The Heart-Focused® Breathing Technique:

Step 1: Focus your attention on your heart.

Step 2:  Breathe a little slower and deeper than you normally do, inhale for about 5 seconds, exhale for about 5 seconds.

The Heart-Focused Breathing technique can be used at any time, with eyes open, and in the heat-of-the-moment.  It takes seconds to feel different by using it, but does take practice to master it.

By following the little ball “breathing pacer” in the video above, you’re bringing your attention to something else other than the drama or situation you find yourself in.  This first step is equivalent to the first step of Heart-Focused Breathing: it gets you out of your head and into your body.

By breathing in rhythm with the little ball “breathing pacer” as it rises and falls, you’re bringing balance to your Autonomic Nervous System.  This inner balance is also called Autonomic Balance, referring to the balance that is created between the Sympathetic branch of the nervous system (through inhalation), and the Parasympathetic branch of the nervous system (through exhalation).  We call this a state of Coherence.

HeartMath’s Inner Balance sensor is a biofeedback training device which helps develop the muscle memory of what Coherence feels like. With practice this enables you to return to a state of Autonomic Balance more quickly.  Think of it as your own personal gym for building resilience!