Create Coherence of the Heart, Brain, and Nervous System for Improved Health and Cognitive Function

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Dr Paula King PhD's picture
Dr Paula King PhD
Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Itinerant
Joined: Sep 16 2010
Posts: 5
User offline. Last seen 7 years 31 weeks ago.

February is heart month, and a perfect time to write about HeartMath®. It's about hearts and flowers, perhaps, for your loved one, and about a focus on heart health, and it is the inspiration for these thoughts about heart-felt health. 

Did you know your heart has a little nervous system and a little brain of its own? Did you know that your heart sends more messages to your brain than your brain sends to your heart? Did you know that your heart is a primary player in the workings of your autonomic nervous system? 

While you probably answered NO to these questions, because most people do not know about the influence of the heart on their brain and nervous system, I bet you DO KNOW that the heart is the seat of emotion. We've all said, heard and FELT things such as: ”My heart is full of joy,” “My heart is broken,” “My heart is open,” “My heart is sad,” and “My heart is so happy I could burst.”

So why is this information important? You can learn to harness the influence of the heart to help you not only deal with negative stress and emotions, but also to learn how to create a state of inner coherence between the heart, the brain and the nervous system thereby enhancing your health, performance and well being.

A fun, engaging way to learn to create coherence is by using Heart Math® biofeedback technology. Coherence, which is the synchronization between the heart, brain and nervous system, has been shown to be a cornerstone of optimal health. Heart Math® biofeedback technology determines the presence of coherence by assessing Heart Rate Variability, or HRV.

HRV is the beat-to-beat change that occurs naturally in a person's heart rate. HRV recordings show that the heart responds immediately and dynamically to changing emotional states. Negative emotions such as anger, resentment, or anxiety create a disordered pattern or incoherent rhythm.

Research has established that incoherent rhythms are associated with many mental, emotional and physical ailments. In contrast, coherent rhythms or coherent biofeedback patterns are clearly associated with improved health and enhanced cognitive function. Positive emotion is the key to attaining a state of coherence.

Another technique you can use to encourage your heart to bring a positive influence to your brain and nervous system is to simply hold a positive experience in your mind. Then, intend to experience, to feel, the positive emotion associated with the person, place or time, and then imagine placing that positive feeling in your heart space and holding it there for a few minutes. Breathe the positive feeling into your heart. This exercise is especially helpful when you are in a stressful situation and feel yourself becoming angry.

Additionally, you can remember to look for the positive aspect of any situation currently facing you. It may take some real effort and thought, but a positive angle of learning is present in the challenges we confront in life; and our health and well-being is enhanced when we intentionally choose to live more optimistically and when we create positive emotion in our heart. We can then achieve heart-felt health.

Mardy's Note: Dr King's area of speciality is psychology and the mind/body connection, so you can find other things related to this type of information in the therapy/behavioral and mental health area, and more specifically the brain/mind - body forum, which is at the following link:

 www.lumigrate.com/forums/integrative-medicine-parts-make-whole/therapy-behavioralmental-health/headbrain-bodymind-psyc

__________________

Dr. King, a licensed psychologist, relies on her profound belief in each person’s unique inner wisdom to guide the individualized discovery and growth process. She brings to her work a varied background which includes:  A doctorate in Psychology and Adult Education from Arizona State University, health coaching certification from the Hudson Institute, certifications as an interactive imagery guide from the Academy for Guided Imagery and as a HeartMath® biofeedback practitioner, a bachelors degree in physical education, with over 25 years exerience in a general psychology practice and over 10 years as a performance specialist working with professional and amateur athletes. 

In addition, Dr. King authored "A Trust Walk: Mindful Golf", and her articles have often appeared in The Arizona Republic (the Phoenix daily newspaper), The Grand Junction Free Press, and a variety of national magazines.

She is available to see patients in Grand Junction, Colorado at Healing Horizons Integrated Health Solutions (www.hhacumed.com) and we look forward to developing her appearance on the Internet via Lumigrate's information at the website (Forums and Videos), as well as our YouTube channel, iTunes channel, and Facebook / social media outreach.

This forum is provided to allow members of Lumigrate to share information and ideas. Any recommendations made by forum members regarding medical treatments, medications, or procedures are not endorsed by Lumigrate or practitioners who serve as Lumigrate's medical experts.

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