Follow

 

 

your  

 

 

 

heart

Allow your heart to lead you to solutions that are wise, inclusive and that reduce your tensions and increase your health, says
Irma Battig

Irma battig follow your Heart

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it  so,” Hamlet explains to Rosencrantz. How about solving problems with  the  inclusive  brain  that does not divide in black or white,  good or bad,  but that arrives at encompassing  and wise  conclusions, while  also decreasing stress and improving health? The Institute of HeartMath offers a tool to achieve precisely that.

It may surprise you but changing the way you feel, and the way you deal with life does not have to be a momentous  task, but can be accomplished with  ease, in as little  as five minutes at a time.

Over  the  years,  I  have discovered and honed a  variety  of instruments and tech- niques to help myself and others improve their lives in simple, effective, and efficient ways. HeartMath is one of my favourites. I use it for myself and with my clients, and I teach it in my transformational seminars  as well.

The Heart has a mind  of its own

Pumping blood is just one of the heart’s many func- tions, even physiologically. The heart has 40,000 neu- rons. HeartMath researchers observed that the heart was acting as though it had a mind of its own and was profoundly  influencing  the  way  we  perceive and respond to the world. In essence, it appeared that the heart was affecting intelligence and awareness. It sends more messages to the brain than vice versa! Therefore, we have to ask which one of the brains really is in charge, the thinking one, or the feeling one!

Positive emotions create increased harmony and coherence in heart rhythms, and improve balance in the nervous system

The heart creates the largest electromagnetic field in our body – it is about 60 times more powerful in ampli- tude than that of the brain. The vital organ can feel, and it has memory. So when we say that we are heart broken, that is actually what our heart is feeling.

 

The mission of the scientists of the Institute  of HeartMath, founded in 1991 by Doc Childre in California, is to facilitate fundamental shifts in health, well-being and consciousness.  Their  groundbreaking research, centres on the role of the heart and the physiological mechanism by which it communicates with the brain (hence the name HeartMath). It thus influences infor- mation processing, perceptions, emotions, and health. The Institute is asking questions such as,  “How  do stress and different emotional states  affect the auto- nomic nervous system, the hormonal and immune sys- tems, the heart and brain?”

Over their years of research, it became clear to the scientists at the HeartMath Institute that negative emo- tions lead to increased disorder in the heart’s rhythms, and in the autonomic nervous system, thereby adverse- ly affecting the rest of the body. In contrast, positive emotions create increased harmony and coherence in heart rhythms, and improve balance in the nervous sys- tem. The health implications are easy to understand: Disharmony  in   the   nervous  system  leads  to inefficiency  and increased stress on the heart and other organs, while harmonious rhythms are more effi- cient and less stressful to the body’s systems.

When we are upset, feeling bad in any way, our heart rhythm pattern is erratic. When we feel good and at peace,  the heart rhythm patterns become smooth and balanced. They harmonise with the brain waves – it is called coherence – we feel calm and aligned – our body and mind can operate at full capacity. We are more productive, healthier, and happier.

Considering that stress causes about 80 per cent  of  diseases,  the  beneficial impact  of  decreasing  tension becomes quite evident. By increasing coherence  and  reducing  stress,  you raise the pH level of your body, and you  limit  the  risk  of  chronic  and acute  illness.  Stress  is  not  objective. It mainly has to do with the way we react  to  life  and  its  challenges.

Different  people  react  to  different  triggers, and  in  various  ways.  By  creating  healthier, more  productive  ways  of  facing  them,  we decrease  stress.  You  must  have  noticed  that when you get up on the wrong foot, your day tends  to  go  downhill  from  there.  The  oppo- site  is  true  too.  The  better  we  feel,  the  less stressed  and  hassled  we  get  by  events.

experience the healing power of PULSE BALANCING

We even see and interpret them in different ways. Therefore,  any  method  that  helps  calm  you down will benefit your health. Meditation is, of  course,  a  prime  example,  the  only  draw- back being that it usually requires time, a cer- tain  discipline,  as  well  as  practice  for  it  to work.  The  HeartMath  method  only  takes  a few minutes; all you have to do is remember to use it, particularly, when you are under fire.

Here is how it works:

  1. Recognise the stressor/ the problem that   bothers you – What is it?
  2. Shift your focus to the heart – Put a hand  on  your  heart  and  breathe  deeply  into   your heart
  3. Activate a heart feeling – Recall a positive    memory, a beautiful, blissful moment of     your life when you felt wonderful (we all    have  such  memories,  just  search  a  little   if it doesn’t come easily)
  4. Ask – Heart, tell me a better way to deal  with the situation/the problem.
  5. Listen  to  the  message  from  your   heart – Pay attention to the first words,     pictures, sounds, feelings that come to you.

If  it  sounds  encompassing  and  wise,  you know that the answer truly stems from your heart. The voice of the heart speaks of whole- ness and oneness; it is the song of your high- er  self  and  your  soul  –  all-encompassing, drawing a bigger picture, and taking you to a higher  level  of  awareness.  It  offers  win-win solutions. Its messages are imbued with high vibrational  emotions  like  gratitude,  forgive- ness,  acceptance,  happiness,  peace,  under- standing, love, and unity.

Coherent hearts create a healthy world

Should the answers involve anger, blame, jeal- ousy,  pride,  exclusiveness,  intolerance,  victi- misation,  separation  or  any  other  negative feeling or behaviour, you can tell that it is not the heart speaking; the ego took over. Repeat

the  exercise  and  make  sure  you  spend  enough  time connecting with a beautiful memory. Feel what you felt, see  what  you  saw,  hear  what  you  heard  and  let  the memory take over your whole body. Emotions are felt in the body, not in the mind, so ensure that you are feel- ing the goodness of the memory in your heart as well as the rest of your body. When you can keep a coherent heart in a critical sit- uation, you can literally change the hearts and minds of those around you. Indeed, the institute’s research shows that the coher- ent  heart  of  one  person  can  have  a  scientifically demonstrable effect on the brain waves of another per- son.  The  implications  for  better  relationships, teamwork, peace-making and health on a larger scale are  profound.  It  becomes  even  scientifically  evident why  solving  problems  from  the  heart  instead  of  the mind is crucial. When we act out of the heart’s wisdom, we  automatically  collaborate  instead  of  compete.  We take the other party’s well-being into consideration, not just our personal gain. We focus on the bigger picture. We think in terms of unity rather than differences and separation. The more we come from that place of peacefulness and  understanding,  the  more  the  world  will  change. Scientists now say that we only require ten per cent of the population to raise their awareness to create a tip- ping  point  (the  hundredth-monkey  effect)  that  will transform everyone’s behaviour. Are you willing to be part of that ten per cent? The HeartMath method can assist you in the endeavour. Irma Battig will teach this and other techniques at the Life Positive Expo in Mumbai on December 22, 23. See ad on pages  44, 45, 46 for more details.

Follow-your-heartIrma Battig is a transformational healer and coach. Currently practising in Mumbai, she will soon be offering sessions and seminars out of her wellness center in Alibaug.

To read these articles online and post your comments, go to http://www.lifepositive.com/Magazine/Nov2012. We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at edi- tor@lifepositive.net

Money Chalisa