The heart is intelligent.

Heart Intelligence is defined as a “flow of intuitive awareness” by the HeartMath Institute, pioneer research institute in this field. When  emotions and mind are brought into coherent alignment with the heart, the brain and heart are operating in a synergetic way. We then experience a deeper intuitive inner guidance. In other words, heart intelligence can also be defined as the ability of the heart to sync all of the systems of the body to bring a higher state of awareness, and to bring more clarity and focus.

The heart is capable of great things. HeartMath Institute’s studies also tend to confirm that the heart plays a key role in intuition.

“Coherence” refers to a state of optimal performance. The term “Coherence” is used by scientists to describe a highly efficient physiological state in which the following systems, nervous, cardiovascular, hormonal and immune, are all working efficiently and harmoniously. It is the highest level of function where all our bodies are working together as one at an optimal performance level.

The heart plays a major role in our emotional intelligence.

Our heart possesses a network of 40,000 neurons called “sensory neurites” which provide a direct line of communication to the brain. These thousands of neurons are also the reason why we can call the heart “intelligent”. In fact, the heart has the ability to function in an independent way. It can sense, process information, make decisions and even demonstrate a type of learning and memory.

Did you know that the heart sends more information to the brain than vice versa? The signals sent from the heart to the brain can regulate emotional experiences.

The importance of heart-brain communication.

The rhythmic activity of the heart can directly affect how we feel. It sends signals to our brain and that plays a key role in determining the quality of emotional experience at a precise moment. If we experience negative emotions, the heart will send a signal via its rhythmic pattern to the brain which will mirror these feelings. Therefore, this negative emotional experience will be reinforced. In fact, the type of chemicals that are released into our bodies depend on the quality of the emotional signal sent from the heart to the brain. In a situation of big stress, the brain will respond by releasing hormones like cortisol which can turn to be harmful for our health if it is produced in excess.

Positive emotions lead to coherent heart rhythm patterns.

Emotions are reflected in heart rhythm patterns. When stressed or generally expressing negative emotions (fear, anger, hate, frustration…), heart rhythm patterns look chaotic. This is called an “incoherent heart rhythm pattern” by scientists. When stressed, creative thinking is impaired, there is trouble sleeping, immune system gets disturbed etc. This is totally logical, because the incoherence of the rhythmic activity of the heart inhibits higher cognitive functions such as attention, perception, memory and problem-solving.
However, when expressing positive emotions like love, joy, gratitude, compassion etc., creating a state of coherence (“coherent heart rhythm pattern”). The heart rhythm patterns look smooth, ordered and stable. It helps the body’s systems synchronize and work better. It therefore enhances ability to think clearly, learn, remember, reason and make optimal decisions (peak performance).

Check out our heart coherence tools further below.

Heart coherence allows all the major systems of the body to work together harmoniously. This means that the cardiovascular system is working in conjunction with the immune system, as well as the endocrine system and the nervous system. In other words, it sets the stage for optimum health and maximum physical and mental performance. Instead of allowing yourself to become stressed, you can become more resilient that what you thought was ever possible.

Benefits of heart coherence:

When all of your body’s systems are functioning together in harmony, great improvement in overall wellbeing takes place. With more energy to accomplish your daily tasks.

Here are a few health benefits of heart coherence:

• Reduces stress and anxiety (reduction of level of cortisol).
• Boosts your immune system
• Releases anti-aging hormone (DHEA)
• Enhances the functioning of your nervous and digestive systems
• Improves quality of your sleep
• Boosts your energy level

When there is an achieved heart coherence state, it also means you are functioning at peak performance. With vast improvements of  cognitive functions:

• Enhancement of focus and concentration
• Improvement in learning
• Improvement in problem-solving skills.

The heart coherence also enhances one of the most important things in your daily life: your intuition, make wiser decisions.

Globally, heart coherence helps to increase resilience. It’ll be easier for to overcome difficult situations and get back to balance.

Implications of heart’s intuitive intelligence:

Developing the heart intelligence is a way for individuals to become more aware and in tune with what is going on within themselves as well as what is going on in the world around them.

When the shift into a state of coherence happens, ability to rely on heart’s intuitive guidance to help find peace and harmony within, to improve social connections and to become an asset to the world. This is called “heart-based living”.

Those that are in touch with their own heart intelligence (Personal Coherence) are more suited to be a beneficial part of society (Social Coherence) which translates into people that can take action to make the world a better place (Global Coherence). Those that have achieved coherence are people that will be able to have a more positive impact around them.

This totally relates to what Gandhi said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. If you want the world to change, you have to start by changing yourself. By the way, this is totally the philosophy of our website Gaia Meditation. This is why we promote so much the practice of meditation as we believe that it is the most powerful way to change our own energy field.

Our heart electromagnetic field affects reality.

Every person has an electromagnetic field that surrounds them. There are essentially two different sets of electromagnetic fields in your body. They both can be measured in a medical setting.
The brain electromagnetic field is the one that affects your brain waves and how your brain functions. The other electromagnetic field is the one that controls the beat of your heart. This heart electromagnetic field is the largest in your body as it is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electromagnetic field produced by the brain. It is also 5000 times stronger magnetically.

The electromagnetic field produced by the heart has a huge influence on us and beyond. The heart electromagnetic field has the ability to “mirror” our inner emotions out into our world. It can affect people, animals and the environment around us as well. Studies show that the Earth’s magnetic field affects us in profound ways but we are also affecting it every day as everything is interconnected. So this is very important to feed ourselves with positive emotions in order to establish a personal coherence and then a social and global coherence. We all have a part of responsibility in this.

Achieving Heart Coherence

Let us introduce you to a few easy and quick techniques to achieve the state of heart coherence. You can practice any time during the day or just before your meditation practice for example.

1. “Heart Infinity” by Gaia Meditation:

We have created a series of controlled breathing exercises called “Heart Infinity” in order for you to reach that heart coherence state. Our heart’s rhythm is modulated by our breathing patterns. So breathing with a regular rhythm can help to achieve this state of coherence. These breathing exercises will only require 5 minutes per session.
Here’s a basic exercise combining the heart coherence breathing cycle of 5 seconds inhalation / 5 seconds exhalation and abdominal breathing:

2. “Breath Of life” by Gaia Meditation

If you prefer to practice with your eyes closed, we have created special audio guides for you to achieve the heart coherence.

Listen to “Breath Of Life” audio guide now

3. Quick Coherence Technique by the HeartMath Institute:

It requires only 60 seconds to achieve it. This technique combines breathing together with the intentional self-generation of positive feelings such as joy, compassion, care, love etc. This is more efficient for coherence to emerge.

 

CITATIONS: Gaia Meditation