HeartMath
Mary Jane Roy - Stress Resilience from the Heart
It’s been a wonderful gift having Sarah ask me to share with you how I inspire myself and others in becoming more stress resilient. Avoiding all stress isn’t possible in our lives. But learning how to cope with it, to handle it better, can improve the quality of our lives dramatically.
In 2006 I came to the conclusion that stress was taking its toll. I had developed some rather serious heart-health issues. My body was telling me that I needed to make some changes. If I was going to avoid having to take medication for the rest of my life (which was a great motivator for me), I knew I needed to take responsibility for how poorly I was coping with stress.
A quote I read by Napolean Hill, an author, resonated with me: “Most people are the slaves and not the masters of their emotions”. I was often being carried away by unsupportive emotions, hanging on to (ruminating about) problems out of the past and creating fiction for the future. Through a dear friend I heard of self-regulation techniques (‘I’ could have the reins in my own hands) being taught by the Institute of HeartMath (IHM), a research organization based out of California. These techniques spoke directly to my heart.
So I started learning and utilizing these self-care techniques to help me deal with stress. At the same time, I started learning about stress – its causes, effects, and how it can be minimized. I also became aware of the stressors in my life. Could I avoid some of them? If so, then I did. But if they were things, situations, or people I couldn’t toss out of my life, then I asked myself: how could I start reacting less emotionally or more supportively to them? How could I neutralize the unpleasant and unhealthy effects of stress I was experiencing?
As a result of the practicing and studying I’ve done over the past 4 years I developed my passion – teaching stress resilience tools for handling stress where it matters most - in your heart.
I like to say that I’m an electrical engineer of the heart, showing people how to plug their emotional energy leaks and recharge their batteries. By (re)connecting with your heart’s potential you change your own potential, literally and figuratively. The heart is the focus in how we communicate and relate with one another.
We all have the ability to take control of our emotions, our life, and our stress. We only need to know how! The HeartMath® techniques, which are based on breathing and visualization, are simple to learn and can be practiced and used anywhere, anytime. They are based on the science of Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
It may be a surprise for many readers of this article to learn that the heart doesn’t beat as a metronome but is a composition full of variety. For example, if you have a heart rate of 60 beats per minute, your heart is not beating once per second. Between every heartbeat there are varying time intervals. This is called Heart Rate Variability and it is a necessary function of the heart as it adjusts itself to the demands of the body.
With that, I would like to introduce you to the world of heart (in)coherency. Emotions affect the level of the heart’s coherency. When the beat-to-beat changes in the heart’s rhythm are irregular or erratic, one experiences what is called heart incoherency. This occurs when a person is experiencing emotions causing stress such as anger, fear, frustration, or sadness and results in a discordant response between body and mind.
When your heart is in a coherent state, the beat-to-beat changes are gradual and regular. Emotions such as appreciation, love, appreciation, gratefulness or joy bring the brain (our cognitive functioning), the hormonal system, the neurological system, and the immune system ‘in sync’ with each other. A state of harmony is created within the body. Just as when all the musicians in an orchestra are playing together harmoniously and beautiful music is created.
Please make the choice for a coherent heart.
To learn more about managing stress using HeartMath visit Mary Jane's website at www.creatingwaves.nu
[December 2011]
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