Specialists also report a 25% reduction in stress hormone levels and doubled levels of the infamous “fountain of youth hormone” DHEA! Cue feelings of wellbeing and serenity. It has since been used on executives in a great many companies, on the back of results that speak for themselves. The percentage of executives who reported feelings of exhaustion went from 50% to 12%, insomnia rates among them went from 34% to 6%, and anxiety rates from 33% to 5%. After practising every day for a month, blood pressure is lowered twice as much as with a salt-free diet. This technique was initially aimed at people with heart conditions. This gradually reduces the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. It improves defensive immune response, learning ability, memory and coordination. It also triggers feelings of pleasure while allaying anxiety. There follows a cascade of neuronal, hormonal and biochemical phenomena that restore a state of calm. This command of cardiac coherence, through slow breathing, activates the parasympathetic system. When your heart is in cardiac coherence, it beats to a regular rhythm in complete harmony with your breathing. Initially used to regulate the heart rhythm in the prevention of cardiovascular disorders, cardiac coherence is increasingly being practised to manage stress and anxiety, keep emotions under control and restore a state of serenity. Cardiac coherence for channelling emotions Through breathing and picturing of the heart, the regularity restored by cardiac coherence redresses the balance between the two nervous systems: the sympathetic one (the accelerator) and the parasympathetic one (the brake). The heart and its neuronesĪnother even more surprising discovery is that the heart has 40,000 neurones connected closely to the brain via the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This ANS operates with two circuits, like the accelerator and brake pedals of a car: One is for acceleration (the sympathetic system) and the other for braking (the parasympathetic system). The heart makes its own hormones that affect the brain and induce various emotional states. And the brain responds by changing cardiac coherence. This is why the heart starts racing and thumping when emotions run high, and can soon slow down if calm is restored. Although the ANS can quickly adjust our heart rate, conversely the heart can help us to keep our emotions under control. And that’s where cardiac coherence control comes into its own. The researchers then established that this cardiac coherence curve is a precise indicator of states of stress, and that it also regulates breathing and blood pressure. The cardiologists soon realised why depression, bereavement or a serious problem have more serious repercussions than smoking for someone with a heart condition. Researchers noted that this curve is erratic, with accelerations and sudden stops in people who are anxious, worried or angry. Conversely, when the subject is calm, or thinking about a pleasant experience, the curve forms a gentle wave with regularly-formed oscillations. However, the curve can vary a great deal. The concept de cardiac coherence comes from American medical research conducted by the HeartMath Institute in the fields of neuroscience and neurocardiology. Software measures and represents the intervals between heartbeats in the form of a curve. No two intervals are alike, and this is completely normal. First and foremost an affair of the heart Cardiac coherence is a type of therapy developed by cardiologists for their patients. 20 years after its discovery, this technique is being used to regulate the balance of the nervous system in people subject to stress. As well as being effective, this method is simplicity itself. You just need to remember three numbers: 3, 6, and 5. And spend 15 minutes a day doing it. Child’s play that takes care of your mind and pampers your body. Don’t go thinking it’s a recent yoga technique or that proffered by a new zen guru.
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