Howard Martin shares how he uses the HeartMath technology in his regular practice each day to tune up and sustain his resilience. “I have been practicing the HeartMath techniques for a very long time. When we first came out with our technology I used my emWave® most every day to help deepen my practices. For the last few years I have been using my Inner Balance™ app and sensor as I like having the whole experience on my iPhone.
I have found that using my Inner Balance has really helped me be more productive in my meditative practices and to “tune up” during my busy days. It has greatly improved my use of techniques to help me grow and deal with challenges. Basically, I have built my Inner Balance experience into my day-to-day life in a systemic but casual way. Here is how I use it.
In the morning after dressing, showering, etc. I allot 15 minutes to doing my Heart Lock-In, a HeatMath technique designed to activate and sustain positive emotions. I sit on my bed with the Inner Balance sensor attached to my ear and start the technique. I play a game with this.
In the Inner Balance app there is a screen called Session. On this screen I can see several things:
- My heart rate variability pattern
- Coherence—my coherence level in the moment
- Length–how long I have been using the app
- Achievement—how many coherence points I have earned
These numbers change every 5 seconds while using the Inner Balance. At the end of the session I go to the Review Screen where I can see my average Coherence Score and how many Coherence Points were achieved during the time I was using the Inner Balance.
Here is a simple analogy to understand the Coherence and Achievement Scores. The Coherence Score would be like seeing how fast you are going if you were driving a car. The Achievement Score would be how far you have gone. The more coherent my heart rhythms are the higher my coherence score and as a result more achievement points. My goal is to really do my Heart Lock–In with sincerity, get as high an average coherence score as possible and accumulate as many points during the session as I can.
Having done this many times I know what a normal averages would be for a session. I know when I am improving and when I am not. This whole process keeps me honest and really does help me get the most out of my inner work time.
I repeat the same process most days right after lunch but for only 5 minutes. This helps re-boot my system for the rest of the day. I also do it again at night after my work day ends and before I go to sleep. The length of this session depends on a number of things so I let it be a bit more flexible. It usually ends up being between 15 minutes and 30 minutes.
Now, here is one more aspect, the Inner Balance feature that makes it extra fun. All of my sessions are stored on the HeartCloud™. There I get a great picture of my seasons and for me most importantly, how many Achievement Points I have accumulated over the life time of using my Inner Balance! With this information I can set goals. I can say for instance that if I want to get 25,000 Achievement Points this month. I note the life time number at the beginning of the month, track how I am doing towards reaching my goal and make a fun game out of it. This self-monitoring game motivates me to make sure I am using my Inner Balance and doing my focused inner work each day.
In summary:
- I build using my Inner Balance into my daily routine
- I use the Session Screen to see what is happing while using the Inner Balance—Coherence Score and Achievement
- I look at the Review Screen to see my Coherence Score Average
- I look at my sessions in the HeartCloud to track progress/results and to set and work towards goals
This is how I use HeatMath’s Coherence Building Technology. I suggest you create a system for using your Inner Balance or emWave that works for you. What I can say is that without a doubt it has benefited me greatly and I hope it can be of help to you as well.
