Don't think that this is a recent Yoga technique or that of a new Zen guru, cardiac coherence is a therapeutic discipline developed by cardiologists for their patients. Twenty years after its discovery, this technique is used to regulate the balance of the nervous system of stressed people. In addition to its effectiveness, this method is very simple. All you need to do is remember 3 numbers: 3, 6, and 5. And devote 15 minutes a day to it. Child's play to heal your mind and pamper your body.
A story of the heart above all
The concept of cardiac coherence comes from American medical research carried out by the HeartMath Institute in the fields of neuroscience and neurocardiology. A software program measures and reproduces the interval between heartbeats in the form of a curve. If this interval is never the same (this is completely normal), the curve can, however, vary greatly.
The researchers noticed that this curve is chaotic, with sudden accelerations and braking in anxious, preoccupied, angry subjects. On the contrary, when the subject is calm, thinking about a pleasant moment, the curve undulates smoothly with regular oscillations.
The researchers then established that this cardiac coherence curve is a precise indicator of the state of stress and that it also regulates breathing and blood pressure. Cardiologists then quickly understood why depression, mourning, a serious problem, has more serious repercussions than smoking on a heart patient.
The heart and its neurons
Another even more surprising discovery is that the heart is equipped with 40,000 neurons closely connected to the brain via the ANS, the autonomic nervous system. This ANS works with two circuits, like the two pedals of a car: one to accelerate (the sympathetic system) and the other to brake (the parasympathetic system). The heart produces its own hormones that act on the brain and are at the origin of emotional states. And the brain responds by modifying cardiac coherence. This explains why the heart races and beats hard when emotion is strong and can quickly slow down if calm returns. If this ANS can quickly vary the heart rate, conversely the heart can help control our emotions. And this is where controlling cardiac coherence is of great interest. Thanks to breathing and visualization of the heart, regulating cardiac coherence restores the balance between the two nervous systems, sympathetic (accelerator) and parasympathetic (brake).
Cardiac coherence to channel emotions
Initially used in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases to regulate the heart rate, cardiac coherence is increasingly practiced to manage stress and anxiety, control emotions and regain a state of serenity.
A physiological action
Indeed, when the heart is in cardiac coherence, beating at a regular rhythm in total harmony with breathing, a cascade of neuronal, hormonal and biochemical phenomena follows which restore calm. This mastery of cardiac coherence, with the help of slow breathing, activates the parasympathetic system which gradually reduces the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. It increases immune defenses, learning, memory and coordination. It also activates pleasure while reducing anxiety.
Scientifically proven benefits
This technique, initially intended for people with heart disease, is being developed for executives in many companies, because the results are convincing. The percentage of exhausted executives drops from 50% to 12%, of insomniacs from 34% to 6%, of anxious people from 33% to 5%. After a month of daily practice, blood pressure drops twice as much as with a salt-free diet. Specialists also announce a reduction in the level of the stress hormone by 25% and the level of DHEA, the famous hormone of youth, multiplied by 2! Well-being and serenity are there. As a bonus, specialists promise the regulation of sugar levels, abdominal circumference, better resistance to pain with an improvement in inflammatory and asthmatic conditions. But above all, do not think that this technique is complicated, it is quite the opposite. Demonstration.
365, nothing could be simpler!
Hold 365, that is, 3 times a day, 6 breaths per minute and for 5 minutes to get results. In total: 3 sessions of 5 minutes or 15 minutes per day.
The course of a session
Inhale with the stomach for 5 seconds and exhale through the mouth for the next 5.
The session includes 6 inhalations and exhalations per minute.
Repeat 5 times in a row, or 30 breaths in 5 minutes.
The program
A session morning, noon and evening. Every day. The important thing is regularity. Indeed, the benefits only last 3 to 6 hours. Hence the interest in repeating several times a day.
Where to practice?
Cardiac coherence can be practiced anywhere, at home, in the office, in transport. The easiest is the sitting position, back straight, feet flat on the floor.
Timer or app?
You can practice cardiac coherence alone by looking at your watch or by following a timer. The best thing is to let yourself be guided by an app like Respirelax or CardioZen.
How to progress?
Once the first sessions are done, visualize your heart during the exercise or place your hand on it. These gestures help you to better align your heartbeat with your breathing and thus solicit your parasympathetic system, the key to calm and serenity.
Very quickly, you feel a warm sensation in your chest. You can also think of happy moments, peaceful landscapes to strengthen the connection between your heart and your brain.
It is this very particular breathing frequency of 0.1 Hz that is the foundation of cardiac coherence. This is not your natural breathing. Slower, this frequency corresponds to that of your heart.
Thanks to the discovery of cardiac coherence, researchers have uncovered the secret of the "breathing-concentration" practices used for thousands of years in Yoga or Qi Gong and which have made the fakirs successful. Now it's up to you to practice cardiac coherence to breathe new life into your heart and your life!
