Heart and mind coherence

The heart and brain keep on communicating with each other. If the heart sends ‎chaotic signals the brain responds by releasing negative hormones. In the case of ‎happy signals, the brain releases dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and good ‎hormones. A better understanding between the heart and the mind means a ‎better mental and physical health. When there is a conflict between the heart ‎and the mind (cognitive dissonance or conflict between thought and deed) ‎uncertainty, lack of motivation, and negative energy is generated which creates ‎bad stress (distress). The self-help courses and motivational speakers keep telling ‎us “think positive”, “shun negativity”. Apparently, we believe in what they teach ‎but our beliefs fail to change our emotional behavior because of the lack of ‎heart-mind synchronization. These thoughts fail to change the underlying ‎environment of emotional turmoil.‎ ‎ I shall again repeat here that good stress (eustress) improves our performance ‎but ‎bad stress (distress) reduces it. Stress is the worst enemy of our immune ‎system. ‎

During the novel coronavirus pandemic, no cure has so far been found ‎and the only ‎solution is fortifying our immune system. The unmanaged and ‎disproportionate fear of the disease is also a ‎culprit in making people susceptible ‎to every kind of bacterial and viral attacks. Optimal heart-mind coherence will ‎help our immunity and give us optimal hormonal balance, lipid levels, and ‎many ‎other health benefits. ‎ Positive and negative emotions can be distinguished by looking at the ‎heart ‎rhythm patterns. Positive emotions produce smooth, ordered, and ‎coherent ‎waves while those produced by the negative emotions are chaotic and ‎erratic. ‎  

How to synchronize the heart and the mind? ‎ 

Choose a quiet and peaceful place. If you are sitting in a chair cross your legs ‎so ‎that the right and left lobes of the brain both come into play. Now, calm ‎down ‎your mind and close your eyes without putting a strain on eyelid muscles. ‎Stop the ‎whirling of your mind and instead of the seeking mode bring it into ‎receiving ‎mode. Manage your breathing. Make it deeper and slower than ‎normal. ‎Inhale and pause for three seconds before exhaling. One breath should ‎take five ‎to six seconds, but do not focus on the process of breathing, let it come ‎naturally ‎and smoothly. As you start breathing properly, your heartbeat will also ‎slow ‎down because more and more oxygen is going down your body ‎without ‎increasing the number of heartbeats and blood pressure. Put the ‎fingertips of your right hand on your ‎heart and imaging as if you are exhaling ‎through your heart. Now focus your ‎awareness (consciousness) to a place where ‎you are touching and imagining as if ‎you are touching your heart. The last step ‎will be thinking about the best moment of ‎your life or a naturally serene ‎environment that you have seen in the past. Try to feel ‎as if you are physically ‎there: the hearing chirping of birds, gentle air touching your cheeks, and seeing a ‎dancing stream. You should spend at least ten minutes in this ‎process. Do not ‎come out of this imaginary world abruptly. Take a couple of ‎minutes to come ‎back to reality. With practice, you will be able to achieve heart ‎and mind ‎coherence. It will change your life and you will feel a better ‎person. ‎ You can get rid of negativity by entering into the state of ‎coherence. 

Make a list ‎of your negative traits; achieve heart and mind coherence ‎and promise yourself ‎giving up the habit you wish to ‎get rid of. You will have to work on that habit for ‎ten minutes a day for three ‎days. The brain takes seventy-two hours to make ‎new neurites (extensions of ‎neurons, the brain cells).