Topic

Heart Coherence

The HeartMath Institute explains what heart coherence is:

“From a physics perspective, when we are in a coherent state, virtually no energy is wasted because our systems are performing optimally and there is synchronization between heart rhythms, the respiratory system, blood-pressure rhythms, etc.”

There are countless studies that confirm the importance and power of heart coherence: when you create this state for yourself, your body and mind function at their peak capacity as your heart beats at its optimum level.

What’s more, it has been found that the best way to achieve heart coherence is through rhythmic breathing and by creating feelings of gratitude (“The Science Of HeartMath” n. d.).

Benefits of Heart Coherence include:

Gratitude, Compassion, Empathy, and Love

You can also help strengthen the effects of heart coherence by combining the feelings of high vibrational stats like gratitude, compassion, empathy, and love. Combine those feelings with focussing you attention on your heart area (McCraty & Childre, 2004).

This is another reason we speak so much about gratitude in SOMA Breath. Not only is it a good practice for generally feeling happier and more content in your life, it also facilitates heart coherence. Gratitude is also shown to physically change neural pathways in the brain (Karns et al., 2017).

The 3 Factors Needed To Create Heart Coherence

Smooth Breath

Your breath should be a smooth flow in and out. There should be no breaks or stutter to your breath. The easiest way to ensure you breathe smoothly is to eliminate the pause between each breath with consistent timing. It is often this pause that creates irregular breathing patterns that leads to incoherent HRV patterns. Keeping your breath smooth, connected, and “circular” with no pause is the foundation for effective rhythmic breathing.

Rhythmic Breath

The ratio of your inhale and exhale times should be consistent. For example 4 seconds in, 4 seconds out (4:4) or 4 seconds in 8 seconds out (4:8), or 2 seconds in and 4 seconds out (2:4) continuously.

If you breathe in for 2 seconds, then out for 4 seconds, and then inhale for 3 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds, and so on, it is not smooth and consistent. So breathe to a rhythm – breathe in beats!

Positive Intention

Heart coherence is influenced by your emotions. It is much harder to get into flow states and heart coherence if you are feeling down or your mind is clouded by negative thoughts. A simple way to solve this is to bring your awareness to something you are truly grateful for. Maybe a loved one, something you love to do, or even the meal you just ate. Cultivating a genuine sense of gratitude helps you experience heart coherence.