Heart Math

 

At Angelic Holistic Practice we use the EmWave 2 by HartMath as part of our Relaxation Therapy, Stress Management and Meditation Classes.  We run weekly Relaxation Classes where the EmWave 2 is one of the pieces of equipment used at the end of the session by students to see if it is equipment that would benefit them at home to use daily.  We recommend a 30-60 minute session to use this equipment.

 

 

What is the EmWave2 by HeartMath?

 

HeartMath® is a state-of-the-art biofeedback system that allows users to develop and hone life changing skills to achieve a coherent body, mind approach. HeartMath® gives you real time physiological feedback that empowers you to not only observe, but actually change your reactions to life’s events. Biofeedback is a proven process that enables you to effectively learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance.

 

The Institute of HeartMath® was founded in 1991 by Doctor Childre to explore and develop practices to assist individuals to move from the destructive cycles of stress, anxiety, and anger, which grip so much of the modern world. Due to the rigorous scientific approach utilized to achieve its purpose, HeartMath® is now recognized as a global leader in emotional physiology, stress management, and heart-brain research.

 

This research has led to the development of efficient techniques, practices, and biofeedback tools that individuals can employ to shift their body/mind from an ineffective state of incoherence brought on by chronic stress or anxiety to a more effective and healthy way to live. In simple terms, HeartMath helps you to practice good habits in an effective manner because it gives you instant feedback as to how you are reacting to your thoughts and feelings. By learning how to better react and manage our internal reactions, we enhance our performance, decrease stress, and are better able to meet the specific goals we set for ourselves.

 

What Bio-Feedback does EmWave 2 Use?

 

The two types of biofeedback that we measure are Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

GSR measures electrical conductance in the skin, which is associated with the activity of the sweat glands. A very slight electrical current (unnoticeable to you) is run though your finger. The machine measures changes in the salt and water in your sweat glands ducts. The emotionally aroused you are, the more active your sweat glands are and the greater the electrical conductivity of your skin. GSR has been effective in treating phobias, anxiety, excessive sweating, and many other stress related symptoms, since these emotions/feelings will affect your skin's conductivity. It is used as a lie detector test.

HRV is the beat-to-beat change in one's heart rate, it is an accurate indicator of autonomic nervous system activity that can provide important insights into the clients overall state of wellness. The autonomic nervous system is the body's control center for stress. When the HPA-axis (Hypothalamus Pituitary and Adrenal) is stimulated, the autonomic nervous system activates the "fight or flight" mechanism and shifts cells from growth mode to self-protection. The response is immediate, mobilizing the body's resources for immediate physical activity. During the alarm/stress reaction, immune, digestive, cardiovascular, neurological, and reproductive activities are inhibited. When the threat is over, the body automatically shifts your cells back into the growth mode. The "fight or flight " is healthy when it allows the body to react to avoid danger and then returns to rest. What is not natural is the chronic state of stress that most of us stay in. If the body stays in this state for an extended period, illness, disease and disorder are likely to follow. (Remember up to 90% of all health related problems are caused by or exasperated by the stress response.)

 

 

 

The biofeedback programs the we utilize measure every Heart Beat to get your average HR (heart rate or pulse) and how much it varies. When you take your pulse, you get the average number of beats per minute. With a computerized monitoring of your HR, you not only get the average but a picture of the differences between the faster and slower beats. This difference is the HRV. This is important for many reasons, when the HRV is very low while someone is resting, this pattern typically reflects higher stress levels, and if sustained most of the time, is predictive of many illnesses and causes of death. For people under 50 years of age, a desired HRV is around 20 beats or more, e.g. your faster heartbeats might be 80 bpm followed by slower beats of 60, or 90-70, with a rhythm that alternates between them.

 

 

 

 

Negative Emotional States tend to be accompanied by low HRV. For example someone feeling broken hearted or angry might find their HR bouncing around between 90-92-88-95-100...,so the average HRV would be 2-5. Constantly staying in that pattern of negative emotions may be predictive of later health problems.

 

 

 

 

 

Positive Emotional States like feeling love, compassion, deep connection, sense of purpose, gratitude, or warm-hearted, etc. tend to be accompanied by greater HRV, like 20-30. When you have high HRV it is easier for the brain and heart to synchronize and the brain performs better, the immune system boosts, and intuition is more likely to happen.

 

How to use EmWave2.

 

 

 

 

 

With indicator lights blinking from red to blue to green, the device sits in the user’s palm and records the patterns of the user’s heart rate which can then later be downloaded onto a computer. Designed to assist the user with his or her own ability to de-stress in a situation. By using the emWave2 to monitor one’s own heart rate, one can learn to become aware of what situations make one more stressed, and how to mentally calm down during them.

 

 

By seeing the visual changes on the screen from red (low coherence) to blue (medium coherence) to green (high coherence) and associating it with a more peaceful, calm internal state, the clients learns to manage stress and maintain a state of physiological coherence and balance.

After baseline measures are taken, a practice protocol is developed that results in a change in the pattern of signals sent to the brain from the heart, which serves to reinforce the self-generated positive emotional shift that is part of the practice plan. Participants report a sense of empowerment resulting from the ability to self regulate previously unhealthy responses to stress or other life events.

 

 

Who Can Benefit From Using HeartMath? Those with:

Acute, Chronic, and Recurrent Pain	Other Chronic Illness
Acute procedural pain	Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer
Headaches, migraines	Chronic Pain and Fatigue
Chronic Pain and Fatigue	Environmental Sensitivity
	Fibromyalgia
Psychophysiological Conditions	Environmental Sensitivity
Post procedure pain, Insomnia	Immune-system dysfunction
Irritable Bowel Syndrome	Atopic dermatitis, Hypertension,
Stress Related Body Pain	Muscle Spasticity
Cardiovascular Rehab	Diabetes Type I & Type II
Tics/Tourette's Syndrome	Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's)
Traumatic brain injury	Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Phantom pain & amputation	Sickle-cell Anemia
Learning and Performance Issues: Performance and test anxiety, ADHD

 

Benefits.

 

·         It may help lower blood pressure.

·         It may help improve heart rate.

·         It may reduce the level of stress hormones in the body.

·         It may help to strengthen the immune system.

·         It may help with pain.

·         It may help increase ant-aging hormones in the body.

·         It may help you focus your attention and have more clarity.

·         It may help you become more calmer and relaxed.

·         It may help you stay in more control of your life.

·         It may help to control breathing.

·         It may help to relax tense muscles.

·         It may give you more energy.

·         It may help you take control of your emotions.

·         It may help you shift to a positive emotional stateIt may help us become more intuned to our internal body and what it is trying to tell us.

·         It may help us understand the Mind/Body Connection.

 

Biofeedback instruments record continuous information about subtle changes in physiological stress responses (such as muscle tension, temperature, respiration, skin resistance or heart rate). Using this information, various guided relaxation and stress management techniques are employed to control the appropriate symptoms, which can include anything from anxiety to muscle spasms.

This technique, used since the 1960's for stress management, is based on the principle that our thoughts can control our bodies; by watching patterns on a computer screen, people can consciously learn to change their breathing patterns and alleviate stress.

 

 

 

 

Here is a map called “the emotions map”

 

It has two axis – the vertical one shows the “autonomic nervous system” – this is the part of the nervous system which is responsible for the survival responses of “Fight or Flight OR Freeze” reactions. The autonomic nervous system is divided into two pathways – sympathetic and parasympathetic. Think of the sympathetic as being like the accelerator – when it is active there is a lot of adrenaline released into your system, your heart beats faster, your breathing is faster, and your body mobilises oxygen and energy to all your muscles ready to help you “fight or flee (flight)”.

The other path is the parasympathetic and can be thought of as a brake – through activation of the “vagus nerve” it slows down the heart, quietens and closes down your systems – the “freeze” reaction. We frequently oscillate wildly between these two extremes, flying from panic to collapse and back again!

The second axis, the horizontal one has one of the body’s main defence hormones at the left – cortisol. This is necessary for normal defence, but in excess cortisol can do a lot of harm. It’s sometimes called the “Stress hormone”. The right hand edge of this axis is “DHEA”, sometimes known as the “vitality hormone” – when there is a lot of this in the body, all the cells age more slowly and growth is stimulated.

What we want to achieve is a harmony of these systems – when we are in the top left quadrant our heart rhythm is chaotic. The heart rate varies all the time in a normal heart, but when the “heart rate variability” is chaotic, we’re not in a good place! Interestingly, when we are in the zone on the right of this chart, our heart slips into “coherence” – a kind of overlaid smooth, harmonious rhythm of the heart rate variability. In coherence we have harmony, we reduce the stress hormones and the excess autonomic activity, and we redress the balance between cortisol and DHEA.

Now here comes the fascinating bit – each of these zones or quadrants is associated with particular emotional states, with particular feelings.

 The Heartmath technique consists of re-experiencing one of the “positive” emotions on the right of this chart by recalling and reliving an episode or even where we felt such a feeling.

There are three steps to achieve “Quick Coherence” – a basic Heartmath technique.

Step 1. Heart focus. Bring your attention or your focus to the heart area of your body.

Step 2. Heart breathing. Take three, slow, deep, even breaths, filling the heart area of your body with oxygen, then emptying your lungs of all the carbon dioxide. Slowly in, slowly out, for three breaths.

Step 3. Heart feeling. Now recall an event where you experienced one of the positive, heart felt emotions. Pick one of your own, and recollect it. Stay with that memory until you become aware that you are feeling that feeling again. This is about recreating a feeling. Once you have it, that’s it. You’re there.

Congratulations, you just managed “Quick coherence”.

Cautions

Biofeedback therapy is not recommended for persons with severe psychosis, severe depression, or obsessional neurosis, nor for patients with psychopathic personalities. You should also check with you Doctor if you have diabetes or other endocrine disorders, as it may reduce the need for insulin or other medications.

Price per session:-

30 Minutes £10.00

60 Minutes £20.00

(First session add half an hour at £10.00 to allow a demonstration and to fill in client questionnaire form.)