Heart Coherence: 3 Simple Steps for Reducing Stress and Living Well

By Jed Diamond, PhD, LCSW

I’ve always prided myself on having a healthy heart. When I’d have my yearly health checkups, the doctor always commented that I had the low blood pressure of an athlete. I do keep in good shape, but I haven’t considered myself an athlete since high school when I played basketball and wrestled.

At age sixty-six, I decided I wanted to do some kind of physical challenge to recapture some of the feeling I used to get when I really stretched myself physically. I decided to train for a marathon, something I had never attempted, even when I was young and in shape. I trained for 6 months and thought I was good to go.

A week before the race, I ran into an unexpected problem. At odd times, my heart would begin speeding up and beating hard. I’d get a bit light-headed and short of breath. I’d never had anything like that happen before so I went to see my doctor. She didn’t think it was anything serious, but she sent me to a cardiologist to get a thorough checkup. I have to admit, I was more worried that the doctor wouldn’t let me run the marathon than that there might be something wrong with my heart.

But having been in medical school and being the worrying type, my mind wandered to problems like pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). Luckily, I didn’t have any problems that the doctor could find. I decided the more likely reason for my speeding heart was the stress and worry about the race. I wondered if I could do it, whether I would injure myself, or make a fool of myself running so slowly the snails might pass me by.

The doctor told me he could give me some medications to relax me and lower my stress levels, but I don’t like to take medications if I can help it. I’ve always believed that the body has its own wisdom if we can listen to it and learn to tap into what it is telling us. I decided to try “heart coherence” to see if that might help. It not only helped, but I was able to finish the race and still feel the pride of accomplishing something great.

My description of the 7 Essential Life Lessons I Learned Running the Marathon has been one of my most “asked for” articles and one of the book topics that people have responded to most positively.
I had first heard about heart coherence in 1991 from Rollin McCraty, PhD, a fellow of the American Institute of Stress and the research director at the Institute of HeartMath in Boulder Creek, California. He said, “We introduced the term heart coherence to describe the degree of order, harmony, and stability in the various rhythmic activities within living systems over any given time period,” says McCraty. “By contrast, an erratic, discordant pattern of activity denotes an incoherent system whose function reflects stress.”

,strong>New Book Focuses on Heart Coherence and Other Energy Healing Practices

One of the practices developed by the Institute of Heart Math is called “quick coherence” and I describe it in my new book, Stress Relief for Men: How to Use the Revolutionary Tools of Energy Healing to Live Well, coming out April 1, 2014. The book focuses on men’s health, but the practices I describe can be used by men, women, and even children.

It’s very simple to learn and to use. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. It’s also scientifically sound and very effective. There are three steps:

1. Put your attention on your heart.

You might put your hand over your heart or simply bring your attention to your heart beating in your chest.

2. Imagine that you are breathing through your heart.

Simply breathe normally, but picture the breaths coming in and going out through your heart area.

3. While you’re breathing picture a scene of joy, peace, and serenity.

You might picture a beautiful sunset, or the sound of your child’s laughter, or holding the hand of a loved one.

Continue breathing and focusing on the scene for a minute or two. It doesn’t take long to bring the stress levels down and to feel the peace and power of a heart awakened to gratitude and joy. I’ve used the practice for many years and it never fails to bring me back to a state of comfort when I’m feeling overly stressed.

Research at the Institute of HeartMath found that when we are overstimulated, overloaded, stressed, frustrated, worried, or anxious the rhythm becomes jagged and irregular. The more stressed we are, the more chaotic and incoherent the heart rhythm becomes (see left half of graph below). When our hearts are “incoherent,” everything gets out of whack, from our sleep patterns to our ability to function well at work.

So what can make our heart rhythm smooth out fast? Research shows that sincere positive feelings—like love, care, gratitude, appreciation, compassion, or joy—smooth out our heart rhythm into a harmonious coherent pattern. (See right half of graph above). These nurturing feelings also reduce the stress hormone cortisol and increase DHEA (the vitality hormone) to help us sleep more soundly and wake up feeling more refreshed.

Let’s face it, the stress levels in the world are increasing every day. If we’re not dealing with worries about our taxes, we’re wondering whether another war is about to break out in some part of the world. Just when we get our own health back on track, someone in our family gets sick. We can’t eliminate all stress (and who would want to), but we can learn to reduce chronic stress and heart coherence can help.

Jed Diamond, PhD, LCSW, is the Founder and Director of the MenAlive, a health program that helps men live well throughout their lives. Though focused on men’s health, MenAlive is also for women who care about the health of the men in their lives. Diamond’s new book Stress Relief for Men: How to Use the Revolutionary Tools of Energy Healing to Live Well