s why children laugh over 300 times a day. It’s natural. Surprise, surprise: That number falls to 15 with adults. Unlike children who laugh unconditionally, we adults wait to find cause. Which brings up another one of those which-came-first conundrums: Do we grow old because we stop laughing? Or, do we lose our ability to laugh because we grow up?

Whatever, laughter not only feels good, it’s good for us.

Stay young…and healthy. Add more laughter to your day!

(1) Animals Laughed Long Before Humans, Study Says – NationalGeographic.com