Neurocardiology and
Heartmath
“The Heart of Jesus?”
AAPC Conference
April 2012
Leesburg, VA
Emotional Management and Biofeedback
 This
is called “Cortical Inhibition”… where
fear, anxiety and frustration dominate. Its
first measurable symptom is impaired
thinking and then, loss of coordination.
Cortical Facilitation

The opposite is called “Cortical Facilitation”. It occurs
when positive emotions, appreciation, and coherence
dominate. Cortical facilitation is a science term that
describes enhanced reflex speed, focus, emotional
control and clear thinking.
Focus on Coherence
So your success in handling stress probably isn’t
in avoiding stress, but how well you can manage
or down regulate your emotions .
 Most people will follow an experience of anger
or irritation with poor decision making and going
on the attack, but anger is always preceded by
the recognition of a threat (i.e. fear).
 It is possible to create an internal state called
“coherence” to put our pfc back in control

Heartmath has focused on the
positive emotion response.





Synchronized activity in the brain and nervous
system can be achieved by self-generating a
coherent heart rhythm pattern.
Results are:
Immediate- in one hour, or in one day
Measurable- you can watch your heart rhythms
change in real time.
Sustained- you continue to improve your ability
to get in the “Zone” and advance in the “Zone”
after 3, 6, 12 mos…
Ask yourself the following
questions:

How do I want to deal with being nervous,
anxious, afraid, worried, or angry?
How do I want to respond to stress (vs.
react)?
How can I be in my best emotional state?

MENTAL FOCUS QUESTIONNAIRE


Heartmath & emWave
 So
stress is much more than external
events, but also about managing your
inner state.
 Personal
Stress Reliever
The heart rate variability pattern shown in the top
graph, characterized by its random, jerky form, is
typical of feelings of anger or frustration. Sincere
positive feeling states like appreciation (bottom)
can result in highly ordered and coherent HRV
patterns, generally associated with enhanced
cardiovascular function
Two Aspects of CNS
These systems need to be working
in sync as well!
 Otherwise,
it’s like driving your car with
one foot on the gas and the other on the
brake.
 The sympathetic system was created to
keep us alive and initiates the “fight or
flight” response.
 How many stress responses do you think
you have in a day?
Somewhere between 30-50
according to Harvard Med School
researchers
problem is that your modern 21st
century brain can’t distinguish between a
5000 B.C.E. threat.
 Therefore, you get the same physiological
response.
 So in experiencing stress, what is the
threat?
 The
Get down to the “heart of the
matter”!
Heart has great bioelectromagnetic
field than your brain (approx 10x)
What might implications be for
“vibes” your sending to your
partner?
 We
live under the illusion that our
emotions and our energy are solitary and
only impact us.
 We’ll be looking at relationships and the
brain as we move into the course.
The three brains
1st Brain- controls your instincts, reflexes, and
basic physical functioning and coordination.
Often referred to as the amphibian or reptilian
brain.
 2nd Brain- the Limbic (border) or middle brain
that controls feelings and emotions.
 3rd Brain- called the cortex, is involved in
thinking, problem-solving, goal-setting, and
planning. (It also monitors 2nd brain’s activities).

Three Brains in One
Neocortex - Thought (including
planning, language, logic &
will, awareness)
Limbic System - Emotion
(feelings,
relationship/nurturing,
images and dreams, play)
Reptilian Brain - Instinct
(survival,
breathing/swallowing/heartb
eat, startle response)
How do three brains work
together?
 While
all three brains interact all the time,
they need to act in harmony for optimal
performance.
 In other words, they have to be in sync
with one another.
 The question remains, “Who do you want
running the show?” The prefrontal neocortex is known as the Executive!
Five Brains?????
 The
Stomach???? 1000’s of receptor
sites.
 As
we have mentioned the heart- 40,000
neurons (at least).
Problems in “brain function”
we act mainly from the 1st brain, we
react from instinct alone with no thought
given to the consequences (survival
mechanism).
 When we act mainly from the 2nd brain,
unmanaged emotions can play to strong a
role in our decisions and effect
performance.
 So the answer must be…. 3rd, 4th, 5th Brain?
 When
Not necessarily!
we are operating mostly from the 3rd
brain, we can get trapped in “looping
thoughts” that lead to excessive worry and
anxiety (cognitive therapy would call these
cognitive distortions).
 The often have a negative tone; “I’m so
stupid.” “I always make this mistake.” I’m
just dumb.”
 Or just pessimistic and pressuring oneself!
 When
Another problem with the limbic
system.
There is a little almond-sized structure in the 2nd
Brain called the amygdala (ah-MIG-dah-la).
This is where your memories are processed.
 Thus, it can trigger memories of a past situation
where you encountered negative emotions.
 Amygdala has two circuits to receive
information; 1) fast track and 2) slow track.
 The fast track bypasses the pfc and goes
straight for the memory and causes stress
hormones to be released (primarily cortisol).

So we’re out of brains (or are we?)
 Some
have related that the heart is a
second brain as it sends as many signals
to the brain as it receives.
 Research shows that if we can develop
coherence of heart rate variability, we can
calm down the other systems.
 Thus, not only does the brain “talk” to the
heart, the heart “talks” to the brain.
We can use the heart to create
cortical facilitation.
 But
we still focus with the rhythm of your
breath, because it affects the rhythm of
your heart rate.
 New breathing patterns changes the
heart’s rhythm.
 This is further increased when we choose
positive feelings like care, love or
appreciation.
This is called “Quick Coherence”
 Step

1- Heart Focus
The first step is to focus your attention in the area of your
heart. You can focus your attention on any part of your
body, so let’s start with this simple exercise. Focus on
your left big toe and wiggle it… Okay, now focus on your
right elbow… Now, gently focus on the area in the center
of your chest, the area of your heart. If you’d like, you
can put your hand over your heart to help.
Step 2- Heart Breathing

In Step 2, as you focus on the area of your
heart, imagine you are breathing through your
heart. Imagine your breath is flowing in and out
through that area. Breathe slowly and gently…in
through your heart (to a count of 5) and slowly
and easily out through your heart (to a count of
5)…Do this until your breathing feels smooth
and balanced-not forced….As you continue to
breathe with ease for a few moments, you will
find a natural inner rhythm that feels good.
Step 3- Heart Feeling

The third step involves positive feelings an attitudes.
Continue to breathe through the area of your heart and
find a positive feeling, like appreciation, care or
compassion. You can recall a time you felt appreciation
or care to make it easier to find a positive feeling now.
This could be the appreciation of care you have towards
a special person, a pet, a place you enjoy, or an activity
that was fun. If you can’t feel anything, it’s okay, just try
to find a sincere attitude of appreciation or care. Once
you’ve found a positive feeling or attitude, you can
sustain it by continuing your heart focus, heart breathing
and heart feeling.
APPRECIATION
 Research
on Positive Psychology (cf.
Seligman, Barbara Fredrickson)!
 HeartMath takes Cognitive reframing one
step beyond.
 Antonio Damasio, M.D. (Research)
Descartes’ Error, Looking for Spinoza, The
Feeling of What Happens, Self Comes to
Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain
When to use “Quick Coherence”
 Whenever
you feel anxious, nervous,
irritated or agitated.
 Whenever you feel stressed, angry or
mad!
 Whenever you feel frustrated!
 Whenever you feel sad or blue!
 Whenever you just feel off your center
emWave PSR2 or PC Stress Relief
System
 The
bio-feedback that you can get from
these devices can exponentially speed up
your progress.
 Of course, the PSR is portable and can be
used at anytime.
 New version is compatible with PC and
Mac!
Practice with PSR2
 Can
be found at: www.neuro-tennis.com
 Or http://www.neuro-tennis.com/heartrate-variability--emwave-products.html
Neurocardiology and the
Polyvagal Theory
Vagus or 10th Cranial Nerve
 First,
afferent nature described by Darwin.
 Neuroception describes how neural
circuits distinguish whether situations or
people are safe.
 80% of nerves fibers from heart are
afferent.
 Two vagi- a phylogenetically older vagus
that is un-myelinated and a newer
myelinated vagus. The key to the freeze
reaction!
Freeze Frame
 Stop
the motion picture.
 Switch to a positive emotion.