How Heart Rhythm Meditation Can Improve Mental Health and Provide Much Needed Benefits
This year has been a difficult season for all of us, especially first responders and those directly affected by COVID-19. Many of us are experiencing higher levels of anxiety during this time. Studies on recent epidemics like SARS have shown us how quarantine can have serious mental health consequences. This is why it is vital to focus on our mental health and care for ourselves.
Meditation continues to prove beneficial for our health. The Harvard Gazette explores research on how it physically changes the brain in patients experiencing depression. When we take advantage of the benefits meditation has to offer, we build healthier, balanced lives.
“Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.”– Swami Muktananda
Most of us are familiar with Vipassana Meditation, the most common technique that focuses on breathing (along with its many other components). You may have experienced a version of this by focusing your attention on breathing slowly in and out.
Vipassana is considered an "upward" technique, meaning that it involves reaching a level of consequences that moves away from the ego, materialism, stimulation, and distractions. While this is very effective, it’s also one of many techniques. Heart Rhythm Meditation, often practiced while using a stethoscope, provides its own benefits and advantages.
Heart Rhythm Meditation is considered an “upward-then-downward” technique, encompassing a full and rounded experience. In short, it raises the meditator upward similar to the Vipassana method, but then it brings her down, recreating herself to face the rest of her day.
Puran Khan Bair, author of Living from the Heart: Heart Rhythm Meditation for Energy, Clarity, Peace, Joy, and Inner Power, states the following:
It’s through Heart Rhythm Meditation that we can learn to connect our conscious and unconscious mind, elevating ourselves to a higher and more powerful state. We connect our minds with our bodies and learn to harness our energy.
Benefits of Heart Rhythm Meditation
Bair uses the following table to compare Vipassana Meditation (or what he calls Upward Breath Meditation) and Heart Rhythm Meditation. Notice the physiological effects and how both techniques differ from the other.
|
Physiological Effect |
Upward Breath Meditation |
Heart Rhythm Meditation |
|
Heartbeat |
No pulse. Heart goes into a higher-speeds. |
The heartbeat becomes extremely regular. |
|
Circulation |
Sharply reduced. |
Greatly increased. |
|
Oxygen Consumption |
Extremely low. |
Increased. |
|
Brain Waves |
Like deep sleep. |
Like aha! Peak experiences. |
|
Central Nervous System Activity |
Decreased. |
Increased. |
Vipassana Meditation has many distinct outcomes; a lower pulse, reduced circulation, lower oxygen, a sleeping state, and decreased central nerve activity—all ingredients to reaching a higher level of consciousness.
Where they differ is how Heart Rhythm Meditation returns the meditator to a new, recreated mental state. The heartbeat is regular, circulation is increased, brain waves are optimal and the nervous system increases activity. It provides a boost that equips you for life.
Experiencing Heart Rhythm Meditation
StethoHope asked participants to practice Heart Rhythm Meditation for the first time and report their experiences and impressions. Each volunteer practiced upward breath meditation first and then used a stethoscope to focus on their heart and practice Heart Rhythm Meditation.
Nicole, a registered nurse in South Florida stated the following:
“Meditating on my heartbeat helped me to reach a real level of relaxation. It gave me a focal point that kept me grounded from getting distracted by my thoughts and everything around me. I felt like my mind was fully connected to my body.
"I remember coming across a lot of studies while in nursing school about how hearing a heartbeat soothes people because they are reminded of being in the womb or a safe place. Or even a similar experience as lying on your partner's chest and hearing their heart rhythm. When I used my stethoscope and intentionally meditated on my heartbeat, I felt like I hit a restart button for my mind.”
It's through focusing on the heart, an organ we unconsciously operate, that we can combine our conscious and unconscious mind. This mental health practice helps us reduce thoughts of anxiety and depression, giving us more control over our minds.
Getting Started Today
Are you interested in discovering if Heart Rhythm Meditation is right for you? Try by starting your breathing exercises and meditate on each breath. When you’ve reached a new level of consciousness and feel relaxed, take note of how you feel (for example, very relaxed and renewed). Shift your meditation to the heart.
Use a stethoscope and listen to your heartbeat. Similar to how you focused on your breathing, focus on each beat of the heart. Remove distractions.
Follow the rhythm and let it connect your mind to your body. Try doing this for a few minutes. Document how you feel. Do you feel energized, focused, and ready to conquer your day? Heart Rhythm Meditation takes you from an upward state and brings you back as a revitalized person.
_ _ _ _ _
Heart Rhythm Meditation is a great way to improve your mental health and enjoy a vibrant and fulfilling life. It’s a great practice to add to your meditation routine and can help you establish long-term habits for a healthier life.
Stethoscopes give you the full experience of your heartbeat, making it easier and more effective to focus on your rhythm. If you would like a stethoscope to get started, you can purchase one on StethoHope today.
StethoHope combats the overwhelming lack of health care resources in impoverished communities around the globe. When you buy a stethoscope, you help make an impact in the lives of families in need.