64: HeartMath: Better Than Yoga, Meditation, and Deep Breathing with Carly Stagg, BSN, RN, FNTP
Looking for a quick and effective way to truly rebalance your emotional and physical state of wellbeing in a matter of minutes? Listen in to this week’s podcast to learn about the technique Biohackers have been using for years. Carly Stagg, RN, NTP introduces us to Heartmath, a biofeedback system that refocuses your emotional state and optimizes your body’s response to stress. This is something you could use on the whole family!
EPISODE 64: HeartMath: Better Than Yoga, Meditation, and Deep Breathing with Carly Stagg, BSN, RN, FNTP
SHOW NOTES
(0:00) Intro
(0:44) Welcome back to the club!
Carly is a Registered Nurse & Functional Nutritionist by day and Operations Manager for The Christian Health Club, LLC, by night and weekend.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of South Florida and a certification in Nutritional Therapy from the Nutritional Therapy Association. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Nursing to become a family Nurse Practitioner, specializing in functional medicine. She is currently working through the Institute for Functional Medicine to complete her IFMCP (IFM Certified Practitioner). She is also working to become a HeartMath certified practitioner through the HeartMath institute.
Carly’s previous guest appearances on the podcast:
(3:47) Carly, can you start out by telling us a bit more about HeartMath and why we need it?
It is a biofeedback technique that teaches us how to refocus our breathing and emotional state in order to optimize our body and brain’s response to stress. This allows us to intervene in stressful situations and take charge of our body’s response to them, rather than simply reacting to them.
It’s a simple technique that only requires a phone app and simple ear clip, takes about 2 minutes to go through and can truly rebalance your emotional and physical state of wellbeing in just a few minutes.
(6:47) How does this work?
Two Way Communication
Most of us have been taught in school that the heart is constantly responding to "orders" sent by the brain in the form of neural signals. However, it is not as commonly known that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart!
And actually, these heart signals have a significant effect on brain function—influencing emotional processing as well as higher cognitive faculties such as attention, perception, memory, and problem-solving. In other words, not only does the heart respond to the brain, but the brain continuously responds to the heart.
So it isn’t just about reducing our stress response- this has a ripple effect on nearly every health condition known to man.
HeartMath research has demonstrated that different patterns of heart activity (which accompany different emotional states) have distinct effects on cognitive and emotional function. During stress and negative emotions, when the heart rhythm pattern is erratic and disordered, the corresponding pattern of neural signals traveling from the heart to the brain inhibits higher cognitive functions. This limits our ability to think clearly, remember, learn, reason, and make effective decisions. (This helps explain why we may often act impulsively and unwisely when we’re under stress.) The heart’s input to the brain during stressful or negative emotions also has a profound effect on the brain’s emotional processes—actually serving to reinforce the emotional experience of stress.
In contrast, the more ordered and stable pattern of the heart’s input to the brain during positive emotional states has the opposite effect—it facilitates cognitive function and reinforces positive feelings and emotional stability. This means that learning to generate increased heart rhythm coherence, by sustaining positive emotions, not only benefits the entire body, but also profoundly affects how we perceive, think, feel, and perform.
(13:23) What’s in the name? HeartMath???
It’s based on the science of heart rate variability.
The heart at rest was once thought to operate much like a metronome, faithfully beating out a regular, steady rhythm. Scientists and physicians now know, however, that this is far from the case. Rather than being monotonously regular, the rhythm of a healthy heart—even under resting conditions—is actually surprisingly irregular, with the time interval between consecutive heartbeats constantly changing. This naturally occurring beat-to-beat variation in heart rate is called heart rate variability (HRV).
The normal variability in heart rate is due to the synergistic action of the two branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)—the part of the nervous system that regulates most of the body’s internal functions. The sympathetic nerves act to accelerate heart rate, while the parasympathetic (vagus) nerves slow it down. The sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the ANS are continually interacting to maintain cardiovascular activity in its optimal range and to permit appropriate reactions to changing external and internal conditions. The analysis of HRV therefore serves as a dynamic window into the function and balance of the autonomic nervous system.
(18:45) More on heart rate variability (HRV):
The moment-to-moment variations in heart rate are generally overlooked when average heart rate is measured (for example, when your doctor takes your pulse over a certain period of time and calculates that your heart is beating at, say, 70 beats per minute). Using your pulse data from an ear clip (almost like where an earring will sit), HeartMath devices provide a picture of your HRV—plotting the natural increases and decreases in your heart rate occurring on a continual basis.
Scientists and physicians consider HRV to be an important indicator of health and fitness. As a marker of physiological resilience and behavioral flexibility, it reflects our ability to adapt effectively to stress and environmental demands. A simple analogy helps to illustrate this point: just as the shifting stance of a tennis player about to receive a serve may facilitate swift adaptation, in healthy individuals the heart remains similarly responsive and resilient, primed and ready to react when needed.
It can be oversimplified to say that we want our HRV to be high- this demonstrates resilience.
A higher resting HRV normally indicates resilience and readiness to take on more stressful events throughout the day- for example a harder workout. A lower resting HRV means
Resting HRV can be measured by something like an Oura Ring.
(21:32) What affects our HRV negatively and positively?
NEGATIVE- Emotional stress- anger, frustration, anxiety
Shows us that the ANS is out of balance; you essentially have one foot on the gas pedal (Sympathetic branch) and one foot on the brakes (parasympathetic branch), so you’ll have a pretty bumpy ride!
POSITIVE- Emotional balance/positive emotions- appreciation, joy, care, love
Autonomic balance- more parasympathetic activity than sympathetic
(26:44) What makes HeartMath different from just deep breathing or other types of meditation?
HeartMath combines a focus on simple paced breathing (5 seconds in 5 seconds out). You don’t need an engineering degree to figure out the “right way” to breathe, you just need to slow it down.
Then it’s combined with an emotional shift to a positive emotion- like gratitude, appreciation. Think of your family, a pet, your relationship with the Lord and allow that heartfelt positive emotional state to transform your heart’s rhythms. Think about making your heart “glow” with positive emotion- you can lay your hand over your heart as you do this.
Once the emotional component is activated, there is no longer a need to fixate on the “exact” right breathing technique- this eliminates the need for this mental effort.
You also have the benefit of the interactive technology to show you your progress. You essentially begin a session on the app (inner balance phone sensor) or your computer (emWave2) which measures your HRV and pulse in real-time, giving you small prompts to refocus on your breathing and activate a positive emotion.
(36:15) How is coherence different from relaxation?
Relaxation is a low-energy state in which the individual rests both the body and mind, typically disengaging from cognitive and emotional processes. It lowers heart rate and HRV- just slows everything down.
In contrast, coherence generally involves the active engagement of positive emotions. Psychologically, coherence is experienced as a calm, balanced, yet energized and responsive state that is conducive to everyday functioning and interaction, including the performance of tasks requiring mental acuity, focus, problem-solving, and decision-making, as well as physical activity and coordination. Your HRV will likely increase from your baseline level, and pulse may stay constant, but the waveform will smooth out.
(38:37) How can I add HeartMath to my routine? Is this something you do on your own?
You can meet with a certified HeartMath Practitioner to get started (I am currently on the pathway to certification!) or simply purchase some of the technology at heartmath.org. There are a variety of different formats- one for iPhone, one for computers, etc. to help this fit into your life.
Practitioner- shows you the before and after, help coach you to get the most benefit out of it
(41:15) How often do I need to do HeartMath to see the benefits?
I carry my inner balance (iPhone) sensor in my purse with me and try to fit in sessions if I arrive anywhere early, 2-3 minutes up to 3-4 times per day will provide the best effect. The more you practice, the more your muscle memory develops, so you will default to a better/more coherent state of being instead of default stress mode!
HeartMath for Kids!!!
(48:00) Anchor questions! ⚓️
Anchor meal
Bunless grassfed burger with roasted Balsamic bacon brussels sprouts :)
Stinkin’ Badges!
Is a paraphrase of a line of dialogue from the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
Anchor verse
Psalm 23:
God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.
(51:47) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!