By Carla Medlenka
The heart in the is the heart of all; not
a valve, not a wall, not an intersection is
there anywhere in nature, but one blood
rolls uninterruptedly , an endles circulation
through all humanity. As the water of the
globe is all one sea, and, truly seen, its tide
is one. It is one light, which beams out of a
thousand stars. It is one soul, which animates
all people.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson |
It was my yoga teacher, John Friend, who first introduced me to the notion that our hearts are more than just muscles pumping
blood through our bodies to keep us alive. His philosophy declares a “celebration of the heart,” and its power to manifest beauty and
goodness in life.
Though I had no scientific proof that this was so, for some reason I have always believed him; and apparently others have too as his style
of yoga – Anusara Yoga – has become one of the most popular and fastest growing yoga styles in the world. Anyone who has had practice
shifting their conscious awareness from the concrete nature of their mind and the intensity of their head into the softer, more fluid space of
their heart has enjoyed a transformative experience.
I have shared in this type of discussion with many of my “nonbeliever” friends and family, but failed to prove my case. My only
defense was based on my own experience and a “you have to try it to experience and believe it” plea. But they wanted scientific evidence;
clinical documentation that there really is proof that the heart is
assigned to more than just circulatory duty in our physical life.
Now I’m armed with data – all you non-believers listen up!
We all know that, for centuries, the heart has been considered the source of emotion, courage and wisdom. Remember when the Wizard
of Oz gave that stiff and rusty tin man his heart? And all those little pink and red hearts that represent love, especially at Valentine’s Day?
Surely these outward expressions suggest that there’s more to the heart than we’ve been told. And there is.
The Institute of HeartMath® (IHM) Research Center, based in Boulder Creek, California, is currently exploring the influences of the
heart on information processing, perceptions, emotions and overall health. They are asking questions like, Why do people experience the
feeling or sensation of love and other positive emotional states in the area of the heart and what are the physiological ramifications of these emotions?
How do stress and different emotional states affect the autonomic nervous system, the hormonal and immune systems, the heart and brain?
The answers to many of these questions now provide a scientific basis to explain how and why the heart affects mental clarity, creativity,
emotional balance and personal effectiveness. The IHM research, and that of others, indicates that the heart is far more than a simple pump.
The heart is a highly complex, self-organized information processing center with its own functional “brain” that communicates with and
influences the cranial brain via the nervous system, hormonal system and other pathways. These influences profoundly affect brain function
and most of the body’s major organs, and can ultimately determine the quality of life.
HEART TO HEART
COMMUNICATION
The heart is the most powerful generator of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic
field of any of the body’s organs. The heart’s electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated
by the brain. This field, measured in the form of an electrocardiogram (ECG), can be detected anywhere on the surface of the body.
Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 5,000 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain,
and can be detected a number of feet away from the body, in all directions, using SQUID-based magnetometers.
Prompted by findings that the cardiac field is modulated by different emotional states, IHM performed several studies to investigate the possibility that the electromagnetic field generated by the heart may
transmit information that can be received by others – also referred to as cardioelectromagnetic or, heart-to-heart communication.
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