What Is Heart Coherence?

Listen to your heart.

No,

I mean really listen to your heart.

Usually when we hear that We take that as like a piece of advice,

But by actually focusing on our hearts physically,

We can override the stress response and relax our entire bodies.

This is heart coherence.

A calm,

Steady state where your heart rhythm,

Your breath,

Your mind,

And your body begin working together in a more balanced way.

It was popularized by the HeartMath Institute,

Which has done a ton of research between the connection between our hearts,

Brain,

Breath,

And our nervous system.

So listening to our hearts,

Or what I like to call of our hearts,

Becomes a practice that we can use to relax the body.

Steady the mind,

And feel more connected to yourself.

In simple terms,

When you slow down your breathing.

And focus on your heart,

Your body relaxes.

Your heart and brain begin to sync.

That is the heart coherence part.

This is why I use heart coherence so often in my meditation practice.

It is one of my favorite ways to ground myself.

To enter a deeper state any time about to do any kind of inner work.

And that's the beauty of it.

You don't have to wait until you're stressed or anxious to use it.

You can use heart coherence at the beginning of a meditation,

Before a hard conversation,

Before working on something,

Before making a big decision,

Or any time you want to feel more connected to yourself.

Here is the basic idea of how it works.

When your mind is busy,

Scattered or trying to figure everything out,

You shift your entire focus onto your heart and you breathe as if your breath is moving in and out of the center of your chest.

And as your attention stays there on your heart,

Your body begins to get a signal of safety,

Of less tension,

More ease,

And a simple feeling that I'm okay.

So let's give it a quick try for a moment.

You can let your shoulders soften.

Loosen your jaw.

And bring your whole attention to the center of your chest.

Almost like you're thinking of your heart.

Take a slow breath in.

And gently let it out.

And begin to imagine that your breath is flowing in and out of this area of your heart.

Breath going in through the heart.

Breath going out through the heart.

And just stay there.

Keeping your attention.

On your heart.

And the breath as if it's moving in and out.

Of your heart.

If it feels good,

You can even call to mind something good in your life.

Someone you love.

A moment of gratitude.

A place that brings you peace.

And let yourself feel that for a few breaths.

And if you get distracted,

No worries.

Just bring your attention right back to your heart.

And see if you can notice what shifts in your body.

That's it.

That's heart coherence.

A simple way to relax the body.

Steady the mind and return to yourself.

By simply thinking of your heart.

Thanks for watching today.

I'll see you in the next one.

Much love.